The College and The City - futures intertwined?

Now, I'm not an alumni of Red Deer College (RDC), but there is no denying that the college is an important part of this city. I've been to day camps there as a kid, saw many a performance in the Arts Centre, used its library when I was in University and visiting home, know countless family and friends who have attended (and some even graduated!) and have been to community events hosted there since I have returned to the city. The recent additions are excellent (although sometimes a bit confusing to navigate) and enhance the College as an important part of our community.

The community as a whole is excited about the Donald School of Business being located in a downtown campus. Indeed, I think this is a good idea for the downtown. But I have a bigger question I can't figure out: Why do we specifically need a business school in Red Deer?

Taking a look at the classified ads in the Red Deer Advocate and it is obvious that the jobs in Red Deer centre around 3 areas - Service sector, oil & gas and trades. The Petroleum Human Resources Council of Canada is predicting huge shortages of skilled workers in the oilfield. The oilfield is a very important part of Red Deer's economy. These companies in Red Deer seem to fall within two categories though - small local businesses or field offices of major international companies.

Now, marketing and accounting are good skills to have, I'm just not sure how relevant they are in a city which outsources those things to Calgary or Edmonton or beyond. There is a demand for Human Resource professionals in this city, but most companies in Red Deer only need one or two (if any) of these trained professionals. Again, a lot of the HR staff appear to come out of... Calgary or Edmonton. Maybe the College has the idea that if they train the people in Red Deer, the companies will keep them in the city. But I'm not sure that 'if you build it, they will come' will work in this situation.

Red Deer has a demand for skilled workers. But I think the demand is for the trades (something that RDC does very well already) or for technical diplomas. In Alberta, NAIT and SAIT seem to have almost a monopoly on these diplomas. But Red Deer needs these workers now and we're having to send people away to other cities for 2 years in the hope that once they complete, they'll return to Red Deer.

I think a downtown campus is a good idea, but instead of business classes, why not other social sciences? There will always be some demand for Bachelor of Arts. Ok, I'm a little biased, as a BA graduate in Sociology. But I see the Donald of School of Business training people so that they can move to other cities. And then we're shipping away students who could be employed in Red Deer to Calgary or Edmonton to be trained. It doesn't really make sense to me.

Degree granting status has been a dream of RDC and this community for years. Many people dream that RDC will someday be RDU. The current administration at the College still hopes for this, but is realistic.We're right smack in the middle of two major Universities and two smaller ones. But the diploma classes at NAIT and SAIT are always full. It would be great if the College could look at offering diplomas like Civil, Mechanical or Welding Engineering Technology. We need these jobs here and not everyone can move to attend NAIT or SAIT. And not all programs can be offered by distance.

I welcome a discussion on this. Is the Donald School of Business going to fill an important gap in this City? Or should the college be looking at other options?

Cloudy, with a chance of labour shortages

There are two types of labour shortages. One is for skilled workers, people who require education and training to do their jobs, and the other is for semi-skilled workers - jobs that require little training. Alberta has seen both, but as the economy collapsed with falling energy prices, Alberta suddenly found itself with more workers than it had positions.

The collapse did affect all sectors. Even health care, once touted as the one sector to never decline again is not hiring as the government tries to reign in spending. But the people I see who are most affected by this downturn are individuals with little education. The job market is certainly more competitive than it once was, but the right people with the right experience are still finding the right job.

Demographics point to the inevitable. The baby boomers are retiring. Certainly, some will stay in the workforce for many more years, but many will leave their careers of 25-30 years and move into something that is more suitable for someone in their 60's. An accountant who has had one too many tax seasons opens a small hobby shop specializing in toy trains. A pipefitter recovers from cancer surgery and can't pull wrenches anymore, so helps his local church on an almost daily basis. A senior manager (government or corporate) is tired of the bloody cold so starts wintering in warmer climes. This is just starting to happen.

There will always be those who do not want to continue on their education so they will take the semi-skilled jobs. I believe the boom gave some of these individuals unrealistic expectations. The truth is, that the jobs in our economy require some level of training. Our economy is not run on people who can dig holes or serve you at a cash register. We need people who can plan the holes and make sure the money from the cash register all adds up. We need people to lay pipe, stick it together, put it in the air and make sure it is done safely and with minimal harm to our environment. That doesn't mean you need a university degree. But it does mean you need to invest some of your time and money into training.

There is no magic sector that is hiring people right now and there is no quick course you can take so you can get into that magic sector. As the economy slowly recovers all sectors will need people. I believe the key is to find something you want to do, get the training and start getting the experience. This will put you into a good position once the next, more endemic labour shortage comes around.