A new Pathway to Certification for Trades course will be co-delivered with NAIT on its downtown Edmonton campus, pictured here (image courtesy NAIT)
(Victoria, B.C. – Wednesday, August 24, 2022)
A new educational partnership with the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) will expand in-person course delivery options for the Pathway to Certification for Trades courses in the western Canada while filling a significant gap in the high-performance building industry. Passive House Construction Training Course for Trades – Theoretical & Practical, will be held on NAIT’s Main Campus, located in Edmonton, Alberta.
The partnership opens another significant venue for both theoretical and hands-on training in the western province and fulfills a training need in that region of Canada. While there are significant numbers of Passive House-certified builders in British Columbia (the highest in the country), Alberta is a growth region for high performance buildings and training.
Importantly, the course will also begin to address a significant gap in the high-performance construction industry: the need for greater numbers of skilled trades educated in this building standard.
“Our biggest gap now is trades,” says Passive House Canada senior manager, Luiz Bezerra. “We train six to seven times less tradespeople compared to architects and designers, so it’s important that we’re partnering with polytechnics like NAIT to fill this gap,” he adds.
The partnership illustrates the growing importance of the high-performance building market within the technical education sector.
The course will provide instruction on Passive House building techniques with a focus on high performance, net-zero construction. Learners will also receive hands-on instruction with Passive House design tools enabling them to implement design details.
“I am beyond pleased with our newfound partnership with NAIT, one of the most established and reputable hubs for vocational training in Canada. Partnerships with well-known institutions such as NAIT are essential to Passive House Canada’s mission to increase capacity in building Passive House across Canada and beyond,” said Chris Ballard, chief executive officer of Passive House Canada.
“NAIT is proud to lead the industry in training skilled tradespersons in cutting-edge building techniques. Homeowners in Alberta are no longer satisfied with the minimum code standard. With inflation impacting all areas of personal finances, reducing utility bills and decreasing lifecycle home-ownership costs is more important than ever. Passive House’s high-performance standards achieve this objective and NAIT is pleased to be partnered with them,” says Scott Worthing, portfolio manager of Sustainable Development & Advanced Manufacturing, NAIT.
The in-person course is open to the entire trades community. Registration is now open.
For this first course offering, students will register via the Passive House Canada course registration system.
For more information on this course, information on how to register, or to receive information on Passive House Canada’ other course offerings, please contact Caroline Thibault: [email protected]
ABOUT THE NORTHERN ALBERTA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY (NAIT)
The Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) is a leading Canadian polytechnic, delivering education in science, technology and the environment; business; health and skilled trades. With over 34,000 credit and non-credit students and a 98 per cent employer satisfaction rate, NAIT grads help fuel the economic engine of the province. NAIT also contributes to Alberta’s prosperity by helping businesses and communities become more competitive through industry-driven research and corporate training. Recognized as one of Alberta’s top employers, NAIT provides outstanding returns on investment for its graduates, industry partners, the provincial government and the people of Alberta.
ABOUT PASSIVE HOUSE CANADA
Passive House Canada is a national non-profit professional association that advocates for and educates on the Passive House high-performance building standard. Our mission is to make the International Passive House standard of building performance understood, achievable, and adopted by government, industry, professionals, and the public around the world through education, advocacy, events, and building projects as a proven tool to mitigate the climate crisis.
Recognized by the United Nations as the optimal way to build healthy, climate-resilient, affordable, and energy-efficient residential, institutional, and commercial buildings through all stages of design, construction, and livability, Passive House sharply reduces greenhouse gas emissions and provides resilient, future-proof structures that can withstand extreme weather related to climate change.
