Selkirk College announced they have received funding in the amount of $556,000 for upgrades as part of the provincial government's investment in BC's post-secondary infrastructure. The upgrades will ensure infrastructure and operation systems will function at optimal levels this year at Castlegar and Nelson campuses.
"We received some one time funding in the Spring - it's very helpful," said Angus Graeme, Selkirk College president and CEO. "We've had an infusion in our capital funding. The number $556,000 is the grand total. Normally, we would get somewhere in the neighbourhood of $350,000. So it's added some money to that. It's a very welcome relief to our maintenance deficit that we have. We operate in six campuses and some of our buildings are aging and require extensive maintenance and upkeep."
Graeme said the extra money will help cross off some of the necessary items on the college's "to-do" list.
"It'll help us to put in some new technology, fix some of the safety issues for the work place and students," he said. "We're going to fix some of the areas that need upgrading to current standards. As well, we're going to address a couple of capital maintenance issues at the Castlegar campus and the Nelson 10th Street campus."
The college is also going to make modifications to their library system at Castlegar to make it more modern.
"We want it to be more of a learning commons approach," said Graeme. "We want to modernize it and convert it to more of a 21st century library and learning environment. The other big one, and it's related to safety as well, is an update to the phone system in Castlegar. We've already done that work in Nelson. We'll be going to VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol). It'll allow us to incorporate more safety features around each phone. It'll make a much more efficient use of our phone system."
The college and government also announced recently how $457,000 in one time funding will be used to offer short-term training in the region. The college expects to create seats in a variety of fields over the coming year, including administrative skills, early childhood education, and introduction to practical nursing, along with trades foundation programs.
"Those are one time monies again, they're not ongoing," said Graeme. "I'm always pushing for ongoing and more increases to our annual budget. But I'm certainly appreciative of this one time money to address the real training needs in the community that employers have identified as high needs."
According to a government press release, B.C. taxpayers are providing close to $26 million for Selkirk's operations this year - including an allowance for general infrastructure maintenance - up from $20.3 million in 2001-02. The number of funded student spaces at the college has increased over six per cent over that time.
With less than a week to go until classes start, Graeme says that enrolment is similar to last year.
"It's about the same as last year, maybe a little up from last year - which is great," he said. "There's still some room for improvement. I'd like to see enrolments continue to expand. It's kind of become job one for all of us at the college to really look at our program offerings and the health of our programs. (We need to) look at how we're marketing and engaging students to come to the college. I'd like to see that enrolment continue to increase over time."
Kootenay West MLA Katrine Conroy is pleased to see the Liberal government investing in education in the region.
"It's great news," she said. "We've been saying for years that we need more money in the trades and things like admin skills, and especially for practical nursing. It's great that they're recognizing that we need to keep seats for kids in this region at the college. I think it's great."
Conroy is also glad to see money being invested into the campuses themselves.
"The funding for the infrastructure work is really good too," she said. "It's the oldest community college in the province. It definitely needs some upgrading. It's a beautiful facility, but it does need some upgrading of the infrastructure so I think this is really good.
"It's good news for the region; good news for the people going to do the work on the building; and good news for the students who want to take that type of training right here in their home community and not have to leave," said Conroy.