Visit to college in northern British Columbia

On June 5 we visited the campus of North West Community College in Smithers in the north of the province of British Columbia. We were warmly welcomed by a variety of college managers, by the mayor of Smithers and by one of the elders of the local First Nation:

After receiving a few presentations and some lively Q&A between our hosts and the visitors from Colombia, Peru and Bolivia, we visited a local mill for wood processing. The scale of this operation was impressive and the presentations about nowadays sustainable forestry were fantastic..

In the right top corner of this photo you see part of the processing plant. Taking photos of this very mechanized process do not really give you a good impression; you will have to try to visit one day yourself. The energy management is nowadays to a large extend self-sufficient by burning left-over produce and that way heating the huge wood dryers.

Also here we found an employee (seated during his lunch break) who spoke excellent Spanish from years working in forestry in South America; a nice coincidence. Next a few more photos of this operation set in the beautiful Rocky Mountains. North West Community College works closely with this company for specific training programs and internships.

 

After the visit to the mill, we drove to a field school of NWCC. Here they offer seven week training programs in mining exploration in close cooperation with some of the local mining companies.

The school has morning theory classes (see photo above) and afternoon field practicums in the setting in which the graduates afterwards will work in the exploration sector. Most of the students are in their thirties of forties and many have had a rough life. This course is for most of them an opportunity to re-enter the world of work based on the needs of the industry. During the evenings the students spend time with an aboriginal elder (more than 50 % of the trainees are aboriginal) in the local history and crafts. They produce their own graduation gowns according to local First Nation traditions.

Bibiana and Juan Guillermo, my Colombian colleagues on this visit to Canada, were captivated by the design and implementation of this specific training program.....