Previous TVET and Corporate Projects

Previous TVET Corporate Projects

Cultivating Skills For Employment and Growth in Cuba

global affairs canada logo

Cultivating Skills For Employment and Growth in Cuba

Client: Global Affairs Canada

Years: 2011-2016

Country/Region: Cuba

Expertise: Develop Skills to international Standards in Energy and Mines

Key Topics: Machining, Instrumentation, Power Engineering, Pipefitter/Steamfitter, Supervision, Information Technology, Renewable Energy, Industrial Radiology, TVET Management and Leadership

Contact: Eduardo Jimenez Trinidad

The project contributed to the increased competitiveness of Cuban female and male workers by implementing a national training strategy that focused on industrial and vocational training to a skilled workforce that, in turn, attracted investment and growth. It cultivated a skilled and competitive labour force, inclusive of women, that meets international standards of competency.

Key Objective

Strengthen the technical capacity of workers within the Ministry of Energy and Mines through various initiatives designed to help modernize the Cuban economy, which has helped to develop the foundation of the Cuban post-secondary vocational training system.

Key Outcomes

  • A strengthened and results-oriented Ministry of Energy and Mines with improved capacity to deliver a national vocational training program;
  • Outcomes-based technical training that reflects international standards;
  • Increased capacity of MINEM to train and certify Cubans within its industrial certification systems;
  • Introduction of new training programs and specializations reflecting existing and anticipated requirements for investment and growth;
  • Introduction of technologies (including ICT) that reflect modern requirements; and
Increased access of women to gender-sensitive training in trades and technology.

Centre for National Industrial Certification (from Spanish CNCI II)

global affairs canada logo

Centre For National Industrial Certification

Client: Global Affairs Canada

Years: 2006-2010

Country/Region: Cuba

Expertise: Strengthen TVET institutions

Key Topics: Power Systems Electrician, Electrician, Instrumentation, Industrial Mechanic

Contact: Eduardo Jimenez Trinidad

CNCI II was critical to the implementation of the industrial strategy in Cuba.  It allowed the consolidation of the first phase and extension of internationally recognized certification processes to other areas of industry, including supervisory functions.

Key Objectives

  •  Accelerate the rate of industrial certification processes to international standards.
  • Adoption of new approach in the industry, by including concepts such as productivity, efficiency, health and safety, and sustainable practices.

Key Outcomes

  • Strengthen the institutions working with certified workers (CNCI, Dirección de Certificación de Obreros (DCO), and Dirección de Certificación Industrial (DCI)).
  • Provided human resource development (HRD), worker and industrial certification (DCO and DCI), and performance monitoring to internationally recognized levels in order to modernize economic institutions and contribute to economic and social development within the nation.

Corporate Training

Weyerhaeuser Maintenance Training Programs

Weyerhaeuser logo

Weyerhaeuser Maintenance Training Programs

Client: Weyerhaeuser

Years: 2008-ongoing

Country/Region: USA

Expertise: Maintenance of Sawmills and Lumber Mills

Key Topics: Millwright, Machining, Electrician

Contact: Ademola Adeosun

Weyerhaeuser is among the world’s largest lumber producers which is also recurrently awarded for its sustainability, diversity, and integrity. Efficient maintenance of its mills is considered an integral aspect of its operations which requires a highly skilled millwright workforce. Since 2008, NAIT has developed practical training programs customized to Weyerhaeuser’s needs which have been successfully delivered to dozens of cohorts of electrical and mechanical maintenance workers from mills across the USA. The ongoing training programs include online distance delivery of theory complemented by practical industrial shop training at NAIT’s state of the art millwright training center. These ongoing training programs have had a considerable impact increasing safety standards and helping to improve mill productivity while reducing equipment downtime and maintenance costs.

Project Goals/Objectives

  • Improving maintenance workers technical knowledge and skills.

  • Standardizing work procedures.

  • Upkeeping safety standards.

  • Enhancing plant productivity by reducing equipment downtime. 

  • Increasing mill efficiency by reducing maintenance costs

Training Solutions

  • Development of customized competency-based training programs reflecting worker needs.

  • Hybrid delivery with theory taken via online platform, complemented by practical shop activities at NAIT state-of-the art millwright training centre.   

Interfor Customized Maintenance Apprenticeship Training Program

Interfor logo

Interfor Customized Maintenance Apprenticeship Training Program

Client: Interfor

Years: 2014-2019

Country/Region: USA

Expertise: Maintenance of Sawmills and Lumber Mills

Key Topics: Millwright

Contact: Ignacio Garcia

Interfor is among North America’s leading and fastest growing lumber corporations with recent acquisitions of mills which were refurbished in the US south-east. Rapid expansion combined with the introduction of new technologies resulted in the need to increase the skill levels of its maintenance workforce. A competency-based training program was developed by NAIT in 2013 where the theory was delivered online and a training shop was established in Georgia to serve as the central millwright training location for Interfor maintenance workers from across the US. Between 2014 and 2019 workers from 9 Interfor sawmills successfully completed the customized Millwright apprenticeship program which is officially recognized by the US Department of Labor.

Project Goals/Objectives

  • Improving maintenance workers technical knowledge and skills.

  • Standardizing work procedures.

  • Upholding safety standards.

  • Augmenting plant productivity by reducing equipment downtime. 

  • Increasing mill efficiency by reducing maintenance costs.

Training Solutions

  • Development of customized competency-based training programs reflecting worker requirements.

  • Hybrid delivery with theory taken via online platform, complemented by practical shop activities at Interfor training shop in Georgia, USA.

  • Obtaining certification officially recognized by the US Department of Labor.

Minas de Oro Nacional S.A. de C.V

Alamos Gold Inc logo

Minas de Oro Nacional S.A. de C.V

Country/Region: Mexico

Expertise: Maintenance of open-pit Gold mine Heavy Equipment

Key Topics: Heavy Equipment, Millwright, Electrician

Contact: Ignacio Garcia

Alamos Gold Inc. is a Canadian-based intermediate gold producer who strongly promoted training for their workforce. To facilitate a planned increase in production at their mine in Sonora Mexico, they contacted NAIT in 2011 to design and implement a comprehensive customized apprenticeship training program that was delivered locally between 2012 and 2015. In total 20 workers completed a 24-week electrician program, and 36 workers completed a 16-week millwright program, and 36 workers completed a 16-week heavy equipment maintenance program.

Project Goals/Objectives

  • Developing maintenance workers technical knowledge and skills.

  • Standardizing maintenance work procedures and improving safety standards.

  • Enhancing mine productivity by reducing equipment downtime. 

  • Increasing efficiency by reducing maintenance costs of crushing equipment, conveyor belts, heavy mobile equipment, and industrial electrical installations. 

Training Solutions

  • Development of customized competency-based training programs reflecting maintenance worker needs.

  • Design and development of technical training centre in Hermosillo, Mexico.

  • Onsite training delivery on rotational basis.

  • Interpretation/translation of training programs into Spanish.

Ghana National Petroleum Commission (GNPC)

CPI Training logo Petroleum Commission

Ghana National Petroleum Commission (GNPC)

Client: CPI Training

Years: 2019-2020

Country/Region: Ghana

Expertise: Welding

Key Topics: SMAW, FCAW, MIG, TIG

Contact: Ignacio Garcia

A selected group of 5 students completed an intense customized training program which was delivered at NAIT’s Waiward Centre For Steel Technologies. After graduating from this hands-on practical program, these students are supporting Ghana’s emerging energy sector needs for a skilled workforce.

Project Goals/Objectives

  • Sponsored by Baker Hughes in Ghana, project aimed at training local youth up to international standards to support energy sector needs for qualified technical workers.

  • Decrease need for expatriates to conduct technical work in Ghana. 

  • Support GNPC’s vision to transfer technical skills and knowledge to nationals and develop local expertise and capacity. 

Training Solutions

  • Delivery of intensive 10-month hands-on training program at NAIT’s Wayward Centre for Steel Technologies in Edmonton.

  • Prepare students towards attaining Canadian Welding Bureau (CWB) certification. 

  • Training programs successfully delivered to a group of 5 selected candidates.

Waha Oil Company Advanced Telecommunications Training Initiative

Waha Oil Company logo

Waha Oil Company Advanced Telecommunications Training Initiative

Client: Waha Oil Company

Years: 1997-2007

Country/Region: Libya

Expertise: Telecommunications

Key Topics: Wireless, Satellite, Fibre Optics, Routing, Switching, Networking

Contact: Ignacio Garcia

NAIT has been supporting Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) and worked with a dozen of its subsidiaries, including Waha Oil Company, delivering customized practical training to over 800 technical workers for decades. During a ten-year period, Waha Oil’s Telecommunications department implemented a policy where all technical personnel had to successfully complete practical training at NAIT before being eligible to advance within the organization.

Project Goals/Objectives

  • Company policy to send every telecommunications department technical worker to NAIT to increase technical skills. 

  • Standardise level of competence for all workers. 

  • Motivate employees through overseas trip to update their knowledge and skills.

Training Solutions

  • Delivery of customized 10-month hands-on training program at NAIT’s main campus in Edmonton.

  • Full student support during stay in Canada from airport pick up to departure. 

  • Prior learning assessments and crediting of past education enabling most students to achieve a NAIT Diploma in Wireless Systems Engineering Technology.

  • 36 students have completed their training at NAIT.  

Sherritt Oil and Gas / Energas Training Initiative

sherritt logo

Sherritt Oil and Gas / Energas Training Initiative

Client: Sherritt Oil & Gas

Years: 2003-2020

Country/Region: Cuba

Expertise: Industrial Maintenance

Key Topics: Millwrights, Electricians, Heavy Equipment Technicians (HET)

Contact: Ignacio Garcia

Sherritt International is a diversified energy corporation with operations around the world. Additional to the project that’s highlighted here, NAIT has also delivered customized training solutions for Sherritt at their nickel mine and refinery in Toamasina, Madagascar, and their nickel and cobalt mine in Moa, Cuba. In Varadero, Cuba, NAIT has trained dozens of workers over the years, both for their upstream oil & gas operations, as well as for their closed-loop power generation plant.

Project Goals/Objectives

  • Increase competence to perform advanced maintenance to industrial equipment of both Energas and Sherritt Oil & Gas maintenance personnel.

  • Improve safety standards.

  • Decrease servicing costs and extend equipment lifespan.

  • Develop proper troubleshooting skills among local mechanics and decrease dependence on expatriates for more complex repairs.

Training Solutions

  • Deliver series of customized training programs onsite in Cuba to groups of maintenance workers.

  • Incorporation of actual equipment and facilities into practical training. 

  • Interpretation/translation of training programs into Spanish.

  • 56 students have completed their training in Cuba.

Yangzhou Polytechnic Institute (YPI)

Yangzhou Polytechnic Institute (YPI)

Client: Yangzhou Polytechnic Institute

Years: 2017-2018

Country/Region: Yangzhou, Jiangsu, China

Expertise: Petroleum and Chemical Engineering Technology

Key Topics: Petroleum/Chemical Engineering Technology, Industry Partnership (Work Integrated Learning, Program Advisory Committee development and maintenance), Lab simulation, Instructional Design

Contact: Bernard Johnson

Goal: To train instructors according to the principles of Polytechnic pedagogy in order to develop training programs and a workforce that is responsive to local industry.

Faculty of Yangzhou Polytechnic Institute have been coming to NAIT for exposure to Petroleum and Chemical Engineering Technology instructional best practices since 2017. This 2-week training program facilitates learning for academic staff about the polytechnic approach to education: technology-based, hands-on learning that is designed in concert with industry to meet workforce demand.

Key Activities

Classroom observation including pre and postdebrief sessions with NAIT instructors.

One-on-one instruction from NAIT Instructional designers, librarians, and LMS specialists.

Guided tours at industrial partner sites and cultural attractions.

Key Outcomes

Faculty return to China with a solid understanding of the Polytechnic Educational Model with specific skills and tactics to implement in their own classrooms and institutions.​

CanAfrica Resource Consultants

CanAfrica logo

CanAfrica Resource Consultants

Client: CanAfrica Resource Consultants

Years: 2019-present (Curriculum development currently in progress)

Country/Region: Alberta, Canada

Expertise: How Western E&P evaluate and attract investment through strategic, technical and financial value creation

Key Topics: Global Oil & Gas Value chain, technical, financial and managerial value creation, Negotiation commercial opportunity in the Upstream Oil & Gas sector

Contact: Bernard Johnson

Goal: To provide a hands-on experiential learning platform, after which the participants will have a basic comprehension/ understanding/ foundation of the concepts that drive the investment decisions in the executive suites of western exploration and production (E & P) companies.

Key Activities

The NAIT instructional design team works in collaboration with the Subject Matter Expert to convert decades of experience and technical knowledge into digestible and compelling curriculum.

Key Outcomes

Stakeholders learn how to create a win-win scenario for all parties to benefit from resource development project in emerging economies.

Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region: Department of Education

Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region: Department of Education

Client: Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region: Department of Education

Years: 2009-2013

Country/Region: Guangxi, China

Expertise: Advanced Certificate in Teaching English as a Foreign / Second Language (TEFL & TESL)

Key Topics: Classroom Management; Lesson Planning and assessment; Grammar and Lexis; Reading, Writing, Listening & Speaking; Visual Aids & Technology

Contact: Bernard Johnson

Goal: To provide international students with exposure to the polytechnic educational model which provides hands-on, technical training in a Canadian context.

Throughout this course, students will learn everything from creating lesson plans, teaching the four components of language learning: listening, speaking, reading & writing, gain an understanding of different teaching methods, and more. 

Key Activities

3 weeks of intensive TEFL / TESL training taught by seasoned instructors with an advanced degree in TESOL or a related field and international teaching experience.

Guided cultural activities and visits to attractions in and around Alberta, Canada.

Key Outcomes

Hundreds of Faculty members from over 20 institutions in Guangxi province in China were sponsored by the Guangxi provincial government to complete advanced TEFL training in Edmonton, Canada over three weeks.

Collaboration Agreements

Heilongjiang University of Science and Technology (HUST)

Heilongjiang University Logo

Heilongjiang University of Science and Technology (HUST)

Client: Heilongjiang University of Science & Technology

Years: 2004-Present

Country/Region: Harbin, Heilongjiang, China

Designation/Expertise/Discipline: Digital Media and IT

Key Topics: Software Development, Business Communication, Systems Analysis & Design, Web Design

Contact: Bernard Johnson

NAIT has been delivering the Digital Media & IT (DMIT) Curriculum to Heilongjiang University of Science and Technology (HUST) students in Harbin, China since 2004. This 4+0 Collaboration Agreement allows Chinese students to work towards parchment from China and Canada simultaneously while equipping them with the practical skills currently in demand in the Chinese market.

Key Objective

To equip students with the cultural competencies and practical, industry driven skills that are in demand as the local digital economy in Northern China evolves.

Key Outcomes

As of May 2020, 1362, students have completed the program.

A natural sharing of educational approaches is achieved through cultural exchange.

Graduates enter the workforce with enhanced cultural competencies and the technical skills to make an impact immediately.

Tianjin Polytechnic University (TPU)

Tianjian Polytechnic University logo

Tianjin Polytechnic University (TPU)

Client: Tianjin Polytechnic University

Years: 2005-2010

Country/Region: Tianjin, Hebei, China

Designation/Expertise/Discipline: Bachelor of Business Administration with a Specialization in Accounting

Key Topics: Financial and Managerial Accounting; Corporate Finance; Statistics; Business Productivity Software; and more

Contact: Bernard Johnson

This 2+2 Collaboration Agreement created a pathway for Chinese students studying at Tianjin Polytechnic University to study at NAIT towards a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) with a specialization in Accounting.

Key Objective

To equip students with the cultural competencies and practical, industry driven skills that are in demand in both Alberta, Canada and China.

Key Outcomes

Hundreds of TPU students completed this program with a number of students choosing to emigrate to Canada to pursue work opportunities with Albertan employers.

A natural sharing of educational approaches is achieved through cultural exchange.

Graduates enter the workforce with enhanced cultural competencies and the technical skills to make an impact immediately in both Canada and China.


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TVET and Capacity Building

TVET Training and Capacity Building involves developing training to meet a real-world need. Build training programs that close skill gaps and increase productivity for your organization.

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