Ontario Power Generation invests $10 million in education to help meet the growing need for energy specialists

[Oshawa]: Recognizing the growing need for a new generation of energy specialists to power the province, and continuing a long-standing partnership in education with the University of Ontario Institute of Technology, and Durham College, Ontario Power Generation today announced a $10-million investment in education.

The funding, to be provided in $2-million installments annually over a five-year period, will help Ontario's newest university provide students with the latest learning technologies and high-end labs to acquire the skills needed in the workplace of the future. The 'Ontario Power Generation Engineering Building' has been named in recognition of this investment.

"Over the next decade, Ontario Power Generation will be challenged with helping the Province meet an ever-growing need for electricity at the very same time we experience as much as 50 per cent attrition in our skilled workforce due to retirements," says OPG President Jim Hankinson. "This investment is an integral part of our succession plan to ensure we have the best-prepared candidates available to replenish our knowledge-based, skilled workforce."

The $10-million investment in Ontario's newest university, located in the heart of Durham Region, where two of OPG's nuclear facilities are located, adds to other partnership initiatives already undertaken between OPG, UOIT and Durham College as well as with institutions across the province. Combined, these initiatives ensure the brightest candidates are trained to lead the energy industry into the next generation.

"Today's students truly are tomorrow's leaders and it is up to us as an institution and a community to ensure they have the resources and training they require to meet the challenges of our ever-evolving workplace," says Dr. Gary Polonsky, president of UOIT and Durham College. "OPG is helping to make that happen through this financial contribution, through the mentoring and placement opportunities it provides students, and through continued partnerships."

For more information contact:

Jacquie McInnes
Ontario Power Generation (905) 623-6670 ext. 3450

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