From left: Melanie Wight (MLA, Burrows); Manitoba Finance Minister Jennifer Howard; RRC President Stephanie Forsyth; and Wescan Capital President Peter Jessiman.

A new pilot program at Red River College this fall will provide individuals with intellectual disabilities full access to post-secondary educational opportunities and a successful transition into the workforce.

The 20-student Transforming Futures program will begin in September 2014, and will include hands-on learning in career exploration, essential employability skills and full integration into RRC programming if a student chooses this option. Students will complete classes leading to their certification, which will help them get ready for future employment.

“Red River College’s vision aligns with the goals of this program: to enable all students to build a career, enhance quality of life and contribute to Manitoba’s economic and social prosperity through exceptional applied education and research,” says RRC President Stephanie Forsyth. “This is the largest college in the province, and we are uniquely positioned to deliver accessible, innovative programming for students with intellectual disabilities. With the financial support of the province – and support of community champions and private donors – this pilot project is ready for launch.”

The 2013 Assuring Income Security and Equality for Canadians with Intellectual Disabilities and their Families report from the Canadian Association for Community Living estimated that 70 per cent of adults with intellectual disabilities are unemployed or out of the labour force, and are three times more likely than non-disabled Canadians to live in poverty.

“Training opportunities are essential in transforming an individual’s inherent talents and interests into marketable skills,” said Jobs and the Economy Minister Theresa Oswald. “Removing barriers and increasing accessibility to education is one key way to ensure Manitobans with intellectual have the opportunity to take part and further strengthen the work force.” Read More →

The latest recipient of a joint industry award from Red River College and the Project Management Institute (PMI) says she so enjoyed her time as a student, she was sorry to see it end.

“I felt like I was losing my best friends,” says Alexandra Cristea, a 2013 graduate of RRC’s Project Management program and the recent recipient of a $1,000 student achievement award from the College and the Manitoba chapter of PMI.

“It was absolutely wonderful, and very helpful,” she says. “They really prepared us for the real world.”

Cristea moved to Canada from Romania in 2001, while still working as an operations manager for SGS, a Swiss-based inspection and certification company. In order to expand her skill set, she made the move to project management in 2011 — landing a job as project manager with Assiniboine Credit Union, just before signing up for the program through RRC’s School of Continuing Education.

“I had been part of project work myself, either as support or a team member or consultant, and I realized the value of project management,” says Cristea. “I applied for the job with Assiniboine Credit Union and they hired me, but they said it was also good to have formal certification, which I completely agreed with.”

Currently on maternity leave from Assiniboine (she has a six-month-old baby at home), Cristea earned a perfect GPA for her efforts. She says she’s humbled to have been singled out by the College, crediting her instructors and colleagues as inspirations, and wholeheartedly recommending the program to employees of all stripes.

“Not only to project managers, but any kind of manager or supervisor or even team member,” says Cristea. “It’s very valuable … and it really goes across industries. My colleagues and I are from all over the place — construction, banking, telecommunications, everywhere. It’s not just limited to one industry.”

Click for more information about RRC’s Project Management program.

Join us at the 2014 Rotary Career Symposium, taking place Tuesday, March 18 and Wednesday, March 19 at the RBC Convention Centre Winnipeg.

Explore the hundreds of full- and part-time degree, diploma and certificate programs available at RRC. Instructors and academic advisors will be on hand to answer questions and provide insight on the many career and educational options awaiting RRC students.

Billed as the largest and most comprehensive career symposium in Canada, the Rotary event runs 9am-3pm and 6-9pm on Tuesday, and 9am-3pm on Wednesday.

This year’s theme is “Your Future Trending”; click here for more information, including exhibitor and speaker lists, and registration forms.

Today Red River College recognizes the work and contributions of volunteers and volunteer-involving organizations on International Volunteer Day.

“On this day, we take the opportunity to recognize volunteerism and the impact staff, students and faculty make,” said Stephanie Forsyth, President & CEO, Red River College. “Volunteer Management is not only programming offered at RRC but through College led initiatives, our team makes a difference by contributing to community through social and educational initiatives.”

RRC’s Volunteer Management Certificate program is the only one like it in Canada and follows the Canadian Administrators of Volunteer Resources (CAVR) guidelines.  The program trains students to manage and motivate groups of volunteers.  Core courses include; Recruitment and Marketing, Risk Management, Program Planning and Evaluation, Interpersonal Communication, and Working with Volunteers.  The Volunteer Management Certificate is available through distance learning, so students may enrol from anywhere in Canada to earn their certificate. It is offered through partnership with Volunteer Manitoba, Manitoba Association of Volunteer Administration (MAVA) and can be used towards a CAVR designation.  Graduates find rewarding and exciting careers in health-care, arts and culture, sports, tourism and much more

“The Volunteer Management program at Red River helped me focus on my management style and how I could apply it to organizing and maintaining a volunteer database of 250 participants,” said Kelly Seifert, Volunteer Coordinator & Facility Administration, Winnipeg Football Club. “Growing up, my parents taught me the value in helping others and I developed a passion early on for volunteering. RRC’s program allowed me to earn my certificate while working and now I enjoy a rewarding career committed to volunteerism.”

Red River College staff, students, and faculty regularly volunteer. From growing crops for the Students’ Association food bank and Winnipeg Harvest to leading the All Charities Campaign to special events for staff, students, faculty and their families, volunteers make a difference.

International Volunteer Day was established in 1985 by the UN General Assembly to be commemorated on December 5^th every year.  It is a day dedicated to celebrate volunteers and volunteer-involving organizations and what they achieve for peace and sustainable development.

Congratulations to Continuing Education grad Arlene Ebora (Project Management, 2013), who was honoured earlier this week with a $1,000 student achievement award at PMI Manitoba’s annual conference.

Ebora, who immigrated from the Philippines in 2007 through the Manitoba Provincial Nominee program, now works as a technical account manager at Microsoft Enterprise Services in Winnipeg.

She received the award from PMI Manitoba and Red River College based on a combination of academic excellence, outstanding teamwork skills and personal drive, having impressed both her instructors and her employers with her enthusiasm and intelligence.

“Having a teacher for a mother has instilled in me the value of education,” says Ebora. “When given the opportunity to enroll in RRC’s Project Management program through work, I felt excited to be a student again, and nostalgic to walk the halls of an academic building again.” Read More →

Red River College’s Corporate Solutions department, together with culinary instructors from the Paterson GlobalFoods Institute, partnered recently to welcome young people from a downtown youth centre to the new campus.

The March 12 event, a three-hour evening workshop exploring healthy eating options, drew 21 teens (aged 15 to 19) from Ka Ni Kanichihk Youth Centre on William Avenue. While at PGI, the group toured the newly-opened training spaces, learned more about the College’s School of Hospitality and Culinary Arts, and took part in some health-conscious cooking classes.

The teens prepared a meal that put a healthy spin on traditional favourites — sandwiches made with bannock baked in butter (instead of fried in lard), and homemade rice pudding with fresh berries.

Ka Ni Kanichihk means “those who lead”, a mandate the youth centre carries out by “inspiring youth who face multiple barriers and challenges to believe in themselves, their potential and their ability to achieve high goals through education, training and employment opportunities.”

Click here for more information on Corporate Solutions at RRC.

Red River College joins the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority in celebrating the accomplishments of the most recent graduates of its Health Services Leadership and Management program.

Available in class and online through RRC’s School of Continuing Education, and delivered in partnership with the WRHA, the program targets current health services workers who wish to further their careers by developing or upgrading their management skills.

Employees come from a wide range of services, including acute care, community programs, diagnostic, personal and long-term care facilities. The program allows them to build the knowledge, skills and networking connections required to succeed in the WRHA’s dynamic and evolving health care environment.

“The beauty of this program is that it couples tangible financial support with a sense of identifying and acknowledging potential in our future health care leaders,” says Nish Verma, vice-president and chief human resources officer for the WRHA.

The collaborative WRHA/RRC model of the program has grown steadily since its inception in 2003, and is now a widely recognized and established component of the WRHA’s management and succession planning strategy. It was developed through collaborations with the Manitoba Chapter of the Canadian College of Health Leaders; curriculum is based on that organization’s Certified Health Executive competencies.

Those taking the program receive instruction from some of the most respected names in the health service industry, as well as expert guidance as they apply their practical skills in the workplace. Participants in the joint WRHA/RRC program have to be sponsored in by their employers, who in turn must be a health organization under the WRHA.

Click here for more info on the Health Services Leadership and Management program at RRC.

Animal Health Technology grads Mary Robinson (left) and Tannis Rentz, with furry friends Aspen, Willow and Capone.

Red River College grad Tannis Rentz (Animal Health Technology, 2002) has been providing aid to people’s pets for more than 10 years now — ever since she began volunteering at the Transcona Veterinary Hospital as a teen.

But in April 2013, Rentz and fellow AHT grad Mary Robinson (2011) will travel a little further afield to help the tens of thousands of sick or malnourished dogs crowding the streets of Kathmandu, Nepal.

Rentz and Robinson are headed to Nepal’s KAT Centre, a not-for-profit treatment centre for sick and injured street dogs. As Rentz explains, there are currently more than 20,000 dogs living on the streets of Kathmandu — many of them infected with rabies and other communicable diseases that pose a threat to their human counterparts.

“And of course they’re constantly reproducing, because none of them are spayed or neutered,” says Rentz, who over the last 10 years has worked her way from a clinical position at the Winnipeg Animal Emergency Clinic to an administrative role with the Petsecure arm of the Western Financial Insurance Company.

“Initially, the government there thought it would be a good idea to terminate these dogs by throwing poisoned meat into the streets. But then they’d dispose of the poisoned bodies by throwing them into their water supply, which just made things even worse.” Read More →

Armando Galindo (right), with Heather Black, Director of Volunteers and Events for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Winnipeg.

(Originally published on our Going Places blog)

Congratulations go out to Continuing Education student Armando Galinda, who was recently named Outstanding Student of the Year by the Boys and Girls Club of Winnipeg.

A student in RRC’s Youth Recreation Activity Worker program, Galinda served as a volunteer for the Boys and Girls Club before enrolling at the College. He’s continued to work for the organization while pursuing his studies — completing his practicum there (at two different locations) and serving as a special events planner in his off-time.

The Outstanding Student of the Year Award recognizes commitment to the Boys and Girls Club’s vision, community involvement, and dedication to children. Galinda received his award at the Club’s volunteer reception on Thursday, May 10, 2012, where he also picked up the Jacques Nollette Memorial Award for Outstanding Volunteer Leadership. Click here for more information.

Local wine expert Gary Hewitt (third from left), with (from left) Graham Thompson, Dean of Business and Applied Arts at RRC; RRC President Stephanie Forsyth; Banville & Jones President Tina Jones, and RRC Hospitality Chair John Reimers.

Local wine expert Gary Hewitt will soon be heading Down Under to learn more about the Australian wine industry, having won a prestigious scholarship rewarding achievement in wine studies throughout the world.

Hewitt, the senior buyer and educator at Banville & Jones Wine Co., graduated last month with the prestigious Diploma in Wines and Spirits from the London, England-based Wine and Spirit Education Trust© (WSET©). Even more impressive, Hewitt is the Canadian recipient of the Wines of Australia Scholarship, an expenses-paid study trip to Australia for the five highest-performing international graduates from mainland Europe, Canada, U.S.A., Ireland and Asia Pacific.

“Wine knowledge is extremely valuable in today’s market,” says Tina Jones, president of Banville & Jones. “We are fortunate in Manitoba, and in Canada, to have someone of Gary’s calibre leading our wine education programs.”

In addition to his roles with Banville & Jones, Hewitt has also been instrumental in developing RRC’s new Wine and Spirits Education Trust© workshops, delivered through RRC’s School of Continuing and Distance Education, in conjunction with its School of Hospitality and Culinary Arts. Read More →