Reflections from the 2025 Polytechnics Showcase
A first impression of Winnipeg
Every year, Polytechnics Canada puts together a showcase to demonstrate innovation and strides in training for tradespeople across Canada. This year, their showcase took place at Red River College (RRC) in Winnipeg, Manitoba. This being my first time in Winnipeg, I was struck by the unique and distinct architecture that gives the city its sense of place and culture. I was also taken by the works of public art throughout the city that reflected its foundational role in Canadian history and the fact that Winnipeg has the largest urban population of Indigenous peoples in Canada. These observations of the city reflected much of what I experienced at the showcase: a sense of place, the uniqueness of the trades, and a culture of creativity that informed much of the work showcased.
Every year, Polytechnics Canada puts together a showcase to demonstrate innovation and strides in training for tradespeople across Canada. This year, their showcase took place at Red River College (RRC) in Winnipeg, Manitoba. This being my first time in Winnipeg, I was struck by the unique and distinct architecture that gives the city its sense of place and culture. I was also taken by the works of public art throughout the city that reflected its foundational role in Canadian history and the fact that Winnipeg has the largest urban population of Indigenous peoples in Canada. These observations of the city reflected much of what I experienced at the showcase: a sense of place, the uniqueness of the trades, and a culture of creativity that informed much of the work showcased.
Indigenization in practice
After a reception the evening prior at Jane’s—where we had some excellent food prepared by RRC’s culinary students—we congregated at the RRC campus. The architecture, along with the building and meeting spaces were inspired by Indigenous design, allowing me to fully realize what true Indigenization in a post-secondary campus can look like. With spaces illuminated by natural light and rooms designed to reflect indigenous culture and practices, like smudging, the space not only acknowledged Indigenous culture, but felt truly embedded into the very structure of the building itself.
Indigenization in practice
After a reception the evening prior at Jane’s—where we had some excellent food prepared by RRC’s culinary students—we congregated at the RRC campus. The architecture, along with the building and meeting spaces were inspired by Indigenous design, allowing me to fully realize what true Indigenization in a post-secondary campus can look like. With spaces illuminated by natural light and rooms designed to reflect indigenous culture and practices, like smudging, the space not only acknowledged Indigenous culture, but felt truly embedded into the very structure of the building itself.
Truth and reconciliation in action
The role of Indigenous people in Winnipeg and Canada’s history and the importance of meaningfully working with Indigenous people to boost Canada’s trades and apprenticeship system were a key takeaway from this conference. From the deeply inspiring call to action keynote by Dr. Niigaan Sinclair to sessions that demonstrated successful and intentional partnerships with Indigenous peoples, the showcase helped to demonstrate what Truth and Reconciliation can look like in practice. Equity and access are part of LMIC’s mandate, and as we look to the future, we will work to improve acknowledging and providing information on Indigenous Data Sovereignty.
Highlights from the Showcase sessions
Several sessions also left a lasting impression with me, even weeks later. A first was KPU’s session Finding Your Niche in a Crowded PSE Market, which detailed the journey of getting Traditional Chinese Medicine accredited and recognized. This presentation highlighted the deep challenges on the road to accreditation, which can be idiosyncratic, difficult to navigate, and at times, political. As the labour market continues to change and new occupations emerge, this example could serve as a case study for other accreditation-aspiring occupations and their complementary training programs. LMIC is working on providing clarity on accreditation that can help the sector understand this currently difficult-to-navigate system.
Another session that left me buzzing was Powering BC’s Workforce: EV Technician Training at BCIT’s School of Transportation. Just like KPU’s presentation demonstrated how to acknowledge a new and emerging occupation through accreditation, BCIT showed how transformation can happen within an existing program. BCIT has fully embraced innovation in classroom teaching, bringing a cutting-edge approach to solving a real, practical challenge of developing best practices for electric vehicle battery repairs. Using state-of –the-art facilities and a truly creative approach to problem-solving, their work highlights how applying real life challenges in industry to education training can produce results. As LMIC explores the future of work and the green economy, understanding how new skills can transform existing program training and occupations will be key for a workforce strategy that meets the demands of the future.
Finally, one of the most inspiring presentations of the conference came from Conestoga: Bolstering the Skilled Trades, which highlighted the efforts of the college to take access into practice to help drive interest and innovation in the trades. From exoskeletons to making lifting heavy materials easier to designing PPE that fits the faces and bodies of different types of people, Conestoga has taken an approach of meeting people where they are to encourage growth in trades enrollment. With an approach centred on the practical application of equity-based principles, they have sought to address perception barriers around the trades for women, for example. What was impressive about this presentation was the practical application of these principles in novel, creative and exciting ways. LMIC frequently hears challenges about the perception of the trades and challenges in recruiting youth and will be launching work to address this issue. This presentation offered an inspiring and creative approach to how we can think about promoting the trades, especially as we seek to address critical labour shortages.
Final thoughts
The presentations and discussion at the Polytechnics Showcase left me feeling hopeful and inspired about the future of the trades and how they can address key challenges Canada faces in the future, from Truth and Reconciliation, labour shortages, climate change, automation and the future of work. It will no doubt inspire our next steps as we conduct work in these areas.
I would be remiss not to acknowledge the amazing team at Polytechnics Canada and the folks at RRC. The Polytechnics Canada team put together a seamless, thoughtful experience for attendees that both gave reverence to the space we gathered and a forward-looking agenda that left me inspired and motivated. I was also impressed by the dedicated time and space that allowed for making genuine connections and deep conversations. It’s clear the team cares deeply about the work they do, each other, and the people they brought together for this showcase.