The trades program at CNC is a little bigger after the launch of a new Automotive Glass Technician Program in Prince George.
The new 16-week course will be mostly online with the final week taking place in the shop.
Two sections of the program are set to start on September 24th and are badly needed in the north.
“There’s a lot of demand for this certification, in the north, you can pretty much count on needing a new windshield every year or a windshield repair. On top of that, it’s not the simple trade it once was cars are built with a lot of technology these days and its made it safer but harder to repair,” said Ken Rowell, Program Instructor.
“Think of blind spot monitors, lane departure warnings systems, multiple restraint systems, one-touch door glass and all of that stuff needs to be properly initialized and calibrated and so there’s a large public safety aspect to having certified people doing this work.”
The enrolment numbers greatly exceeded their expectations.
“We expected some people and whenever you develop a new program you think what’s the uptake going to be and the demand was huge, we ended up filling two full classes and it’s something we needed in the north.”
This will also mark the first time the college will use a blended online and face-to-face model for a trades program.