RRC Polytech is dedicated to preparing students for the future of work through constantly-evolving learning models. Work-Integrated Learning (WIL), where students have the opportunity to put their newly-acquired skills to the test in a working environment, is an indispensable tool to enrich students’ educational experiences.

March 27 is observed as National Work-Integrated Learning Day, which is an opportunity to recognize the amazing work that students do while on WIL industry and community placements and the staff and faculty that provide guidance and support for students to achieve their goals.

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Imagine moving to a new place, more than an eight-hour flight away from home. It’s your first time being away from family. You speak the language, but it’s not how you regularly communicate — this is a totally new culture. Now imagine going to school there to train for the first job you’ve ever had.

Camila Quintanilla doesn’t have to imagine — it’s exactly what she did. In March 2021, she moved from Peru to Winnipeg to start a co-operative work placement through RRC Polytech’s Hotel and Restaurant Management program in the Hospitality and Tourism Management diploma.

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Students changing their career with the support of Red River College Polytechnic (RRC Polytech) isn’t unfamiliar – in fact, many students arrive at RRC Polytech to upgrade existing skills or develop new skills to reach their personal and professional goals.

Stephen Klatt was one of these students. He was a practicing physiotherapist for over five years when he was forced to close his practice for a few months due to the pandemic and wasn’t sure what was next.

“The fear and anxiety that everyone had surrounding COVID made many of my clients not want to return to in-person treatments, and it was really difficult to get things going again. So, I took the two months off to explore personal interests, including upgrading my computer and building a professional website for myself and had a lot of fun on these projects and I thought ‘Hey, I’m interested in something more technical and hands-on’ – that’s what brought me to the College,” says Stephen, currently in his second year of Electronic Engineering Technology.

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When Anna Borys signed up for the Culinary Arts program at RRC Polytech’s School of Hospitality, she wasn’t sure where it would take her – she just knew she didn’t want to work in a restaurant.

“I went into culinary school knowing I didn’t want to work in food services,” she says. “But I didn’t know what else was out there.”

Having worked for her family’s glass business for 10 years before going back to school, Anna had developed a taste for the nine-to-five lifestyle – a schedule the fast-paced service industry doesn’t always allow.

This confusion about her future left her in a bit of a pickle, until she started her co-op work placement with RRC Polytech’s Culinary Research team, which operates out of the Prairie Research Kitchen on the 11th floor of the Paterson GlobalFoods Institute. Anna credits her co-op placement with determining her career path.

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Any experienced hotel guest knows the person who holds the room keys also holds the power to make or break your stay.

Kevin Dyck, the Front Office Manager at the Delta Hotel in Winnipeg, agrees it takes a certain personality type to hold down the front desk at a major hotel.

“You need to be warm and genuine,” he says. “The people that have success genuinely want guests to have a good stay.”

And the ability to make a connection with a guest during a two-minute check-in isn’t something that can be taught – not even in Red River College’s Hospitality and Tourism Management program. Dyck, who graduated from the course in 2005, says that’s one of the first lessons he learned at RRC.

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