Province invests $3.8M in culinary arts training facility for francophone high school students
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A new dedicated culinary arts training facility will give francophone high school students a place to learn the trade in French.
The Manitoba government announced this week that it is providing $3.8 million toward the purchase of a property at 170 Marion St. and beginning design work for its renovation.
The facility will be the first dedicated vocational education site operated by Division scolaire franco-manitobaine, and the first fully French-language culinary arts program for Grade 11 and 12 students, preparing them for work in the restaurant and service sector.
MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS
Alain Laberge (left) supperintendent of the franco-manitobaine school division, and Luc Bremault, assistant superintendent, outside 170 Marion St., where design work is beginning on a new French-language culinary arts facility.
“French-language education is a fundamental part of Manitoba’s identity and strength,” Education Minister Tracy Schmidt said in a news release. “It is an exciting step that will help strengthen both the francophone community and our skilled workforce.”
Bernard Lesage, president of the division’s school board, said the project is part of an effort to broaden DSFM’s trades programs and apprenticeship pathways.
The division currently purchases trades training from several institutions, including Louis Riel Arts and Technology Centre, the Red River Technical Vocational Area and other colleges, and those programs are offered in English only.
The decision to prioritize the culinary arts over other trades was based on surveys from students and parents over several years, Luc Brémault, deputy director general of DSFM, said Friday.
He said employers have also identified a need for French-language service in restaurants and related businesses.
The division is aiming to open the program in a year from now, Brémault said.
Students from DSFM high schools in Winnipeg and other communities will be able to attend.
The building is also expected to house the division’s adult education centre, which would move from Collège Louis-Riel.
Brémault said the adult program has grown from about a dozen students to more than 200 over the past decade and that the move would allow DSFM to offer daytime courses to adults seeking a Grade 12 equivalency or additional credits.
The province said the adult education centre’s relocation and expansion is supported through a federal-provincial agreement on minority-language education and second-language instruction.
Under the four-year agreement, Ottawa is contributing $18 million annually to French-language education in Manitoba, including education for francophones living outside Quebec and French-as-a-second-language programs.
The budget for the completion of the centre is yet to be determined.
kelly.riess@freepress.mb.ca