A Business Point of View

The Important Role Played by NSCC in Workforce Development

Recently, I had a personal tour the Ivany Campus of the Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC) by their affable President, Don Bureau. I have been interested in seeing this campus for some time. The Ivany Campus is impressive from mainly perspectives. It sits on the Dartmouth waterfront with a spectacular view of the Halifax Harbour and has been purposely designed to maximize the exposure to the water views by students. It is a 300,000 sq ft facility that houses 46 of the College’s 140 programs, everything thing from skill trades, licensed practical nurses (LPNs), 3D printing for manufacturing parts, lab technicians that analyze blood to name a few of the interesting programs being taught on the campus. The Ivany Campus is the largest of the College’s 17 different sites across the province which include 13 other stand-alone campuses and three other community learning centres in commercial space. There are 11,000 full-time students attending the College, of which 3,000 are at the Ivany Campus. Including part-time learners and apprenticeship training, the College serves about 25,000 students per year There are 250 faculty at the Ivany Campus.

Leadership Matters

The transformation of NSCC from a trade school network into a modern community college began with the appointment of Ray Ivany, who the Ivany Campus is named after, as President & CEO in Ivany was charged with modernizing NSCC. In April 1996, the Community Colleges Act came into effect, and NSCC became an autonomous institution with its own Board of Directors. Given that NSCC was essentially an amalgamation of previously separate institutions, like the Nova Scotia Teachers College in Truro, a lot of work was necessary to establish centralized functions such as a province-wide admissions procedure and comprehensive student services. The decision by the Hamm Government to invest in the physical assets of the community college system was a turning point for NSCC under Ivany’s leadership leading to the construction of the then Waterfront Campus (Ivany Campus)completed in 2007 and the upgrading on the other campuses across the province. Perhaps more importantly were Ivany’s efforts to change the image and reputation of the community colleges in Nova Scotia into a practical alternative to getting a university degree by having NSCC would collaboratively with industry to develop the skilled workforce needed by companies in the province. Sometimes this led to specifically developing programs in partnership with companies, like Irving Shipyards to develop a purposely designed pipe fitting program to build ships or more recently the development of a licenced practical nurse program with the NS Health Authority that now graduates 500 LPNs annually, or long-care for companies like Shannex.

While there is no doubt that Ray Ivany was responsible for the transformation of NSCC, it has been his successor who has continued the process to link the college more closely to the needs of the province’s workforce needs. Don Bureau had big shoes to fill and has done an admirable job doing so, including leading the College’s ten-year plan to develop student housing.

Student Housing

The Ivany Campus will open its new student housing this fall that will accommodate 200 students in various configured apartments on campus. Student housing is relatively new to NSCC. The College has now built six new student residences in the past five years and is halfway to its goal to have 1,000 units for students on campus in the next 4-5 years. It is expected that these units will be available to the market when not used by students. Like many universities, the move to increase student housing on college campuses will help to relieve some pressure on the housing market.

Impact of International Students

Currently, about 10 percent of NSCC’s full-time students are international. The College has attracted students from more than 70 countries in recent years. The majority of international students are enrolled in the tourism and hospitality programs. The Federal government’s cap on international students will have a negative impact for NSCC, with the expectations that the percentage of international students will decrease by at least a half going forward. This will reduce revenues for the College by about $5 million. As Bureau indicated to me, while a blow to the College’s $250 million annual budget, it is not as onerous as the impact on some of the universities in the region.

Proof of Success

Recent graduates follow up surveys indicate that 91 percent find suitable employment in their field of study following graduation. Perhaps equally interesting, 93 percent find work in Nova Scotia. This is a testament to the relevance and importance of the role that NSSC plays in developing the workforce in Nova Scotia. The ability of the College to adapt and change their educational programs and their work with their various sector councils to keep their training current and up to date is the secret to NSCC’s success. Their contribution to our economy should not go unrecognized.