News Archives: GPRC Continuing Education: New Curriculum Designed by the Community, for the Community
Thursday, September 21st, 2017
To keep a recent economic downturn from driving away local residents, the Continuing Education department at GPRC has diversified what they do best.
This fall, the department will be offering 148 new courses and 17 new certificates to match the needs of the community with the industries that serve it. Thanks to this newly expanded curriculum, residents won’t have to leave the region to further their education or pursue new opportunities.
“We looked at the most efficient grouping of courses and training possible, that would allow people in entry level positions to either re-enter the workforce, or upgrade their skills for promotions and other jobs,” said Darlene MacDonald, Director of GPRC Continuing Education.
“And we focused specifically on providing a more blended delivery of classroom instruction with online programming, so students don’t always have to commute to campus. Many people need that flexibility of doing something part-time and online. They also really value having a tangible certificate upon completion that they can hang on their wall. Even if it’s a non-credit certificate, is still a symbol of their commitment to life-long learning.”
These certificates present unique opportunities and hands-on training in a variety of in-demand areas, including digital media/marketing; human resources; management essentials; entrepreneurship essentials; project management; and environmental monitoring.
Many of these programs are a result of partnerships with other institutions and training organizations, to ensure availability of a wide breadth of programming.
For instance, the Environmental Monitoring and the Land Reclamation certificates are brokered through the University of Northern British Columbia. A partnership exists with the PetroSkills Alliance to offer numerous industry-approved oil and gas online certificates “We look at these options when we don’t have the ability to develop the program on our own,” said MacDonald. “We knew the community wanted and needed it, so we partnered with another institution to offer it.”
MacDonald and her staff are most proud of the real-life needs the programs address.
“We sat down with leaders in our community and focused on the best ways to allow people within the region to stay in the region, to pursue short-term training, and to develop the confidence to continue doing their jobs. Our curriculum is truly designed from scratch for Grande Prairie, by Grande Prairie.”
For more information on course offerings or to register, visit https://www.gprc.ab.ca/ce/
