Camosun ready for employment boom
In a recent press release, Camosun College President Peter Lockie said that by 2020 British Columbia is expected to have over one million new job openings. Lockie explained that 34 percent of those job openings will require at least a college degree, and 44 percent will require college certification. Camosun has over 160 educational programs and is in an excellent position to train employees for the employment boom expected to take place, according to the press release.
Camosun hosts skills competition for young students
Nearly 1,000 middle-school and secondary-school students took advantage of the First-in-Three event on February 27 at Interurban campus. The event introduced the students to trades and technology careers, while high-school students were encouraged to show off their skills in a competition to win gold, silver, or bronze medals. Middle-school students (grades 6–9) took part in fun events such as spaghetti-bridge building and sumo-robot contests.
Chargers take home wins, mostly
Hilary Graham earned PACWEST women’s volleyball Athlete of the Week on February 18, while Katie Fetting took home the honour the week of February 25. Meanwhile, Vitor Macedo was the men’s volleyball Athlete of the Week the week of February 25. On February 21, Camosun Chargers volleyball beat the Vancouver Island University Mariners on both sides: women 3–2 and men 3–0. Over the February 13–14 weekend, the Chargers basketball women’s team fell 52–39 to the Mariners; Camosun men lost 87–62. On February 20, women’s basketball won 71–59 and men won 76–49, both against the Kwantlen University Eagles. Chargers basketball took on Columbia Bible College Bearcats on February 21, with Chargers women earning a 56–48 win and Chargers men winning 78–70. And the awards just don’t stop: Chargers volleyball team picked up a number of awards in the PACWEST All-Star awards. On the men’s team, student-athlete Alex Sadowski received a First Team All-Star award, while Cam Fennema and Vitor Macedo both received Second Team All-Star recognition. Chargers rookie Douglas Waterman made the PACWEST All-Rookie Team. On the women’s side, Hilary Graham and Mariah Holmstrom got First Team All-Star nods, while Morgan Marshall and Erika Sheen got Second Team All-Star awards. Charger rookie Megan Beckett received the Rookie of the Year award for the whole league, as well as an All-Rookie Team award. Meanwhile, Chargers women’s volleyball team head coach Chris Dahl was named Coach of the Year.
Is that ad a contest?
A double-decker transit bus sporting a Camosun ad is serving major routes throughout Victoria, taking a different route every day; students are encouraged to participate in a series of social-media contests involving the bus. The Camosun Twitter and Facebook pages will release information on how to enter each contest right before the end of each contest period. The next contest runs from March 3–6. Visit camosun.ca/news/press-releases/2015/february/cambus.html for more information.
Controversy continues with tuition-based education model
Nearly $7 million will go to 18 postsecondary institutions to jumpstart their evolution to a tuition-based model for Adult Basic Education. Students are outraged with the decision to implement tuition costs for these classes. “The only announcement government should be making is that high-school level education is going to remain free, period,” said Zach Crispin, chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students-BC, in a press release.
Student debt is steadily on the rise
According to the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS), unrecoverable student debt has risen to more than $1 billion since 2011. Since 2011, 200,000 students have relied on the student loan Repayment Assistance Program, while over 178,000 students cannot pay their student loans at all.
Advanced Education Minister downplays student debt, says CFS
According to the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS), Minister of Advanced Education Andrew Wilkinson made claims in an interview with CBC Radio that heavily contradicted previous government research involving the impact of student loan debt in British Columbia. Zach Crispin, chairperson of CFS-BC, said in a press release on February 23 that “the Minister is dead wrong on the size, scope, and impact of student loan debt in BC.” Crispin added that Wilkinson appeared to downplay the detriment of students’ debt.
The Learning Portal useful for all
The Royal BC Museum has launched a unique website, The Learning Portal, that allows adults and children access to countless articles, videos, images, audio, and other historical information. The Learning Portal is designed to accommodate people of all learning levels and offers everyone a chance to learn about history. The Learning Portal can be found at learning.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca.
Arts programs granted
The 2015 Operating Grant Program, totalling $2,086,980, has been approved by the Capital Regional District (CRD) Arts Committee. The program is to provide assistance in the CRD to organizations with public programming in the arts.