Residents interested in pursuing specialized educational opportunities in a variety of disciplines will have a chance to obtain training right here at home.
Following extensive discussions and planning, a post-secondary presence has been established in Sundre by Campus Alberta Central (CAC), which acts as the regional rural education service partnership between Red Deer College and Olds College, said a press release.
“This process has actually kind of been underway all over Central Alberta for a while,” said Iaian Park, business development manager for Red Deer College’s school of continuing education.
Similar initiatives have already been established in Drumheller, Ponoka, Rocky Mountain House and Stettler, he said during a visit to Sundre last week.
“In partnership with Olds College, we’re trying to get out to communities so people don’t have to travel to receive training.”
He said in a province like Alberta, which is no stranger to potentially deadly winter storms, having to drive to somewhere like Calgary or Red Deer from Sundre can for some people present a major roadblock on their path to pursuing post-secondary education.
“That might be a detriment to people,” he said.
Having local training opportunities also benefits business owners, who are not faced with the cost of lost man-hours as well as additional expenses such as accommodations and food when sending staff out of town to receive training in certain fields, he added.
“There’s a huge advantage to having it locally versus always having to travel to receive education,” he said.
“It’s easier, it’s closer to home, and more convenient for people.”
Courses could be a combination that includes video conferencing or online learning, face-to-face lessons with instructors, and also on-site job training, he said.
“It’s more flexible and gives people more options as well.”
From management skills and leadership development to administrative positions as well as computer technology and social media, there are a wide variety of potential options for people seeking to pick up their educational career, he said.
“There might be an opportunity to do a pre-trades training,” he said, adding industry partners such as Sundre Forest Products can help provide opportunities for such courses.
“Obviously we have our shops at the college, but if you can find a partner, there could be opportunities for pre-trades,” he said, later adding the successful completion of such a program would earn students a certificate.
Providing options for people pursuing a path in medicine have also been popular elsewhere, he said.
“We’ve run two or three health-care aide programs in Drumheller, Stettler, Rocky Mountain House, so people don’t have to travel into Red Deer to take those. Those are for jobs in health care, which are booming,” he said.
“Now you can take that education in your community and likely take your practicum also in your community and probably have a greater chance of finding work as a result of that.”
Anyone interested in learning more or signing up for a program can contact Campus Alberta Central’s general inquiries line at 403-823-8300. Alternatively, people can call Jon Allan, Sundre's economic development officer, by reaching the municipal office at 403-638-3551, and he will be able to refer them in the right direction.
The in-class courses will be offered at the Sundre Community Centre boardroom. Although programs that will be available — as well as corresponding schedules — have yet to be decided, discussions have been underway with industry partners to determine what options would be most beneficial to the community, reads a Town of Sundre press release.
Once courses are introduced, they will be taught either through Campus Alberta Central, Olds College or Red Deer College, reads the press release.
“The establishment of a post-secondary learning centre will not only bring about local workforce development, but will also in turn increase investment within the community,” said Allan, adding that demand will determine what programs are delivered.
“Courses will be provided on an as-needed basis,” he said.
Park said the initiative is still getting off the ground when asked whether there had already been any expressions of interest for specific courses. He said as word spreads, people seeking courses will drive the demand, he said.
“In our case, for Red Deer College, if people were to connect with us and they want to receive training through continuing education, we have open enrolment programs that will run in these centres now,” he said.
“We’ll send the instructors out and all of the learning will happen here. If there’s a demand for a particular program and we can fill it, then we can look at ways of how that’ll work with the space that’s here.”
