A local employer has joined the chorus of concerns being expressed in the wake of Fleming College’s recent decision to suspend 29 programs.
In a release posted April 30 on its website, Fraserville-based Iron Equipment — one of southern Ontario’s largest heavy equipment repair and service providers — says the “discontinuation” of the college’s Heavy Equipment Techniques and Generator Service Technician programs, in particular, will result in “the loss of a channel for skilled workers in the heavy equipment industry.”
Attributed to Iron Equipment president Jamie Molloy and service manager Kyle Irwin, the statement notes that, according to Employment and Social Development Canada, skilled tradespeople “are in demand more than ever” with some 700,000 Canadian skilled trades workers expected to retire by 2028.
“A large majority of our current technicians are graduates of Fleming College technician programs,” they add, noting a “shortage of skilled labour could potentially lead to delays in repairs, increased costs and decreased efficiency for many businesses.”
On April 23, staff and faculty of the affected programs were notified of the Fleming College board of governors’ decision to cut them.
The following day, college president Maureen Adamson, in a prepared statement, confirmed that action, referencing “significant external events that have had an adverse effect on our college.”
She pointed specifically to the federal government-imposed cap on the number of international students coming to Ontario and the elimination of educational partnerships with the private sector.
“The related significant reduction to our budget has had a profound impact on college operations,” noted Adamson.
In response, the presidents of two OPSEU/SEPFO union locals that represents Fleming faculty and staff told kawarthaNOW that the programs’ suspension “are not simply a result of the federal cap on international students,” noting the culprit is “a significant and systematic underfunding of our public post-secondary institutions by the provincial government.”
But in their statement, Molloy and Irwin write “one would question whether the decision to suspend these programs is based on fiscal returns to the college, and if the fiscal return to the community has actually been considered.”
Noting Peterborough and Kawartha Lakes “is one of the fastest growing regions in Ontario,” they write there will be an effect on the pace of local development.
“With the large increase in infrastructure, there is a great need for technicians who can keep machinery in working condition so that these projects can continue unhindered. If these projects cannot continue and are slowed down, we will very quickly see our local economy begin to give way.”
Molloy and Irwin add those from this region seeking post-secondary education and training as heavy equipment technicians will be forced to move away for programs offered at Centennial College in Scarborough, Cambrian College in Sudbury, and Boréal College in Timmins — the only other Ontario post-secondary institutions offering heavy equipment technician programs.
That, they add, may contribute to “a brain drain effect” as “talented individuals leave the region in search of suitable programs elsewhere.”
In closing, Molloy and Irwin write it is “essential for local community, industry stakeholders and government representatives to come together and explore potential solutions.”
They further suggest “collaboration involving educational institutions, industry associations and local heavy equipment and generator repair companies” to “identify alternative training programs, apprenticeship opportunities or funding sources to support the development of a skilled workforce in the heavy equipment industry.”
Meanwhile, not one but two online petitions initiated by Frost Student Action, a group of students attending Fleming’s Lindsay campus, are gaining traction.
One petition, titled ‘Reverse Program Suspensions At Fleming Frost Campus’, had, as of Thursday afternoon (May 2), collected 2,628 signatures since launching April 26. It can be found at change.org/p/reverse-program-suspensions-at-fleming-frost-campus.
The plan is to present the petition to the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, Fleming College’s board of governors, and the college’s administration.
The second petition, titled ‘Re-Instate Environmental Technician/Technologist Programs At Fleming College,’ got a later start, launching April 28 at change.org/p/re-instate-environmental-technician-technologist-programs-at-fleming-college. To date, it has seen 46 people sign and comment.
On Thursday, Iron Equipment also launched its own petition, titled ‘Reinstate Heavy Equipment and Generator Technician Courses at Fleming College’, at
change.org/p/reinstate-heavy-equipment-and-generator-technician-courses-at-fleming-college.
As for Fleming College’s response to the negative reaction to its decision to suspend the 29 programs, President Adamson wrote a memo this past Wednesday (May 1) addressed to ‘All Staff’ in response to “conjecture and misinformation regarding the recently announced decisions to suspend some program admissions for the fall of 2024.”
“Please note the following facts,” she writes in the memo, which was supplied to kawarthaNOW by a faculty member, and lists the following bullet points:
- Frost campus is NOT closing. In fact, the intention is to grow applied research at Fleming College through this campus, as well as related programs.
- Fleming continues to be among the colleges that deliver the highest number of environmental related courses in Ontario.
- Of the 29 suspended programs at Fleming for admission in fall of 2024, some have low projected domestic enrollment, others have zero projected domestic enrollment, and other programs are no longer financially sustainable with enrolment levels that do not cover the cost of delivery.
- Fleming continues to offer almost 100 programs to current and prospective students.
- Fleming College plans to grow in areas such as applied research (noted above) health care, and other programs that meet local and provincial needs.
“Any program suspension decisions rest with the authority of the Board of Governors of Fleming College,” added President Adamson, before speaking to how the board’s decision was communicated.
“Immediately following the board decision on April 23, we communicated the information to the unions. We then felt it was prudent to meet with the program faculty and program support staff to inform them of the decision and our commitment to our students through the teach-out periods. Key stakeholders were also contacted.”
Liz Mathewson, the president of OPSEU/SEPFO Local 352, which represents full-time and partial load faculty at the college, and Marcia Steeves, the president of OPSEU/SEPFO Local 351, which represents full-time and part-time college support staff, have told kawarthaNOW they were both “shocked” by the announcement of the programs’ suspension.
“Both union locals were advised only an hour prior to management’s meetings with faculty and support staff (on April 23) where they were notified of the fate of their programs,” they wrote in a statement.
“We have not seen this level of program cuts in decades and we view it as unprecedented. We fear other colleges will follow Fleming’s example, and inappropriately jump to cutting programs without engagement, transparency and collaboration.”
As for potential faculty and staff job layoffs, both union local leaders say that’s anyone’s guess at this point.
“Until the college engages with the union locals in transparent discussions and provides the full evidence used to make these decisions, we will not know the full impact to faculty,” wrote Mathewson, with Steeves adding “We cannot predict the impact to employees (but) we do know that our most precarious employees, our contract faculty, will be impacted the hardest.”
Mathewson and Steeves met with Ontario NDP leader Marit Stiles on Tuesday (April 30) during her visit to Peterborough to discuss the Fleming programs’ suspension — cuts that come less than a year after 13 programs were suspended prior to the start of the current school year.
Watch kawarthaNOW for more updates to this story as they become available.
