Culinary student Randy Grieg, who won a gold medal at last month’s Skills Manitoba Competition.

Congratulations to the 48 Red River College students who won medals at last month’s Skills Manitoba Competition, many of whom will go on to represent the province at the national contest in Vancouver next month.

The 16th annual Olympic-style competition was held April 11 at RRC’s Notre Dame Campus, with students competing in 40 different categories aimed at showcasing their hands-on expertise, talent and determination in a variety of skilled trades and technologies.

RRC students swept the podium in 13 different categories, and earned medals in six more. Those who won gold medals who will go on to compete as Team Manitoba at the 19th Skills Canada National Competition in Vancouver, June 5-8.

More than 500 students from across Manitoba took part in the provincial trials. See below for a full list of RRC winners. Read More →

Education Minister Nancy Allan (left) and Winnipeg Construction Association President Ron Hambly (centre) look on as Elmwood High School student Samuel Lopez and carpentry instructor Frank Jess build a toolbox in one of RRC’s Mobile Training Labs.

Red River College and Manitoba Education are helping to boost trades training through a pilot project that provides Winnipeg youth a hands-on introduction to the trades.

The pilot program provides up to 25 students in Grades 7 and 8 the opportunity to “try out” the type of work typically done by electricians, carpenters and welders. Students from Elmwood High School are attending Red River College once a week for three weeks, to learn about career options in the trades.

“The pilot program is intended to expose young people to the trades as a viable career option,” says Stephanie Forsyth, President, Red River College. “One of the ways to get more young people interested in the trades is to give them more hands-on experience, and help them identify a skill they would love to acquire.”

According to Skills Canada, over the next two decades employers in Canada will find it difficult to hire and retain skilled workers. However, a Statistics Canada survey in 2009 showed just 26% of young people aged 13 to 24 plan to consider a career in the skilled trades.

“The future of Manitoba is being trained here today. These students are gaining valuable experience through hands-on learning,” says Education Minister Nancy Allan. “Projects like these expose students to new potential career opportunities that will lead to good jobs and build our province.” Read More →

Front Row: Jennifer Kasprick, Janis Ollson, Maddie Tokar-Wolff
Back Row: Eva Brown (instructor), Anita Lesage, Sarah Brown, Sheldon Hamp

Students from Red River College’s Business/Technology Teacher Education program extended their reach clear across the globe last month, while taking part in an international conference on emerging classroom technologies.

The students, all pre-service teachers in Eva Brown’s second-year Teacher Ed. ICT and Multimedia classes, were participants in the 2013 Flat Classroom Conference, held March 8-10 at Yokohama International School in Japan.

Only Brown was actually present in Japan, invited to the conference as a presenter; the pre-service teachers participated via Google Hangout sessions and as online presenters during one of the conference’s three keynote addresses. Prior to the conference, all six students worked as a group to produce a video on the topic of “How We Can Help Others”. (Click here to watch.)

Their project — showcasing humanitarian initiatives on a local, national and international scale — was presented alongside 14 others, and representatives from Brown’s class were given the opportunity to speak to the 200-plus students and educators in Japan as well as many other virtual participants. Read More →

Youth who grew up in the child welfare system will have the opportunity to attend Red River College tuition-free this fall. The special bursaries will remove one of many barriers that typically see less than five percent of youth in care pursue a post-secondary education.

“Transitioning out of care can be very challenging for many youth—especially financially,” says Stephanie Forsyth, RRC President. “The prospect of student loans and debts may prevent capable students from receiving a post-secondary education. Red River College is delighted to be able to remove that worry for a number of students.”

There are more than 9,500 children and youth in care in Manitoba, with the majority being First Nations and Métis. Typically, once youth in care turn 18 they leave the child welfare system and must fend for themselves. With few supports available, many will find themselves on social assistance or even homeless.

“Youth raised in foster care face unique challenges once they leave the system,” says Jay Rodgers, CEO, General Child and Family Services Authority. “By waiving the tuition fee, Red River College is giving these young people the opportunity for a much brighter future through education and inspiring hope.”

A handful of RRC students have already received a Youth in Care bursary. With the program becoming permanent as of this fall, a minimum of 20 youth in care per year, selected by a child and family services authority, will be eligible to attend the College on a bursary. They will remain on an extension of care with their authority and have their living expenses covered up to the age of 21, so long as they remain students of the College and take a minimum 60 percent course load.

Students must meet regular entrance requirements. Tuition will be fully covered by revenue generated from the College’s Youth in Care bursary endowment fund, which recently received a $100,000 private donation. The College intends to fundraise $1 million to support the program on a permanent basis.

While mass shootings and other violence on university and college campuses throughout North America have increased our sense of vulnerability, Red River College has implemented a comprehensive plan to communicate threats and enhance the safety of students, staff and visitors. The quality of its Integrated Campus Emergency Alerting System has led to a leadership recognition award from the Human Resource Management Association of Manitoba (HRMAM).

This Emergency Alerting System provides timely and effective warnings to allow people to take appropriate actions that save lives in the event of an imminent safety threat. It includes the following features:

• Emergency announcements through several public address speakers;
• Desktop alerts to computers and text alerts to cellphones for all staff and students;
• A comprehensive education campaign, including orientation for students and new employees;
• Weekly testing of the system, including annual campus-wide lockdown drills to ensure students and staff know what to do in the event of an imminent threat.

“As a result of the Alerting System, the entire College community has become more engaged and aware of their responsibilities in the event of an unforeseen emergency affecting one or more of our campuses,” said Dave Clarke, Emergency Preparedness Coordinator.  “It has helped make Red River College a safer environment in which to work and learn.”

The system includes pre-scripted messages to initiate a lockdown at any campus, as well as the ability to issue live or updated messaging as a situation evolves.  Participants can also specify which campus they attend to receive alerts for only that campus.

The Alerting system also includes protocols and procedures for immediate notification of managers and senior staff in the event of a serious incident, as well as departmental call-trees to disseminate information to and from staff who may be off campus.

Today, Winnipeg Technical College received a bomb threat at approximately 1:00 pm at their Erin Street Campus. The threat was made over the telephone via a recording that included threats to the University of Winnipeg and Red River College. Winnipeg Technical College’s threat assessment team immediately contacted the Winnipeg Police Service and informed both Red River College and the University of Winnipeg. Police officers were dispatched to all of the institutions and their campuses to evaluate the threat. Winnipeg Technical College’s Erin Street Campus was evacuated during the search.

All three institutions were in constant communication regarding this threat and acted in accordance with their respective emergency protocols in conjunction with the Winnipeg Police Service. Nothing suspicious was found at any of the institutions and all organizations were assessed as being safe and cleared.

Operations will continue as normal at Red River College with no cancellations to exams or any other activity.

Red River College was pleased to host a delegation from Shijiazhuang University (SU) in China this week, and to enter into an agreement that will help connect staff and students from both schools.

On Monday, RRC hosted a delegation led by SU President Wang Junhua, who met with Christine Crowe (RRC’s Vice-President, Community Development) to explore mutual cooperation between the two institutions.

The delegation also toured the Notre Dame Campus — where a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between RRC and SU was signed — and the Paterson GlobalFoods Institute, where they shared a lunch at Jane’s restaurant.

“We understand that we live in a global economy, and we will be working with and doing business with people who have different cultural backgrounds and histories,” said Crowe.

“We need to look at the world differently, and build cross-cultural skills. We are very interested in providing opportunities for our students and our instructors to experience other cultures as part of their education.”

With support and direction from its International Education office, RRC is building innovative partnerships with colleges and universities throughout the world, including those in China, India, South America and Europe. Agreements such as the one with SU often result in joint partnerships, exchange programs, and new ways of collaborating to meet both parties’ mutual interests.

Congratulations to Continuing Education grad Arlene Ebora (Project Management, 2013), who was honoured earlier this week with a $1,000 student achievement award at PMI Manitoba’s annual conference.

Ebora, who immigrated from the Philippines in 2007 through the Manitoba Provincial Nominee program, now works as a technical account manager at Microsoft Enterprise Services in Winnipeg.

She received the award from PMI Manitoba and Red River College based on a combination of academic excellence, outstanding teamwork skills and personal drive, having impressed both her instructors and her employers with her enthusiasm and intelligence.

“Having a teacher for a mother has instilled in me the value of education,” says Ebora. “When given the opportunity to enroll in RRC’s Project Management program through work, I felt excited to be a student again, and nostalgic to walk the halls of an academic building again.” Read More →

Red River College has again been recognized for its commitment to environmental sustainability, having been named one of Canada’s Greenest Employers for the third year in a row.

The prestigious honour recognizes RRC’s efforts to reduce the environmental impact of College operations, incorporate sustainability into research and academic programming, and engage staff and students in more eco-conscious behaviour.

The unveiling of this year’s Greenest Employers coincides with Earth Day celebrations throughout Canada, and also with RRC’s week-long State of Sustainability, an event that includes recycling and green building tours, compost giveaways, e-waste collection drives and information sessions on organic lawn care and sustainability at home.

“There’s a real culture of sustainability at Red River College,” says Manager of Sustainability Sara MacArthur. “Our staff do more than just ‘know’ about sustainability — they also embrace the values of sustainability in their day-to-day actions.”

Launched in 2007, the Canada’s Greenest Employers competition recognizes organizations that lead the nation in creating a culture of environmental awareness in their workplaces.

RRC is one of only three Manitoba organizations to be named to this year’s Greenest Employers list (alongside Manitoba Hydro and Assiniboine Credit Union), and one of only seven post-secondary institutions across Canada.

It’s the second time in days that RRC has been recognized for its commitment to the environment. Last week, the College was awarded one of Polar Bears International’s Paws of Approval, which recognize organizational efforts to reduce carbon footprints. RRC also remains the only post-secondary institution in Manitoba to complete the STARS rating system, the most commonly accepted sustainability rating system for colleges and universities in North America.

Click here to learn more about RRC’s commitment to environmental sustainability.

On behalf of the School of Indigenous Education, Red River College is pleased to host the 13th Annual Pow Wow Honouring Aboriginal Graduates on Friday, May 3, 2013 in the North Gym. Please find below a breakdown of the day’s events.

FRIDAY, MAY 3, 2013

Stop by for a piece a bannock and sip of tea, or peruse the crafters booths and enjoy the dancing and music.

Should you have any questions, please contact Tracy Brant at 204-632-2106 or email tbrant@rrc.ca.