Finally they have the type of individual at the helm that has the background which can differentiate CNC a bit more from the University. The technical programs at the College have taken a beating over the past 2 decades.

Programs that could have been with the leaders in the province were simply done away with and not fought for at the ministries responsible for post secondary education. Now they are starting to be in high demand again to the extent that an almost total rebuild will be required.

Kwantlen was always a very strong technical Community College.

I hope this is the fellow who can do it. I wish him the best of luck and hope he gets the support he needs from staff and can bring parties that may be opposed to any change together without infighting.

Obviously a strategic move by CNC in an attempt to move more towards a vocational / trades college.

Nothing wrong with that, a post secondary college for “blue collar” workers, and a post secondary university for “white collar” workers.

With all this emphasis on trades training by the Harper Government, and the Christy Clark government, I hope our student enrollment stops hemorrhaging up on the hill. If it doesn’t Prince George will be known as a blue collar town, and nothing more.

What technical programs have they done away with Gus?
They still teach
Carpentry
Electrical
Welding
Industrial mechanic
Power Engineering
Automotive
Auto body
Heavy Duty
Radiology
Cnet……….

There are several streams of programs at the College.

1. the trades – which include the first 8 on your list – the end result is a trades certificate.

2. the technologies – which are one and two year certificate and diploma programs and are recognized by the ASTTBC – Radiology is one of those.

The others are med lab (which used to be one year at CNC plus the final year at BCIT before they lost it. Now they have it again)

1. Forest Resource Technology
2. Electronic Technician (certificate) and 3. Electronic Technology (diploma)
4. Drafting Technician (certificate)
5. Engineering (building) Technology (diploma)
6. GIS Technology (a third year progam which required a two year diploma.
7. Computer Information Systems (diploma) which operated in the Business division, not technology division.

Then there was the interface with BCIT of putting students through a 1 year program at CNC for
8. Lumber and Plywood Manufacturing Technology,
9. Surveying Technology

CNC also had approval for a 2 year tourism program which would have been a program which had common elements with the forest resource technology program.

All those existed and still exist, often with transformation into today’s needs, at other colleges, but not CNC ….

Instead they have many duplications of courses which are in some ways competitive with UNBC operations.

Speaking of duplication, it looks like a lot of UNBC’s continuing education courses are the sort of thing that CNC has offered for a long time. Why is UNBC competing with CNC in this area?

Now that BC regional communities in the 100,000+ catchment range have universities such as Ontario had since the mid 1960s, it is time to transition away from duplicated University Transfer programs and concentrate on the full range of trades and short term, one year and two year certificate and diploma programs in business, health, and engineering based technologies as well as emerging areas of applied programs intended to provide well educated and trained grads who hit the workplace without much additional training prior to being productive members of the workforce.

In addition to that, those programs must be accompanied by credible and quality continuing education programs to keep both diploma and bachelor level graduates from CNC, UNBC and graduates from other post secondary institutes who work in the central and northern part of BC up to date with the latest techniques.

This could be an interesting thing to watch over the next 5 to 10 years.

“Why is UNBC competing with CNC in this area?”

Because they are two separate institutes who can do what they wish. Co-ordination/cooperation may not be something they have an interest in.