The De Havilland Canada aircraft manufacturing facility is one of Wheatland County's biggest investments and is expected to create up to 1500 jobs, and to prepare for this growth the Alberta Government is investing $5 million to address labour shortages in the aviation industry. De Havilland is one of many investments and expansions across the province, as WestJet, Condor, Lynx Air, Flair Airlines, and Porter Airlines also made significant moves.
As part of the government's new Alberta at Work initiative, this $5 million investment will open seats in Elevate Aviation Learning Centre's programs, which will prepare more Albertans for high-demand aviation jobs like aircraft maintenance, ground crew, drone operations, and more. Elevate Aviation is an established non-profit training provider that provides skills development and career exploration services or women at their training centres.
“Alberta is well-positioned to be Canada’s next aviation hub. By fostering the development of the infrastructure and workforce our province needs, we are opening the doors to the world," Minister of Jobs, Economy, and Northern Development Brian Jean said.
This investment is one of many the province has made into the aviation industry, as an additional $11 million over the next three years has been invested to additional aviation worker training, including:
- $6 million to support Mount Royal University's new bachelor of aviation management program
- $4.5 million into $10 000 student bursaries
- $500 000 to support an aviation centre of excellence.
Located between Strathmore and Chestermere between Range Roads 264 and 265, the De Havilland aircraft manufacturing and maintenance plant is expected to take 10-15 years to fully open, with construction projected to begin in 2024. The first building is expected to be finished in 2025.
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