Amid the expansion of programs at Northwestern Polytechnic, a new focus is coming to the school according to recent reports.
NWP President and CEO Dr. Vannessa Sheane says as her school continues on its path to providing in-demand programming to support the local economy and workforce with an emphasis on those in the medical field, NWP has not lost sight of what the public expects of a polytechnic.
“We’re always looking at offering new programs that attract and retain the talent and the learners in our area,” she says.
Sheane says the NWP administration team has decided to “really start leaning into” the polytechnic side of the school, and now, she says residents interested in the trades sector will soon have an even greater opportunity to educate themselves locally.
“We’ve started focusing on skilled trades expansion both in our programs and in our skilled trade learning bases, so our shop, our hands-on classroom areas,” she says. “That’s a number one to-do item on my list coming into the Fall here, is really promoting that piece.”
According to Dr. Sheane, the expansion of skilled trades programming is a critical step in localizing education for eager learners in Grande Prairie to ensure that the region’s workforce needs can be met by keeping talent in the area.
“It really is exciting to help meet the workforce needs, the labour needs, and the education needs for people who want to become a skilled trades professional, and maybe right now they can’t get the program they want in our area.”
Sheane says the skilled trades expansion will include both the Grande Prairie and Fairview NWP campuses and more information regarding enrollment and applications will be released as it becomes available.
