Confederation College cannot keep up with the demand for skilled labour in the region.
President Jim Madder said the more people who can be trained, the better off all of Northwestern Ontario will be.
"I can't right now produce enough people in trades and technologies and whole bunch of different areas," he said Thursday while at the Fort William First Nation.
It's one of the reasons the college and Fort William First Nation signed a memorandum of understanding that will partner the two in order to meet the demand.
"Sharing training opportunities and growing training opportunities specifically for the Fort William First Nation but perhaps down the road other Robinson Superior First Nations."
Specifics haven't been developed yet but Madder said partnering together is the first step in order to find funding from government and industry. It's all about hands-on learning for everything from trades to business.
"This is just step number one to a long journey," Chief Georjann Morriseau said.
She's hoping that other communities in the region will see the benefits of partnering with the college for not only meaningful employment opportunities but self-fulfillment.
"They can look at Fort William as a role model or an example of what community success can look like," she said.
