NAIT is looking at ways of coping with a $10-million budget shortfall. (nait.ca)

The Northern Alberta Institute of Technology might have to make cuts to its apprenticeship programs and lay off staff in order to cope with a $10-million budget shortfall, CBC News has learned.

The school could train as many as 1,000 fewer apprentices in the coming budget year and that could affect staff levels, according to school president Sam Shaw.

"When you look at 1,000 fewer apprentices, will there be an impact, yes," Shaw told CBC News Friday.

"How big of an impact? We're not sure."

NAIT trained more than 13,000 apprentices last year.

The school is looking to avoid layoffs, in part by asking for corporate help, Shaw said.

"If we can save some money on supplies by their donations to our programs, we need to do more of that."

A number of strategies are being considered, including stepping up NAIT's presence abroad, he said.

"If we start looking at more contracts internationally, we can take our instructors and say, 'Why don't you go down to Cuba and do the training there?'"

Modest tuition increase

Shaw said the school would not raise tuition beyond the provincially regulated 1.5 per cent and added that any student who has already received a NAIT acceptance letter will not be turned away this fall.

If Alberta's job market is only in a short-term slump, it would not make sense to cut back on programs now, he said.

"We have members from business [and] industry already saying, 'Well, there's a skill shortage and how can we meet that demand.'"

The potential cuts in the apprenticeship program had some students questioning the province's long term economic planning.

"When things pick up again, what are they going to do?" wondered heavy equipment operator apprentice Ken Jarell. "You've got to have a plan to do things right."

Alberta Minister of Advanced Education Doug Horner has said that funding has not yet been finalized for NAIT or other post-secondary schools in the province.