Колледж Ламбтон запускает программу финансовой поддержки для привлечения коренных студентов

Indigenous support program could help boost Lambton College enrollment Article content Lambton College is hoping incentives for Indigenous students will help enrollment at the Sarnia school, and bolster a floundering program. The college recently announced financial, housing and other supports for Indigenous students through national charity Indspire. Recommended Videos Eligible students who apply for Lambton’s two-year environmental technician, water treatment operations program can receive up to $34,000 in tuition, housing, transportation, equipment and other supports, said Dave Machacek, Lambton’s senior vice-president of academic, research, and student success. “It’s a unique approach that we’re trying to take here, to really build enough support so that we can get cohorts of Indigenous students coming through this program, to enable them to learn the skills and the knowledge they require for treating water, and making sure we have good sources of water,” he said. Indspire provides bursaries for Indigenous students, but hasn’t provided program-specific funding before, he said. “We are grateful to Lambton for embarking on this journey with us, and we look forward to welcoming the first cohort,” said Jocelyn Formsma, Indspire’s president and chief executive in a news release. The water treatment operations program has been offered at Lambton since 2016, and focuses on water treatment, wastewater operations and environmental services, Machacek said. Making it a focus for Indspire supports seemed like a good fit, he said. “There is a lot of demand” in Ontario for workers in the oft-overlooked career path, he said. “There’s a lot of concern that a lot of the municipal water operators are at retirement age, so this is actually a critical need.” Lambton, meanwhile, suspended its program last fall because there wasn’t enough enrollment, he said. After significant recruitment efforts and awareness-building, intake reopened for fall 2026, and the program is about half full with 25 students, he said. “That’s just enough to offer it,” Machacek said. Lambton is focusing on recruitment for 2027 with the Indspire supports, but students who qualify can still apply now, he said. Boosting college enrollment overall is also key, in the wake of heightened international student restrictions, he said. “It is part of what we’re trying to do to continue to serve this community.” Fall 2023 enrollment was 5,100 in Sarnia, whereas projected enrollment this fall is 2,900. The college’s budget is also expected to be $7.5 million in the red. In fall 2025, 179 Indigenous students were enrolled, compared to 131 in 2021, Machacek said, noting domestic enrollment also jumped to 2,473 from 1,965 over that same four-year span. Only one student in the water treatment program over that span identified as Indigenous, he said. “So the hope is that this type of opportunity will be able to encourage and bring down some of the barriers, to allow more Indigenous students to learn about safe water operations.” Lambton recently unveiled an $8 million Indigenous Outdoor Space and offers other Indigenous student supports, he said. “We do a lot of work for all of our Indigenous students to support their needs,” he said. “We have an Indigenous learning centre and they work to build a sense of community within our community for Indigenous students.”