MBiz

22 WINTER 2018 RED RIVER COLLEGE Building for the Future of Education in Manitoba RED RIVER COLLEGE F or the last 80 years, Red River College has been growing and adapting to keep pace with the changing needs of Manitoba's employers. Through consultation and research, the College consistently stays ahead of the curve to provide its students with the most up-to-date training in state-of-the-art facilities. When the time came to expand again, the College didn't want to just meet immediate needs; instead leadership made a plan to fulfill industry needs for the next 80 years and beyond. "Right now we're experiencing very dramatic changes in our economy, driven by disruptive technologies and new ways of delivering services," said Paul Vogt, President and CEO of RRC. "As a result of the abrupt changes in workplaces, career paths for 21st century workers will have more of a zig-zag shape, with virtually every turn or dead-end involving the need for further skills acquisition." According to Vogt, that is something the College is fully prepared for. The plan to stay ahead of the curve can be boiled down to four simple steps: first, a commitment to RRC's relationships with business and industry partners, to learn about current and changing needs directly from the source; second, more focus and resources dedicated to applied- learning and co-operative learning, so students can learn and be mentored in a business setting; third, a focus on re-skilling, so a person at the midpoint in their career can grow their skills as their job changes; and, fourth, a more flexible, course-based approach to learning, giving students opportunities to acquire specific skills at their own pace and convenience. "It's our role to work with business and industry to anticipate what those future changes will be," said Vogt. "For today's students to become the leaders in their chosen fields we can't train them on equipment or processes that have been obsolete for years, or that are currently on the way out the door. We've seen that, even now, businesses are falling behind. They are ripe for disruption and it's the College's role to be ahead of the curve so Manitoba businesses have the talent they need to remain viable." On top of expanding its approach to how education is delivered, RRC is also expanding its campuses. With more than 21,000 students enrolled in programs every year, the College is operating at capacity and needs more space to house its most in-demand programs. With demand for advanced skills increasing, it's essential for RRC to expand so it can continue its role in training and preparing students for a changing economy. At the Notre Dame Campus, that expansion comes in the form of a new Skilled Trades and Technology Centre (STTC), a 104,000-square- foot facility that offers state-of-the-art instruction for programs like Carpentry, With more than 21,000 students enrolled in programs every year, the College is operating at capacity and needs more space to house its most in-demand programs.

• Cover