July 24, 2014

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SPECIAL ISSUE AUGUST 2014

COLLEGE CONNECTION

Learn what you can do at your community college

PREPARE FOR A TECH-DRIVEN FUTURE

Congratulations 2014 grads!

Engineering and Industrial Automation offer options for the mechanically minded

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Every June, Comox Valley and Campbell River students are immersed in robots. From Tonka-sized autonomous robots in the engineering labs to Volkswagen-sized industrial arms in the industrial automation workshop, the college is abuzz with technology.

Both programs are part of a growing student interest in science and technology careers drawing students into engineering, life sciences, math, computer science, and automation programs.

Engineering students complete the first year of their degree with ENR-110, an Introduction to Engineering Design course, where they design, build, and test engineering concepts before heading to university.

Industrial automation students finish their final project after two years at NIC, building and testing an industrial manufacturing process before heading off to careers in a wide variety of industries.

“They’re two sides of the same coin,” said Dennis Lightfoot, an NIC physics instructor. “They both appeal to mechanically minded problem solvers.”

Together, the programs blur traditional lines between NIC’s academic, trades, and technology programs.

“Engineers have strong math and science skills to work on high-level design.

They have the ability to create detailed plans out of blank sheets of paper,” said industrial automation technician instructor Brad Harsell. “Technicians implement

Early Childhood Care and Education students are excited to work with children.

NIC engineering students test key design concepts by building autonomous robots.

technical plans and make changes as issues come up.”

Most technicians spend their days solving problems on the workshop floor; engineers work mainly in offices, designing solutions and meeting clients.

Students are also at different stages of their education. All of NIC’s industrial automation students graduated with a broad skill set and job offers this year.

“I’m a bit of an electronics and mechanical geek,” said industrial automation student Mike McLean. “This program gave me the opportunity to develop my interests and find a career in my field. I already have two job offers to choose from in Campbell River.”

Engineering students are looking for a strong educational start to their degree before specializing in civil, mechanical or biomedical engineering. Many will look for practical hands-on training in specific courses and in co-op placement programs

at university.

“I would recommend NIC to anyone. It’s fantastic,” said engineering student Mike Demone. “Having access to professors who really care makes you want to succeed more than anything.”

ENGINEERING PATHWAY Length: 1-year study plan Tuition: $3,380 approx + fees/equipment Where: Comox Valley Starts: September INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION TECHNICIAN DIPLOMA Length: 9-month diploma, post Electronics Technician Core certificate Tuition: $2,740 approx + fees/equipment Where: Campbell River Starts: September

Students from Cameroon, Nigeria, India, Switzerland, and Uganda graduated with local and national job offers.

Congratulations to hundreds of the North Island’s newest graduates in a wide variety of careers, including nurses, plumbers, engineers, educational assistants, and business professionals. Whether you’ve earned a credential or this is the first step on your learning journey, we know the education, experiences, and support you’ve received at NIC will provide a strong foundation for you and your community.

We’re extremely proud of each and every one of you and wish you much success in your next adventure.

>> FIND OUT MORE: WWW.NIC.BC.CA/ARTSSCIENCES PAGE 1

NORTH ISLAND COLLEGE | COLLEGE CONNECTION | SPECIAL ISSUE AUGUST 2014

TOURISM & HOSPITALITY

Students, Staff and Alumni in the News Every summer NIC instructors, staff, and alumni reach for new learning adventures. Find out where they are and what they’re doing this summer.

SUMMER IN PARADISE Tourism and hospitality students graduate into jobs at Sonora Resort

CO-OP IN THE COMMUNITY

Bachelor of Business Administration degree student Neera Melaysho is completing her co-op work term in the City of Courtenay’s Financial Services Department this summer.

She is one of 25 business and tourism co-op students earning academic credit and paid work experience at businesses, municipalities, and organizations here and across Western Canada. >> WWW.NIC.BC.CA/COOP

GOING GREEK English instructor Anne Cumming is in Chania, Greece, scouting locations for NIC’s 2015 Greece Field School. The school is an opportunity for students to earn credit for three university level humanities courses (travel writing, history, and anthropology) in one educational trip to Greece.

“I spent the afternoon reading and beginning the itinerary for the 2015 field school, working with a great map of Crete that I brought with me for the purpose,” writes Anne as part of her writings from Greece. >> WWW.NIC.BC.CA/ARTSSCIENCES

MEDICAL SCHOOL, HERE THEY COME Sylva Falk and Camila Sanchez became NIC’s third and fourth students to be admitted to the UBC Medical Program in just three years. Both students credit NIC’s small supportive class sizes and hands-on biology and chemistry labs for their success.

“North Island College shaped me as a learner,” said Falk, during a return visit to NIC this spring.

“It molded me into an academic who strives for excellence and questions the world we live in; it has been instrumental to my success.” >> WWW.NIC.BC.CA/ARTSSCIENCES

Tourism students tour Sonora as one of many field trips during the year.

Its website features black bears, bald eagles, pacific white-sided dolphins, and gourmet food.

Sonora Resort sounds like the perfect escape for the well-heeled traveller looking for a luxurious, west coast vacation. But for three North Island College Tourism and Hospitality Management diploma graduates, it’s just another day at the office.

Amber Quigley, Tessa Pollard, and Alex Sewell will spend this summer ensuring each guest has the vacation of their life.

The five-star, all-inclusive, Relais & Chateaux property regularly gets rave reviews from major publications like Forbes Magazine, Photolife, and the Globe and Mail. In 2013, Real Weddings Magazine, called it “Paradise Found.”

“Sonora is an exceptional opportunity for NIC grads,” said Amber Quigley. “It shapes the way you view the tourism industry and changes the way you think about service. We go to incredible lengths to exceed guests’ needs. If a guest likes a certain newspaper, we’ll helicopter in a copy the next day.”

All in a day’s catch: Amber Quigley at work.

The property is just one of the businesses tourism graduates will work at this summer. Another 15 to 20 students will get paid co-op work experience at local hotels and tourism companies, including Tofino’s Wickaninnish Inn (named Travel & Leisure magazine’s top Canadian resort in 2014), Fairmont Resorts in Whistler and Banff, as well as Painter’s Lodge in Campbell River. Students also work at Alberni Outpost, Crown Isle Resort, Quadra Island Kayaks, and many more local businesses and organizations.

Next year, the college intends to expand its co-op offerings to include the Four Seasons Resort in Whistler as well as key Alberta hotels.

“Co-op provides vital industry experience for our students,” said instructor Deborah Forsyth. “We recognize people are central to every tourism business and, at NIC, we emphasize employability skills such as communication, teamwork, and leadership, giving our graduates a strong marketable advantage in the workplace.”

New Adventure Guiding option Want to be a certified adventure guide and get the business skills needed to own or operate your own business?

Now you can balance guiding, sea kayaking, and a variety of outdoor skills with co-op opportunities in NIC’s new Tourism and Hospitality Management diploma. Earn valuable skills and a credential in just two years, or ladder into degrees here and across BC.

TOURISM & HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT DIPLOMA Length: 2-year diploma Tuition: $2,925 to $9,160 approx + fees/ equipment Where: Comox Valley Starts: September, January

>> FIND OUT MORE: WWW.NIC.BC.CA/TOURISM PAGE 2

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NORTH ISLAND COLLEGE | COLLEGE CONNECTION | SPECIAL ISSUE AUGUST 2014

Develop skills employers are looking for!

TRADES & TECHNOLOGY

DEMAND FOR LOG SCALERS SPIKES

Consider a career in trades, including: AUTOMOTIVE SERVICE TECHNICIAN

Training the next generation of coastal forestry workers

Ed Crookes knows BC’s coastal forest industry needs young, educated forestry professionals as much now, as it ever did.

After 40 years in the forestry industry, the instructor of North Island College’s (NIC’s) Coastal Log Scaling certificate program says that while the secondary logging industry has faltered, primary forestry trades such as loggers, fallers, and log scalers are in high demand.

“There is a drastic shortage of scalers out there,” said Crookes. “The last group of NIC log scaling students we trained didn’t begin to fill the demand for the current industry; we had employers calling students before the program ended, and they still need more scalers.”

Log scalers play an important role in measuring the quantity and quality of timber leaving BC forests. They work for independent contractors at dry-land sorts across Vancouver Island and the Mainland Coast, calculating the value of usable timber in fallen logs.

Their data helps industry and government accurately harvest the region’s forests, through its annual allowable cut.

The industry, however, is facing a human resource challenge. It predicts a 26 per cent increase in the demand for skilled forestry workers in the next 10 years.

But how do you staff machines, fall logs, and measure timber values when many coastal residents perceive the industry to be dead, or dying? How do you fill demand for skilled workers before the current wave of log scalers retire?

While oil and gas draws young trades people north, many young workers are failing to notice forestry is approaching a human resource crisis in their own backyard.

The Coastal Log Scaling certificate is part of the solution.

Why automotive: Automotive service technicians are creative and technical problem solvers who can diagnose a vehicle’s faults by the roar of its engine.

Depending on where you work, you’ll get day-today job variety, regular hours, and an ability to grow with your trade as new technologies develop.

Salary range*: $12/hr at entry and up to $31/hr or more at journey person level, depending on your employer and experience.

Get started! Automotive Service Technician Foundation starts this fall in Campbell River, 30 weeks full time, $2,135 + fees/ equipment.

PROFESSIONAL COOK

Measuring the value of fallen timber is a highly sought-after skill in BC’s forestry industry, which is predicting a skilled worker shortage in the next 10 years.

Crookes is encouraging young outdoors-loving residents, who love living and playing on the coast, to find out more about NIC’s Coastal Log Scaling certificate, starting in February 2015.

The program is also ideal for forestry workers and owners who want to upgrade or certify their skills. “Many people in the industry want to develop their skills to qualify for higher paying positions, or understand how to properly value timber.

The skill gives them more opportunities to control their future,” Crookes said.

Students graduate prepared to write the Ministry of Forests’ Coastal Log Scaling exam. Once certified, they earn an average of $28 to $29 per hour.

“It’s good, solid, year-round work,” said Crookes, who estimates most scalers earn substantially more during the long summer days. “As long as the trucks are working, you’re working.”

>> FIND OUT MORE: WWW.NIC.BC.CA/PROGRAM/COASTAL_LOG_SCALING_PROGRAM WWW.NIC.BC.CA

Admission to the program is on a first applied, first qualified basis. Students are advised to take the required math assessment early to allow time for tuition-free upgrading, if required.

SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE

The BC Truck Loggers’ Association and the Minerva Foundation will provide two $1,500 scholarships for qualified students registered in NIC’s Coastal Log Scaling certificate program this February.

For more information, or to apply, contact Wendy Samaroden at 250-923-9728.

COASTAL LOG SCALING CERTIFICATE Length: 13 weeks, full time Tuition: $7,000 approx + fees/equipment Where: Campbell River Starts: Winter, 2015

Why culinary: Professional cooks have more than just a passion for food. They’re rewarded every day by the adrenaline rush that comes from creating mouth-watering meals in a fast-paced environment. Plus, you can take your skills across Canada or work in a wide variety of settings close to home.

Salary range*: $13/hr at entry and up to $42/hr at journey person level, depending on your employer and experience.

Get started! Professional Cook 1 and 2 start this fall in Campbell River, 27 to 14 weeks full time, $915 to $2,135 + fees/equipment.

WELDER Why welding: Welders are project-oriented people who love it when sparks fly. Choose from a huge variety of job sites from manufacturing to shipmaking and more.

Salary range*: $19/hr at entry and up to $43/hr or more at journey person level, depending on your employer and experience.

Get started! Welding Foundation and Levels 1, 2, and 3 apprenticeship training. Continuous entry, Campbell River, 28 to 8 weeks full time, $2,135 to $435 + fees/equipment. *Source: www.payscale.com/research/CA/Country=Canada/Salary

>> FIND OUT MORE: VISIT WWW.NIC.BC.CA/TRADES

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NORTH ISLAND COLLEGE | COLLEGE CONNECTION | SPECIAL ISSUE AUGUST 2014

IT’S NOT TOO LATE! Fall 2014 programs at North Island College’s Comox Valley and Campbell River campuses: UPGRADING All levels up to Grade 12 Meet program entry requirements UNIVERSITY TRANSFER Associate of Arts Degree Associate of Science Degree Criminology Diploma Degree pathways to UVic, UBC, SFU, UNBC and institutions Canada wide

Mo progrrae sta ms Winterrt in 2015 Visit www.nic .bc.ca

BUSINESS Bachelor of Business Administration Degrees Business Administration Certificate Business Administration Diploma Business Administration Post Degree Diplomas VIU MBA/MScIB Guaranteed Admission APPLIED BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY Administrative Assistant Certificate Computing Accounting Assistant Certificate Legal Administrative Assistant Certificate Medical Office Assistant Certificate Office Assistant I Certificate Office Management Certificate FINE ARTS & DESIGN Fine Arts Diploma Metal Jewellery Design Certificate INTERACTIVE MEDIA Advanced Communication & Interactive Design Diploma Communication Design Diploma Mobile Application Development Certificate Web and Mobile Application Development Diploma Web Design Certificate COMMUNITY CARE Animal Care Aide Certificate Early Childhood Care & Education Certificate Early Childhood Care & Education Diploma - Full VIU Education Pathway

TOURISM & HOSPITALITY Adventure Guiding Certificate Global Tourism & Hospitality Management Advanced Certificate Global Tourism & Hospitality Management Advanced Diploma Professional Cook (Culinary Arts) Tourism & Hospitality Management Certificate Tourism & Hospitality Management Diploma TRADES & TECHNOLOGY Aircraft Sheet Metal Manufacturing Technician Aircraft Structures Technician (AME-S) - Almost full!

Automotive Service Technician Foundation Electrical Foundation - Almost full!

Electronics Technician Core Certificate - Almost full!

Heavy Duty & Commercial Transport Mechanics Foundation - Full Industrial Automation Technician Diploma - Almost full!

Marine Training Metal Fabrication Foundation (Welding requirements) Plumbing & Piping Foundation - Almost full!

Underground Mining Essentials Certificate Welder Foundation APPRENTICESHIP TRAINING Carpenter, Level 2, 3, and 4 - Almost full!

Electrician Level 2, 3 - Almost full!

Heavy Duty, Level 3 - Almost full!

Landscape Horticulture, Level 2 Plumbing, Level 1, 3 - Almost full!

Welder Level 1,2,3

We’re here all summer Can’t decide?

Explore your interests! Take as many or as few courses as you like this fall.

Not ready?

Upgrade your high school English, math, and science tuition free for entry into a wide variety of programs.

Need money?

Most NIC programs are eligible for student loans. Apply online at www.studentaidbc.ca.

Student advisors can help you find the programs, funding options, and career paths right for you.

Call 1-800-715-0914 to make your appointment.

1-800-715-0914 | questions@nic.bc.ca

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HUMAN SERVICES Educational Assistant / Community Support Certificate - Full Human Services Diploma Social Service Diploma - Full

HEALTH CARE Activity Assistant Certificate Bachelor of Science in Nursing Degree - Full First Aid & CPR Training Health Care Assistant Certificate Hospital Unit Clerk Certificate Practical Nursing Diploma - Almost full!