Durham College helping Durham businesses prepare for Canada's defence spending boom

Durham College says it is well-positioned to help businesses seize new opportunities from Canada's generational investment in defence spending, after college representatives attended an Invest Durham event — Building Durham Region's Defence Industrial Base — that brought together the private sector, government and post-secondary institutions, according to a college announcement published October 5.

The event's keynote speaker was Bernie Derible, Ontario's first Military and Defence Representative, a role created to promote the province's defence industry in global markets and help Ontario companies capture growing export opportunities. In his address, Derible described the moment as a 'gigantic nation-building, growth-mindset exercise,' adding that he believes 125,000 new jobs will be created nationally, with Ontario gaining 50,000 of them.

'Focusing on defence requires collaboration across sectors, and Durham College has an important role to play in supporting the skilled workforce, learning, and innovation needed to help our region respond to these emerging needs,' said DC President Dr. Elaine Popp.

Debbie McKee Demczyk, the college's Associate Vice President of Innovation and Research, said Durham College has offered research and development services to small and medium enterprises for 15 years through three research centres — the AI Hub, the Mixed Reality Capture Studio and the Centre for Cybersecurity Innovation. She added that the college's Corporate Training Services is ready to help businesses upskill and reskill their workforces to stay competitive.