Students in Holland College’s Project Management Post-Graduate certificate program are getting hands-on experience working alongside 720 Solutions on the Canadian Mental Health Association’s new affordable housing project. 

The 28-unit building is the first modular construction project to be built on Prince Edward Island. Construction of the units began in New Brunswick. The finished units were then shipped to Charlottetown to assemble the four-storey complex at its final location on Fitzroy St.  

The project is managed by 720 Solutions, an expert in modular housing.

“This was an exciting opportunity for me to experience how a multi-organization project team can work together and communicate updates efficiently towards their common objective,” says Project Management student, Matthew Doucette.

“The project team opened their doors to us and allowed us to really take part in this project management experience and see how modular housing projects can not only be completed quickly but also effectively while working as a respectful high-functioning team.” 

The project was timed perfectly for the first cohort of students in the newly established Project Management Program.

“The students are involved in all phases of the planning and construction,” said Pat Uptegrove, an instructor for the Project Management program. “They are expected to develop all the documentation a project manager would produce, attend meetings, go on-site visits, and at the end of the semester, they produced a capstone project from all of their work.” 

The opportunity to participate in such a comprehensive way is possible because of the generosity of the Canadian Mental Health Society and 720 Solutions. 

"We were eager to have the Holland College post-grad Project Management students on board for our 203 Fitzroy Street project,” says Executive Director of CMHA PEI, Shelley Muzika.

“Providing them the opportunity for hands-on learning was important to us and our partners because we felt it would allow them the chance to gain new and exciting knowledge and skills for their futures through this first-time modular project here in Charlottetown."  

Craning at the Fitzroy St. location began just one day before students presented their capstone seminar on the project. Students were on site to see the first units lifted into place on the building’s foundation. 

“It’s been great to see the students and educators participating in weekly meetings and for them to witness alternative construction methods first,” said Craig Mitchell, 720 Solutions Pre-Construction Design Leader.

“It’s programs like this that expose students to the current trends in construction with practical learning opportunities that help extend the reach of modular construction and deliver employers tremendous value recruiting from institutions like Holland College.” 

The one-year Project Management post-graduate program at Holland College grounds students in the best practices and principles to successfully realize project objectives through the development of skills and knowledge to expertly initiate, plan, execute, monitor, and control projects. For more information about the program, visit hollandcollege.com, email recruitment@hollandcollege.com, or call 1-800-446-5265.