Energy coalition creates space for
students, unlocks energy reserves

The University of Calgary and SAIT Polytechnic are banding together to create the Calgary Coalition to Advance Alberta’s Energy, Environment and Innovation. The partnership is an unprecedented alignment of these two Calgary post-secondaries and the business community on an urgent issue for provincially and nationally.

Through the coalition, the two institutions will increase student enrolment by 1,600 seats and offer an advanced research program. The U of C is requesting 650 undergraduate and 350 graduate seats under the province ’s ACCESS program and SAIT has requested 580 new seats.

“ There are 176 billion barrels of proven reserves in Alberta. To unlock that resource Alberta must have more people, research and technology. This partnership was created to accelerate our shared response to that need,” said Dr. Harvey Weingarten, president of the U of C.

“ It has tremendous economic and policy implications for Alberta. An increase of just 10 percent in the recovery and upgrading with these technologies translates into $260 billion in Canadian GDP and almost $30 billion in government revenue. ”

Through ISEEE (the Institute for Sustainable Energy, Environment and Economy) at the University of Calgary and SETTI (SAIT Energy Training and Technology) at SAIT, the two educators will develop joint programs, share both human resources and facilities, increase transferability between programs and schools and create joint create industry alliances.

The province has challenged the post-secondary sector to work together to find innovative ways to respond to Alberta’s economic and policy needs. Alberta must have a highly skilled workforce to advance the province ’s energy, environment and innovation strategy.

According to the October TD Economics Report, “Labour shortages have worsened, not just in oil and gas, but across most industries. Inter-provincial migration into the Wild Rose Country, which had been a huge source of population growth and skilled labour in the late 1990s, has slowed recently because of British Columbia’s own rising economic fortunes. This has heightened the competition for capital and skilled labour. ”

Through this new coalition, SAIT and U of C are working together, with industry, to collaboratively train workers for the full continuum of jobs.