FORT MCMURRAY — Keyano College has launched a new student endowment fund with support from Bouchier and Finning Canada, a partnership the college says will expand opportunities for women and Indigenous students entering the skilled trades.
The two companies have contributed a combined fifty thousand dollars to establish the fund, which will create two annual one thousand dollar awards beginning in the twenty twenty six–twenty twenty seven academic year. One award will be reserved for a female First Nations or Métis student in a trades program, while the second will be open to any female trades student. Recipients will be chosen by trades instructors based on academic performance.
The fund includes a community tie-in to the Northern Lights Health Foundation’s Festival of Trees. Northstar Ford secured naming rights to the scholarship after placing the winning bid in the joint Finning Canada and Bouchier holiday tree auction. The awards will be known as the Northstar Ford Awards.
Dennine Giles of Northstar Ford said the initiative reflects a commitment to empowering women in the region.
Keyano’s interim president and CEO, Sandra Efu, said the endowment will help more students access training and support needed in northern Alberta’s workforce. She said the partnership promotes equity and strengthens the region by improving access to trades careers.
Bouchier CEO Nicole Bourque-Bouchier said supporting women and Indigenous students in trades programs builds stronger communities, while Finning Canada vice president Cheryl Gray said the fund will help remove barriers for the next generation of skilled workers.
The college says the endowment underscores a shared commitment to education, inclusion and workforce readiness across the Wood Buffalo region.
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