Even though councillors may have had some reservations about taking up precious space in the Kitimat Northwest Community College Campus, the community/industry/education liaison for the campus is thrilled with their choice.
In fact having council move their meetings to a classroom in their building is something he has been working towards for months now and their presence will not only not hinder their programs but actually improve them, said the college’s John Ross.
“We see it as an enhancement to our college,” said Ross.
Public administration is one of the courses being offered at the campus now and he said such a move improves the quality of education.
“With council being there we actually have a real chamber for these students to get experience in. It’s wonderful,” he said.
He added, “It’s definitely not going to detract from any programming in the Kitimat campus. We find it a very beneficial relationship.”
Further to that, Ross said the biggest bonus for him out of this deal is that it proves to the community that he’s serious about improving the local campus.
Ross said he’s working to find a partner to open a millwright shop in Kitimat for locally-based training as well.
“We had gotten a grant to buy this equipment but we don’t have any space for it,” he said.
He’s talking to several industries in the community on this subject.
He noted that while there is a trades shop based in Terrace, that’s not what they’re trying to do for local training.
“The idea is to bring education to Kitimat, for Kitimat,” he said.
He said there’s a lot of training and education programs down the road for the campus that the college is excited about.
Other plans include professional driving courses, air brake programs, first aid, some university courses and upgrading courses.
“It’s heading down the road we want it to. We want it to be a centre of learning excellence in Kitimat.”