CANS helps Nova Scotia Community College Foundation pass the $1-million mark

The Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC) Foundation and the Construction Association of Nova Scotia (CANS) are celebrating a significant milestone in the association’s “Building Futures” fundraising campaign.

Construction Association of Nova Scotia

In just over a year, the campaign has raised more than $1.1 million for scholarships and bursaries at NSCC, thanks to contributions from more than 70 organizations across Nova Scotia.

The campaign was launched in June 2007 to commemorate the association’s upcoming 150th anniversary. CANS is committed to raising $2.5 million over a five-year period.

Championing the project is David Oulton, general manager of Marid Industries and a member of the board of directors of both CANS and the NSCC Foundation.

“We are so pleased by the support we’ve received to date,” says Oulton.

“Together, CANS and the NSCC Foundation are working to keep our best and brightest students in Nova Scotia, to build our economy and to ensure the industry has the right skills for the future.”

The association has received financial commitments from a broad cross-section of its members, including contractors, suppliers and service providers, as well as other construction-related organizations.

“The partnership forged between CANS and NSCC is a shining example of how industry and the college community can work together to meet the current skills shortage crisis facing many industries in Canada,” says Canadian Construction Association chair Paul Charette.

“We in the construction industry alone must recruit some 260,000 new workers just to replace retiring workers and keep pace with demand. Canadian community colleges are a key element in training our workforce and they need the support of both industry and government to build the necessary capacity to meet that training challenge.”

Charette, also chair of the national “Investing in Skills Coalition,” said that while a number of local construction associations have made endowment funds available to college students entering construction-related courses, “none of them have come close to matching the magnitude” of the initiative undertaken in Nova Scotia.

The Construction Association of Nova Scotia represents more than 700 contractors, suppliers and service providers in the non-residential construction industry.

At the end of the five-year campaign, approximately 100 endowed scholarships will have been created to support students in construction-related programs.

Achievement of the $1 million milestone was announced at a recent event at the NSCC’s waterfront campus in Dartmouth.