Cappa College expands trades training for local students

There is a new local source of people who will enter the workforce through programs being offered under the roof of Fort Erie International Academy (FEIA), a private boarding school that has been operating out of the former Fort Erie Secondary School since 2019.

In 2023, Sheridan College at CCTT (Canadian of Technology and Trades) opened at the site and has been training hundreds of international students to be ready for jobs in the trades.

And on Thursday, a ribbon cutting ceremony was held to celebrate another entity in the building, Cappa College.

Since February, hair and esthetics students have been getting educated in the beautification field, and starting in September, the first cohort of Cappa College students will be enrolled in industrial programs like welding, tool and die, and machinery.

Cappa College was founded in St. Catharines about 40 years ago but has since relocated to the Fort Erie site.

Sheridan at CCTT is for international students, but Cappa College will be focused on domestic students, campus director Andrew Liu told Fort Erie Radio in an interview at Thursday’s ribbon cutting ceremony.

In 2024, changes to Canadian immigration rules were implemented, resulting in a cap on the number of international study permits issued.

By opening the door to domestic students, it will increase the number of people who can enter the trades.

“Industry is constantly telling us they need talent,” said Liu.

“The programs that are out there now are not giving them the numbers they need and the quality they need,” he added.

The hair and esthetics program is nine months, while the trades programs starting in September are three and four months long.

Liu described the hub of schools as “separate organizations sharing the same space.”

Mayor Wayne Redekop was one of a number of elected officials who brought congratulations to Cappa College at Thursday’s event.

“These are the days that make it a wonderful experience to be the mayor of a community,” he said.

Redekop said the town has had a great relationship with FEIA since day one, and that many “wonderful things” have happened and are continuing to happen at the site.

“The sky is the limit,” he said.

Also in attendance were Regional Councillor Tom Insinna, MPP Wayne Gates, Councillor George McDermott, and a representative from MP Fred Davies’ office.

Select programs at Cappa College have been approved for OSAP funding, reads a memo about Thursday’s event.

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