Construction begins on Durham College’s
Whitby campus Phase IV expansion
Ontario Construction Report staff writer
Durham College’s Whitby Campus
recently celebrated the start of con-
struction on its Phase IV expansion -
designed to shine a spotlight on
skilled trades training, innovation and
education. Along with college staff, students
and community members, Member
of Parliament for Whitby, Ryan Turn-
bull; Member of Provincial Parlia-
ment, Lorne Coe; John Henry, chair
for the Regional Municipality of
Durham; and Whitby Deputy Mayor
Steve Yamada held a ground-breaking
ceremony in January.
Yamada, along with Durham Col-
lege president Don Lovisa, spoke
about the challenges currently facing
skilled trades.
“The college continuously hears
from its partners that they need more
skilled workers and would like new
programs developed to focus on
emerging industries,” Lovisa said.
“Yet in spite of our current efforts,
the ability to keep up with the de-
mand remains a challenge due to the
physical space constraints at the
Whitby campus. For example, the
student population has increased by
130 per cent in the past 10 years.”
Given the skilled labour shortage
at the regional, provincial and national
level, the timing of this new project
could not be better. Colleges Ontario
forecasts that by 2030 the province
will face a skilled labour shortage of
more than 500,000 workers.
When it comes to skilled trades at
the college, data from the last
three years was recently stud-
ied, looking at seats available
compared to applications for
nine trades programs. It was
found there were approxi-
mately 2,400 seats available,
yet the college received approx-
imately 7,000 applications for
these programs.
To address this demand, the
college has been undertaking
development and diversification in
Whitby since 2009. Phase IV will re-
sult in a 60,000 square-foot expan-
sion, allowing Durham to increase its
student intake in Whitby by 700 to
750 over three to five years.
“More space will allow the college
to focus on high-priority industries –
Durham College’s post-
secondary Electrical Engineering
Technician, Electrical
Techniques, Mechanical Technician –
Elevating Devices and Mechanical
Techniques – Plumbing programs, as
well as the Electrician – Construction
and Maintenance, Elevating Devices
Mechanic and Plumber apprentice-
ship programs,” said Rebecca Mil-
burn, executive dean of the School of
Skilled Trades, Apprenticeship and
Renewable Technology and principal
at the Whitby campus.
“Once complete, this expansion
will significantly increase OUR’s in-
dustrial skilled trades training capac-
ity, while also creating more
opportunities to participate in applied
research projects to advance innova-
tion and knowledge.”
The following are some of the
unique features of the expansion:
• A double-height shop lab to ad-
dress the specialized needs of
both the mechanical and construc-
tion programs. Home to a two-
storey building model, the lab will
allow plumbing students to work
underneath it while elevating de-
vices students will be able to work
in an easily accessible dual-level
elevator shaft.
• Classrooms with moveable walls
and furniture to accommodate var-
ious configurations.
• Training labs with dedicated space
and equipment for a range of post-
secondary and apprenticeship pro-
grams. • Student touchdown spaces.
• A fitness centre.
• A food services facility.
The Town of Whitby con-
tributed $1 million over five years
to support construction. A Build-
ing for Skills capital campaign
will also be launched shortly to
generate additional donations.
More information about the
Phase IV expansion, as well as
construction progress updates
can be found at www.durham-
college.ca/skills. The Ontario Construction Report – FEBRUARY 2020 – PAGE 5