Northwest Community College Connections

Christines Blog - Education is a right

NOW IS the time to make your voice heard. The students union is putting on an information session and rally to stand up for the students rights. They will be addressing dropping student debt, reducing tuition fees and increasing education funding. I think its safe to assume the $2 million deficit we are facing might be on the agenda. I was told there would be pizza there, so at least if for no other reason show up for the pizza and check things out.

Where: Kiva Cafe, Terrace campus

When: 11:00am-1:00pm February 1st

Have some questions about it? Don't be shy to go and talk to Mikael Jensen, who you can find in the Cedar building, first door on the left.

Christine Leclerc is NWCC's first ever full-time student blogger! She's a second-year Business Administration student in Terrace who took part in a study exchange to China earlier this year. Over the fall and winter semesters, she'll be giving her take on student life at NWCC. We're excited to see and read her posts and encourage you - the college community - to follow along. She's looking forward to getting your feedback and maybe some inspiration, too, throughout her blogging experience. And in case you're wondering, that's her beloved English bulldog Maddox

NWCC partners with province to host BC Jobs Plan initiative

TERRACE – Northwest Community College (NWCC), in partnership with the Province of BC, hosted a cross-section of regional leaders today as part of the latter’s recently-announced BC Jobs Plan.

This purpose of this open house forum, which took place at NWCC’s Terrace Campus, is to start a dialogue among key regional stakeholders for input towards the development and implementation of a Regional Workforce Table (RWT) in the region. The main objective of a Regional Workforce Table is be to bring together key stakeholders from industry, labour, employers, First Nations, educators, training service providers, economic development organizations and others, to identify opportunities and make recommendations to align skills training and labour market programs to meet regional employment needs. 

“NWCC has been working with business and industry to meet the needs of future workforce demands,” said NWCC President, Dr. Denise Henning. “Creating a framework for a Regional Workforce Table is an important part of the big picture planning that needs to occur – we all need to work together in order to take full advantage of the opportunities coming to this region.”

Having a common understanding of major projects coming to the Northwest, and the issues related to growth and opportunities will benefit NWCC as it adapts to the training needs that will arise, adds Dr. Henning.

The open house was hosted in the spectacular Waap Galts’ap Community House, the Terrace Campus longhouse from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm.

To support the overall Regional Workforce Table initiative, a specific webpage dedicated to the Regional Workforce Table initiative will be developed on the BC Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Innovation website and will be linked to the BC Jobs Plan website. It will provide an overview of the RWT and host information specific to each Regional Workforce Table, including a Labour Market Resource Package, updates on Table progress, and an opportunity for stakeholders not able to attend the open house to provide input via an online survey tool.

Short-term programs offer employment-ready skills at NWCC

TERRACE – Northwest Community College’s (NWCC) Workforce Training & Continuing Studies (WTCS) department is offering several short-term training options in various Northwest communities designed to prepare students for work in a number of in-demand fields.

These programs meet the training needs of Northwest BC communities, assist unemployed individuals gain employment in industry, and ensure opportunities for a well-trained local workforce for the major projects on the horizon in the Northwest. These programs begin in January and February and are being offered at NWCC campuses and, in some cases, delivered in First Nations communities.

Construction Trades Helpers & Labourers is an eight-week program delivered in three sections: Safety Certificates, comprising WHMIS, Helicopter & Chainsaw Safety, Traffic Control Flagging, Bear Awareness, and more; Basics of Construction, with training in Backfill & Compaction, Basics of Concrete, Working Safely around Electricity and more; and Skills for Work & Life, covering skills such as Working in Teams, Time Management, Business of Listening, Job Search & Interviews and more. This program started in Terrace last week and begins in Gitanyow on Feb. 20 and in Prince Rupert on March 26.

A Value Added Carpentry program in Gitwangak started last week, which gives students employment-ready skills, while simultaneously benefitting the First Nations communities of Gitwangak, Gitsegukla and Gitanyow through practical projects the students work on during the course, as participants gain news skills for work at home and in major projects throughout the region. The 5-module program begins with the Carpentry Foundation program – Level 1 curriculum that includes 450 work-based hours credit towards completion of Carpenter Level 1 Apprenticeship Program. Modules 2-4 are composed of Safety Certification, ITA Essential Skills and Skills for Work & Life. Module 5 is the Residential Building Maintenance program, an additional four weeks of hand-on skills for the repair and maintenance of residential buildings in accordance with federal, provincial and local building codes and bylaws and BC Safety Authority Regulations.

Industry Field Medic (Terrace – Feb. 6 - March 2; Smithers – Feb. 13 - March 7; Haida Gwaii – Feb. 27 - March 20; and Hazelton – March 12 - Apr. 12) is an intensive four-week program that includes certification in a number of industry-specific training, including WHMIS (Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System), plus a Job Search Essentials (job search, resumé writing, networking & interview preparation) course.

Changing gears, the Essential Office Skills program (Terrace Jan. 30 – Mar. 16, Prince Rupert Feb 20 – Apr 13 and Haida Gwaii Jan. 23 – Mar. 16) is an intensive seven-week program that prepares participants with the communication, business, and computer skills essential for a career in business or office environments.

The program is delivered in 8 modules: Customer Service Skills, Office Environment, Communication, Computer Skills, Business Writing, Accounting, Time Management and Jobs & Careers.

And in Terrace, starting Feb. 13, get trained in what is estimated to be one of the most sought after trades in the Northwest over the next decade—Heavy Equipment Operator. The 10-week program prepares participants with the knowledge, skills and certifications needed to begin a career in Heavy Equipment Operation. It also includes hands-on experience along with essential and life/business skill development training. The program is delivered in nine modules: Industry Orientation & Overview; Tool & Equipment Operation & Maintenance; Civil Engineering Principles; Worksite Preparation; Safety Certifications; Skills for Work & Life; Equipment Operational Theory; Seat Time on Equipment; and Job Search Skills.

Each of these programs is partly funded by the Canada-BC Labour Market Agreement, which provides money for students that are eligible for the Employment Skills Access (ESA) program. To find out if you’re eligible, contact Charlynn Toews at ctoews@nwcc.bc.ca or 1.877.277.2288 Ext. 5357.

Paula's Blog - Traveling Around the World through the pages

 

I have read some books through the year.  However; this is quite challenging because I realize I do too much researching than reading for pleasure.  That is why I thought I would do at least try to do a light reading book.  The other books I have been reading for my own pleasure.  I read in a quiet place where I can focus on reading and let it be a safe place.  Apart from school assignments, I love to read a book to help me relax and let my thoughts be in peace without feeling distressed.  It is a like meditation to me and when I read a story I feel like I become one of the characters myself, you know.

Here are a few of the things that I have been looking at and what I think of them.  What I got out of it. Who suggested it to me.  Whether I would recommend it. 

Right now I am reading a book called The Book of Negroes.  The story is quite interesting.  It talks about the African child have gone through many struggles.  It is truly inspiration. This book was given as a gift from my grandmother. 

My rating: 4 stars

 

You might also like read some historical and cultural books:

• Cherokee
• You Are Asked To Witness:  The Sto:lo in Canada’s Pacific Coast History
• American Indian Myths and Legends

 

What I got out of it is Anatomy for Fantasy Artists.  It helps me to understand how to improve my drawing skills for shading and forms.

My sister said I would enjoy this book.  That it would challenge me and enrich me.  That it would broaden my perspective and understanding.  That it would help me make sense of my frustration with my own kind, in a world radically changed.  Indigenous Storywork did all of that & more. 

My rating:  5 stars

 

 If you are not in the mood for reading in text then I would recommend Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind book.  It is about the the princess who rescue and befriended with the insects in the valley. In the world of Nausicaä and the Earth’s ecosystem have gone through quite changes.

My rating:  5 stars 

 

 Fantasy Art Now is breaktaking! This book contains awesome pictures and details on the art - I am finding it so very fascinating. This is one of those "Once you start - you just can't stop" books which depicts in detail the art, the artists behind the art and details of how the art came to be.  Who does enjoy and love to read fantasy art.

My rating:  5 stars

 

It would be nice to have an open discussion or suggestions of books to read.  I am trying to at least read some books that are not related to school research or assignments.  You may have heard or read from Christine's blog and also the President already mention about the college’s economic crisis on our NWCC Connections website.  This is why I wanted to do something different for this blog.

I would love to hear your suggestions, drop a note in the comments box! I would like to keep myself open-minded and open to any suggestions for future blogs.

Paula Wesley is NWCC's newest full-time student blogger! Currently a second-year First Nations Fine Arts student at NWCC's Freda Diesing School of Northwest Coast Art, Paula's mother is Coast Salish from Chilliwack, her father is Tsimshian from Port Essington. Born in 1976 in Terrace, BC, where she currently resides, she says she's inspired by the art of her people and creates art to continue what her people started long before her, "to express my cultures and represent our people through art."

Over the fall and winter semesters, she'll be giving her take on student life at NWCC. We're excited to see and read her posts and encourage you - the college community - to follow along.

 

Christines Blog - 'It takes a deep commitment to change and an even deeper commitment to grow' - Ralph Ellison

IT'S LIKE there is an elephant in the room. Whenever I mention it, people will nod or agree, but wont dare say anything else. What are we scared of? Did I miss the memo or are we not supposed to talk about it?

I feel this is a subject we need address and people need to start talking. Our College is facing a 1.7 million dollar deficit and that’s scary. Great, now we’ve established our problem. Now what is our solution?

In times of budget shortfalls or projected deficits, organizations typically go into a 'trim the fat' mentality and everything ends up with a target on it. While that can be a good thing if there is lots of fat to trim, is it necessary to sacrifice things we love about the College or can we look towards more innovative strategies.

Personally I’m a fan of NWCC, and how could you not be? I’m able to cheaply live and go to a very reasonably priced college. My professors are amazing and the class sizes are so small they are able to take the time to learn why each of us is in our program, ensuring that the materials we learn are relevant to our needs. Not to mention I love Terrace. It has everything you want to do outdoors less than 20 minutes away. Why on earth would I want to move to a fast paced city and spend all my time commuting back and forth! Did I mention it takes me 6 minutes to get to College on a busy day?

I challenge NWCC and the students to take a step back from what they are doing and look at the big picture. ‘If you do what you’ve always done, then you’ll get when you’ve always got’ – Mark Twain. We have an awesome college and an incredible community, let’s do something to make things work.

A few ideas I came up with while writing this blog are:

· Try to get rid of the ‘it’s JUST a community college’ mentality.

· NWCC management to perform a SWOT(Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats/limitations) analysis monthly, put your goals into action.  (thanks LP)

· Sell success stories from other students. My sister went to SMUS which still sends semi annual publications which tells what they offer, talks about the school and shares success stories about their graduates.

· It’s great to target the high school teenagers as they are finishing, but only one person in my class is under 20. Clearly the high school students are only a small fraction of who we should be going after (and yes I understand that other programs like CPP would have higher numbers of high school students)

· Brag about our professors. I have two classes with 6 people! For a smaller price than most colleges I am getting a better education

· The north is booming and there is lots of jobs coming our way. Which of them need post secondary education, and what education do they require? Do we offer this?

· Sell our city! I’ve said this before and I will say it again. I find that Terrace doesn’t work together enough to market ourselves. The college and the city could be working together to promote each other.

And if we are already doing any of these things, that’s awesome! Then we need to work on making people more aware of it.

So that is my ranting on this subject, but I would love to hear what you think. What are some ideas you can share so that we can help our college to succeed?

Christine Leclerc is NWCC's first ever full-time student blogger! She's a second-year Business Administration student in Terrace who took part in a study exchange to China earlier this year. Over the fall and winter semesters, she'll be giving her take on student life at NWCC. We're excited to see and read her posts and encourage you - the college community - to follow along. She's looking forward to getting your feedback and maybe some inspiration, too, throughout her blogging experience. And in case you're wondering, that's her beloved English bulldog Maddox

NWCC President addresses budget concerns

TERRACE – President Denise Henning has been meeting with employees at NWCC campuses this week to receive input from the College community about possible collaborative solutions to address NWCC’s deficit.

President Henning states, “We are going around to the campuses and having these town hall- type meetings with employees. The reason we are doing this is because we are very committed to people and we are very committed to processes that are transparent.”

NWCC’s deficit is estimated to be between $1.6M and $2M. At the end of October 2011, employees were told NWCC was facing a deficit of approximately $1.3M. Further review of the college financials completed in early January 2012 indicates the deficit will be higher than first projected because revenue will not meet expectations.

Henning continued, “I took this job knowing NWCC had a deficit of over a million dollars. Instead of coming in and presenting a balanced budget last year, which would have meant major cuts without any strategic direction looking toward the future, I asked the government for a year’s grace so we could do the important work of Priority Planning – that is, receiving input about what’s important for our community members, business and industry, our students and our employees. We needed to do this so we could make informed decisions not only to address our deficit, but more importantly, to transform NWCC into a vibrant, sustainable community college.”

NWCC’s administration, along with union leadership, is asking employees and the public for collaborative solutions to address the deficit while at the same time, minimizing impact to students and staff. Meetings with employees will continue at all NWCC campuses giving everyone the opportunity to voice their suggestions and concerns. A website is being developed that will contain budget updates and people can submit their money-saving suggestions to savemoney@nwcc.bc.ca
An announcement will be made once the website is available.

“This is an extremely difficult time for all of us and some hard decisions will need to be made,” Henning said. “These decisions will be made collaboratively and inclusively using NWCC’s mission, values and principles as a framework. We will all work together on solutions that will support our students, communities and employees.”

An open letter from NWCC President, Dr. Denise Henning

January 12, 2012

Dear students and community members,

NWCC is currently operating in a deficit situation which at this time is estimated to be $1.7 million dollars. We were allowed to run a deficit last year so that we could carry out the important work of Priority Planning, but our grace period is up. According to the College and Institute Act, we must eliminate this deficit and turn in a balanced budget for the coming fiscal year. Our Board of Governors understands and recognizes the need to balance our budget, and both management and union leadership are collaboratively working together through every step of the process to minimize the impact to our students and employees.

These are challenging times for all of us and NWCC’s administration and union leadership will have to make some difficult decisions over the next 8-10 weeks. We will do our best to be open, transparent and supportive during this process, and keep you informed as much as possible over the coming months.

To that end, we will be launching a website at budget.nwcc.bc.ca that will serve as a central repository for updates to our students, employees and communities. In addition, we will be creating an email account at budget@nwcc.bc.ca so people can make inquiries, voice their concerns and make suggestions on how NWCC can save money. I will be holding town hall meetings and will share those dates as soon as they have been confirmed.

Despite our current economic challenges, we will continue to provide our students with high-quality educational experiences.  We are proud of everything we have accomplished for our students, alumni and communities and will continue to demonstrate NWCC’s importance to Northwest BC.

 

Thank you,

 

Dr. Denise K. Henning
NWCC CEO and President

Christines Blog - Til debt do us part

WHEN YOU click on the student union website, one of the first things you see is the debt calculator for Canadian students. We have accumulated a whopping 14+ billion dollars, and counting. This is a little intimidating when you think we have 34+ million people in Canada and clearly not everyone is in school.

Debt is like that extra weight you just can’t quite seem to get rid of. Although Jenny Craig doesn’t offer student loans those banks are sure eager to lend you a buck in return for your first born child. Like those extra pounds, it’s easy to get in debt, not so easy to lose it. Its something you have to continuously work on, making lifestyle changes along the way.

When it comes to being cheap and trying to save a dollar, I can definitely say I am learning the ropes.  The following is a list of things I’ve made to my routine to save some money

• Googled extreme couponing – sent away for some coupons and added ‘coupon alert’ to my tool bar which offers lots of great printable coupons
• Started meal planning on a budget – doing one grocery shop for the week, freezing some meals for when I have no time and knowing what I’m going to make for each meal so I only buy what I need
• Eating less meat
• Switched to store bought boxed hair dye *tear*
• Buying in bulk when I can
• Made my own conditioner! And I have to say I’m extremely happy with the results. For less than $3 I have 1.5L of conditioner and there are no chemicals in it that I can’t even pronounce, plus my hair feels healthier than it ever has. I’m very happy with this switch and am going to try homemade shampoo next.
• Dusted off my coffee maker. Goodbye McDonald’s coffee. I loved you but you burned too much gas waiting in the drive thru and dropping you for a semester bought me two text books.

These are the changes I’ve made to my routine so far and am constantly looking for new ideas. What do you do to save money as a student? Do you have any good couponing sites you’d like to share?

Christine Leclerc is NWCC's first ever full-time student blogger! She's a second-year Business Administration student in Terrace who took part in a study exchange to China earlier this year. Over the fall and winter semesters, she'll be giving her take on student life at NWCC. We're excited to see and read her posts and encourage you - the college community - to follow along. She's looking forward to getting your feedback and maybe some inspiration, too, throughout her blogging experience. And in case you're wondering, that's her beloved English bulldog Maddox

Welcome to the beginning of our journey towards 2012!

The beginning of the year always seems the appropriate time to take a step back and see what happened in the last few months…So let’s take a deep breath…

First of all, I am sorry for not keep in touch with the blog for the readers since school re-opened.  I felt like everything seem to go into the opposite way, if you know what I mean.  Perhaps I am the only one who feel this way.

The last year has been a busy for me…In September 2010, I had to draw the ovoids over and over.  We all did draw about the ovoids in dreams.  Crazy, hey but it did help!  After Christmas 2011, everything I felt was under pressure and stayed sane with the deadlines for two Art gallery show.  There were quite a lot of things happened in the Spring time and I thought I wasn’t even ready to finish all 4 assignments which was hectic.  And then I finally graduated in April.

Now I look back to this Fall 2011 that I have gone through quite a lot.  I have no idea how the heck I did manage to keep up with school and family schedule but hey I am still here!

What I have realized that I decide to make amends for 2012 that my priority is ME!   I didn’t realize how much my life has been way off and over my head.  After Christmas, I told my partner that I decide that I would start to look after myself first, then taking care of my lil’ man who is 4 years old with more TLC and well-balanced schedule for school, family and for myself too.  I wasn’t thinking straight and my partner told me that I worked too way hard.  I said, “Are you kidding, TW?”   I thought I didn’t really I wasn’t trying hard enough to keep up with school.  I realize that I have been staying up late quite a lot than I thought.  This doesn’t sound good. I had to stop and re-evaluate myself whether I am sane or crazy enough to have less sleep whenever I don’t feel tired. Now I feel that I need to spend more time with my family:  TW and my lil’ man.  They are my whole world and I could not imagine without them.

I guess you probably all need to look at yourselves in the mirror.  I remember one time, this individual once told me but I won’t mention the person’s name in here, however, someone told me to go home and look in the mirror, take a good look at myself.  At first I didn’t believe that I was a success and I denied it.  Somehow, someone said, “You are already a success so start now by saying this to your self everyday in the mirror (Oh and without laughing)".   Well, it took me several practice to start believing in myself.

I hope I still have the confidence to keep it up for 2012.  That doesn’t mean I need to spend less in school but tune up with the schedule and go for a walk with my dog everyday.  That makes a big difference, even thought I thought I was going crazy for not able to keep everything together.  I guess I better sign off and it is 11:36pm.  See what I mean.  I am pretty tempted to continue on and typing but I have to be a bit more firm with myself for getting enough sleep. Until next blog, I will come up with something more interesting, I hope so.  Good night to all..Take it easy.



Christines Blog - Welcome 2012! Snowmageddon is here..

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Welcome back to school for a new year, new surprises, new resolutions. I’m not a big fan of New Year’s resolutions because I’m not very good at them, so this year I tried to keep it simple; more procrastination, eat out more, and no wait I’m just kidding. I think I already did those previous years. This year is simple: drink more water and eat more raw food.

This year is like many previous years, I don’t know where I am going to be 6 months from now. I have long term goals such as getting my MBA, but I’m not sure where my next step is for now. I am faced with a handful of ideas with no real idea what to do next.  

 

Dear NWCC, you would make my life so much easier if you’d offer year 3 and 4 in the Business Admin program. Sincerely, Christine

There, I’m already starting to make things happen. What are your goals for the New Year and how do you plan on making things happen?

On a different note, I also wanted to say a big welcome to Canada Mark! One of our friends we met on our exchange to China has come here to spend a few months at NWCC and we couldn’t be more excited :)

 

Christine Leclerc is NWCC's first ever full-time student blogger! She's a second-year Business Administration student in Terrace who took part in a study exchange to China earlier this year. Over the fall and winter semesters, she'll be giving her take on student life at NWCC. We're excited to see and read her posts and encourage you - the college community - to follow along. She's looking forward to getting your feedback and maybe some inspiration, too, throughout her blogging experience. And in case you're wondering, that's her beloved English bulldog Maddox!