Alberta will spend more than $148 million over three years to create nearly 8,000 new post-secondary spaces in programs aimed at filling high-demand jobs across the province.The funding, announced through the third round of the province's Targeted Enrolment Expansion program, will increase spaces in health care, education, engineering, technology, early learning and skilled trades programs.The latest funding comes on top of almost $313 million provided through the first two rounds of the program, which the province says will create more than 15,000 funded spaces.“When students succeed, Alberta succeeds,” Advanced Education Minister Myles McDougall said.“That’s why our government is making the largest targeted investment in post-secondary expansion in Alberta’s history. This nearly $150 million commitment will create more spaces in the programs students want and employers need.”McDougall said the expansion is intended to help produce more nurses, paramedics, teachers, engineers and other skilled workers as Alberta's population and economy grow.Of the nearly 8,000 new spaces, almost 1,000 will be in nursing programs, more than 150 will be dedicated to paramedicine and more than 750 will be added in engineering.The University of Alberta will receive additional spaces in science and health sciences, French-language education at Campus Saint-Jean and liberal arts and sciences at Augustana Campus.“With new spaces in high-demand programs, including multiple science and health science programs, French-language education at Campus Saint-Jean and the liberal arts and sciences at Augustana, we are ensuring learners in every part of this province have the opportunity for a world-class education here at the University of Alberta,” said university president and vice-chancellor Bill Flanagan..Northern Alberta Institute of Technology president and CEO Laura Jo Gunter said increasing enrolment in high-demand programs will give more students access to training needed by employers.“This investment expands opportunities for students, supports innovation and helps build the highly skilled workforce that will drive Alberta’s future prosperity,” she said.More than $15 million of the funding will be used to create nearly 1,000 additional spaces in teacher education programs over three years.Those spaces will include bachelor of education programs, after-degree programs and Alberta's new expedited teaching certificate pathway.The province said the expansion is intended to help school boards recruit enough qualified teachers as kindergarten to Grade 12 enrolment continues to increase.“These new spaces will address kindergarten to Grade 12 enrolment pressures by helping public, catholic and francophone school boards recruit qualified educators,” Alberta School Boards Association president Shali Baziuk said.Post-secondary institutions submitted proposals identifying programs they wanted expanded. The province said funding decisions were based on student and workforce demand, costs, institutional capacity and alignment with Alberta's workforce priorities.The new spaces are intended for domestic students and are expected to be available by 2028-29.Students admitted through the expanded programs will still be required to pay applicable tuition and fees, with admission requirements and application timelines varying by institution.
