24 September 2015

The Airpole Centre of Expertise in Airport Security has been officially launched. Located at the Sherbrooke airport, it will provide integration, instruction, training, and innovation services to key players in the airport industry.

A first agreement has already been concluded with the renowned International Air Transport Association (IATA) to deliver a training program in both English and French, starting in spring 2016.

Bernard Sévigny, Sherbrooke Mayor, Josée Fortin, Sherbrooke Innopole General Director, Ivica Kovacic, Training Business Development at International Air Transport Association , Bernard Ricard,Alerte Corporation President and CLD du Haut-Saint-François Deputy Director, and Robert Roy, East Angus Mayor.

A one-of-a-kind project in North America, Airpole will eventually have three business units: CENFOR, a centre for hands-on training and instruction; CIT, a centre for integrating and testing technologies and equipment designed to improve safety and security in the airport industry; and VI, which will serve as an industrial showcase.

The Centre will thus seek to foster the emergence of new technologies and efficient protocol measures.

Investments totaling nearly $22 million over the next five years will be required to set up this centre of expertise. The first phase of the work, which involves investments of $14.5 million, is scheduled to begin in spring 2016.

Construction will generate an estimated $14.6 million in economic spinoffs, including $10 million in direct impacts, and will also create or maintain 187 jobs in Québec. The Centre’s operations are expected to create or maintain 986 jobs over 10 years, including 840 in the region.

The project, originally known as “Alerte,” has brought together several regional players, including the Haut-Saint-François and Sherbrooke MRCs, Sherbrooke Innopole, the CLD du Haut-Saint-François (Local Development Centre), the Université de Sherbrooke, and the Cégep de Sherbrooke.

It should be pointed out that the Centre of Expertise project is independent of, yet complementary to the development of passenger air transportation services.

Source : Airpole