Congratulations to RRC instructor Scott MacAulay, who was recently named the Prairie region’s Entrepreneurship Educator of the Year by Startup Canada.

He’ll be formally recognized at the Prairie Startup Canada Awards in Calgary on May 15.

MacAulay (shown above) has been an entrepreneurship and finance instructor with RRC’s Applied Commerce and Management Education (ACME) department for the last eight years. Recently, he’s been seconded to research better ways to activate entrepreneurs, and is currently gathering best practices for how to implement an entrepreneurial lifestyle in Manitoba.

MacAulay is also very active in the local startup scene, working alongside such organizations as Ramp Up Manitoba, AssentWorks and Innovation Alley to connect RRC students and instructors with other members of the innovation community.

As well, he’s the co-founder of his own tech startup, PermissionClick, a productivity tool aimed at making it easier for teachers to collect permission slips and payments from students and parents. Read More →

Red River College President Stephanie Forsyth recently addressed the College community with respect to concerns about the projected deficit, staff departures and stories in the media.

Read the memo on her blog →

Hon. Theresa Oswald (left), with students and instructors from RRC’s School of Transportation, Aerospace and Manufacturing.

Federal and provincial employment ministers paid a visit to Red River College yesterday, to sign a trio of agreements aimed at connecting Manitobans with available jobs.

Hon. Jason Kenny, Minister of Employment and Social Development, joined Hon. Theresa Oswald, Manitoba Minister of Jobs and the Economy, at RRC’s Heavy Equipment Transportation Centre (HETC) to finalize three key agreements related to skills training and employment programs.

The Canada Job Grant takes an employer-driven approach to helping Canadians gain the skills and job training required to fill available jobs. Delivered through the Canada-Manitoba Job Fund, the Grant requires increased contributions from employers, which Kenney said will result in training that leads to guaranteed jobs.

“The Canada Job Grant is part of our commitment to address the paradox of too many Canadians without jobs, in an economy of too many jobs without Canadians,” said Kenney. “Helping employers train Canadians for jobs that need to be filled will help their business grow and succeed. And that is good news for the Manitoba economy.”

Under the agreement, the province will receive $18 million a year for a variety of training programs. The funding works out to $15,000 per person for tuition and training; that amount includes up to $10,000 in federal contributions, with employers required to cover one-third of the total costs, on average.

“By working with business to provide skills training opportunities, we are helping young Manitobans find good jobs right here at home,” said Oswald of the new agreements. “Together, the new Canada-Manitoba Job Fund and our five-year, $5.5-billion infrastructure plan will grow our economy, create jobs, and put Manitoba on stronger, more competitive footing for the future.” Read More →

For the fourth year in a row, Red River College has been recognized as one of Canada’s Greenest Employers, an award that acknowledges our environmentally friendly policies and programs that effectively engage staff in sustainability efforts.

“Red River College is leading the way in campus sustainability,” says RRC President Stephanie Forsyth. “This year, RRC is the only post-secondary institution in Manitoba to receive this honour. Sustainability is one of our four strategic priorities; all of our work follows the triple bottom line – people, planet, profits. As a public institution, we believe that we have a responsibility to model and impart sustainability to our students and staff.”

RRC has worked hard to show it’s worthy of such an honour, and the numbers speak for themselves. Last year, the College diverted more than 50% of materials leaving campus from the landfill (35% more than the average Winnipeg household). Thanks to the largest on-site institutional compost program in the city, RRC not only diverts hundreds of pounds of food waste from the campus every day, but also saves more than $1,000 annually in topsoil costs by using the finished compost on campus grounds.

The College is one of only four Winnipeg employers to offer a 60% subsidized EcoPass to its employees. This incentive results in bus ridership rates that exceed 50% for our downtown-based employees – a percentage well beyond the city’s transit ridership rate of 14%.  Read More →

Red River College has renewed its training partnership with Yaskawa Canada Inc., to become the only current provider of Yaskawa Motoman robotics training in Canada.

“Robotics and automation are critical innovations which enable manufacturers to effectively compete in the global marketplace,” says Don MacDonald, Dean of RRC’s School of Transportation, Aviation and Manufacturing. “This partnership establishes RRC as a Yaskawa Canada site for certified Yaskawa Motoman robotics training, and we are thrilled to be working with them.”

Under the terms of the partnership, robotics training is available to industry in a dedicated one-of-a-kind training lab located at RRC’s Notre Dame Campus. The College has been actively involved in supporting innovation and productivity initiatives in aerospace and manufacturing, and this renewed partnership is a further step towards offering solutions to meet the needs of industry.

“This partnership is an excellent opportunity to showcase and highlight the value of the services Yaskawa Motoman and the College provide to industry partners in Western Canada,” says Jason Jenson, General Manager of Yaskawa Canada Inc. “We are pleased to be part of the next evolution in the educational technology being offered at the College. We look forward to our continued growth and success together.”

Scheduled DX100 Basic Programming courses offered at RRC can be booked through the Yaskawa Canada website (location listed as “Red River College, Winnipeg”).

RRC instructor David Blicq (Chemical and Biosciences Technology) talks to students at this year’s Open House event.

Congratulations to the RRC students, staff and instructors recognized by our Open House Secret Shoppers, who went “undercover” at this year’s event in search of examples of exceptional service.

The Secret Shoppers had their eyes peeled for staff and volunteers who went above and beyond in their interactions with Open House visitors, whether by presenting themselves (or their respective programs/departments) in an engaging, approachable manner, or by making efforts to take their tours and conversations to the next level.

Those singled out received complimentary RED Cards; a full list of winners is below. Read More →

From left: AWMAC President Curtis Popel, RRC apprentice Leonard Derksen, and RRC instructor Todd Birtwhistle, at last year’s National Apprenticeship Contest.

Best of luck to the RRC students taking part in this weekend’s Architectural Woodwork Manufacturers Association of Canada (AWMAC) Cabinetmaking Apprenticeship competition.

The nine-hour event will unfold at RRC’s Notre Dame Campus this Saturday, during which time eight apprentices will compete for the top spot, and for prizes supplied by AWMAC and RRC’s Cabinetmaking Apprenticeship Fund.

The winner will advance to the nationals, where his or her project will be judged against winning projects from throughout Canada.

Last year’s provincial winner, Leonard Derksen (shown above), went on to take top honours at the National Apprenticeship Contest. The following RRC apprentices are competing in this year’s provincial round:

• Mike Baker
• Alicia Demare
• Travis Devisser
• Marcus Dyck
• Derek Friesen
• Adam Hajkowski
• Marc Lindenberg
• Julia Smith Read More →

Red River College has launched a new website in support of its Technology Access Centre (TAC) initiative, serving aerospace and manufacturing organizations at home and abroad.

Funded in part by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada’s (NSERC’s) Community and College Innovation Program, the TAC supports both large and small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by providing enhanced access to RRC’s technological assets, subject matter expertise, and specialized facilities and equipment. Organizations benefit by gaining access to technology and expertise that was previously unavailable directly to industry.

The new website provides an industry portal through which aerospace and manufacturing organizations can view RRC’s resources, including: information on full-time student programming (from which they can draw their future workforce), information on hiring co-op students and interns, information on facilities and equipment available to assist them in projects, and information on how the College can support industry through applied research, technical services and training activities.

The site also highlights success stories and student projects, along with an events calendar listing upcoming seminars and events, and an area for posted tips and tricks helpful for practitioners in the workplace.

“This new website continues to promote the valued partnership we have with companies like StandardAero and our industrial campus, the Centre for Aerospace Technology and Training (CATT),” says Don MacDonald, Dean of RRC’s School of Transportation, Aviation and Manufacturing. “This new resource will ultimately mean more opportunities for industry, and for our students studying in these areas.”

Visit the new website to learn more about the Technology Access Centre.

Do you love sandwiches? (Of course you do. It was a rhetorical question.)

Kids from all over Winnipeg have been busy creating their most outrageous, nutritious and delicious sandwiches, as part of The Winnipeg Foundation’s inaugural Recipe for Success Video Cooking Contest.

Now it’s your turn to help decide the winner of the People’s Choice Award, by voting for one of 56 submitted video entries — in which groups of elementary school students assemble everything from healthy-sounding options (the Power Protein Pita, the Hummus and Veggie-Packed Panini) to surefire crowd-pleasers like the Jets Bagel, the Waffle Supreme, and the Chuck Norris Sandwich. (And yes, we assume that last one eats you.)

In addition to the People’s Choice winner, an overall winner and runner-up team will be decided by a panel of celebrity judges, among them Keith Müller, Dean of RRC’s School of Hospitality and Culinary Arts.

Prizes for the winning teams include three $500 grants to support healthy food initiatives at schools and community organizations, and five Junior Master Chef Culinary Adventures at RRC. The winning sandwich will also be featured on the menu at RRC’s Culinary Exchange.

Voting is open until March 28. For complete details or to cast your vote, visit wpgfdn.org/recipe-for-success.

Red River College has launched its first international pathway program in India.

The new initiative will allow students at the Xplora Design Skool (XDS) in Ahmedabad, India to receive an International Diploma in Digital Media Design. Students will take their first year of studies at XDS and will be granted direct admission to RRC following the successful completion of Year One.

Students aren’t required to complete their second year at Red River College; however, the option exists and is advantageous, as Canada has many engaging and emerging opportunities for digital media designers.

“This partnership is important for moving our strategy to create opportunities for global engagement, and it opens the doors for students from India to learn cutting-edge skills in Canada,” says Christine Crowe, vice-president of community development at RRC. “The new program showcases RRC and Manitoba as a world-class education destination for students.”

As part of the new program, RRC has sent Chris Brower, program coordinator for the College’s Digital Media Design program, to facilitate a train-the-trainer workshop for instructors at XDS. Part of Brower’s visit will include an overview of DMD, as well as available career opportunities and information about Manitoba. Read More →