Originally established in Sudbury as Northern Welding Academy in 1999, what’s now known as the WCTR College of Trades, Technology and Health Care is branching out from welding training, as its name implies.
Director Savy Bhardwaj said he and several partners bought the career college, which is located in the Sudbury community of Hanmer, from Mike Gervais three years ago, and have plans to expand its offerings.
The original welding course has already increased from 25 graduates per year to 120 last year, and plans to boost that to 200 this school year.
WCTR has bought the rights to offer a personal support worker (PSW) course from another career college, and will enrol their first cohort when they have enough prospective students (they need eight students to get started).
It is also in the process of getting final Ministry of Education approvals for their cybersecurity analyst program, with hopes of offering that program in early 2026.
Bhardwaj said WCTR then hopes to expand its offerings by 10 programs a year, including battery technician, gas technician, HVAC technician, millwright, machinist, early childhood educator, lab technician and X-ray technician.
Bhardwaj said they’ll make use of a downtown facility as they expand. They’ve also bought land in Valley East, north of Sudbury, and in Timmins, where they also hope to operate, to build new facilities.
But for now, Bhardwaj said, along with the original welding course, it makes a lot of sense to expand into PSW and cybersecurity training.
“PSW is in big demand,” Bhardwaj said, adding that especially for international students, they need to train in an area being focused on by the government as rules tighten. He said health-care workers are badly needed, with Canada’s aging population.
In terms of cybersecurity, more and more businesses and organizations are falling victim to cyber attacks, as has been seen in Sudbury and elsewhere in Canada.
He said companies may be interested in enrolling their employees in the course to get training on securing their networks.
Other potential sources of students for WCTR are those who may have trained in another country, and need to get certification here, or middle-aged workers who have been laid off and need to retrain.
While the welding course has a tuition of around $14,000, that’s for the “full course, six months, tickets and everything,” said Bhardwaj.
An example of a worker who’s at WCTR to retrain as a welder is Quinton Martisius. Previously a chef, he decided to enrol in the 20-week program and change career directions after moving to Sudbury from Brantford.
“I moved up from southern Ontario, and there was a big need for skilled trades up here,” he said.
“I had a Red Seal already as a chef, but with COVID and everything it kind of took away from quality jobs in that industry. So I have a brother-in-law who's a boilermaker. He's been pushing me, saying ‘Hey, try it.’ I've always been interested in welding my entire life and never tried it before.
“Sept. 29 was my first day. I came in nervous, of course, but understood it pretty quickly. It's a lot of hands-on, which is how I like to learn. They kind of throw you right into it … I picked it up pretty quickly.”
If you’re interested in learning more about the WCTR College of Trades, Technology and Health Care, visit its website.
Heidi Ulrichsen is Sudbury.com’s assistant editor. She also covers education and the arts scene.