Volume 5, Issue 1, 2000
Table of Contents

Flexibility and Responsiveness - Silicon Valley North and Algonquin College
By Robert C. Gillett
President
Algonquin College of Applied Arts and Technology

Algonquin College is fortunate to be situated in the City of Ottawa and serve a geographic region that is being driven economically by exponential growth in the technology clusters. Employment in technology companies now exceeds employment with the Federal Government, which, in the past, has been the single largest source of employment in the City.Responding to the predicted 100 percent economic growth of our community over the next 12 years and fostering the development of the human resources necessary to support that growth has posed significant challenges for the College and for the community at large. The College has been forced to reassess its entire program offering, infuse massive amounts of technology into the institution in a very short period of time and, in a competitive environment, try to recruit appropriate faculty, staff and management with the knowledge and skills appropriate to the new economy. Algonquin College has had to change not only its internal culture and processes but also external perceptions as colleges, in general, have been viewed as lower-level post-secondary institutions compared with universities. The fact that colleges now provide high-level applied education and training for all economic sectors and in many ways compete directly with universities for students seeking value-added skills on completion of their studies is a message that has not as yet reached all levels of the community.The role of the President, supported by the Board of Governors, has been to serve as a catalyst for change and a link to the various sectors of the community to ensure that the graduates of the College have the requisite skills to meet the changing needs of employers in this region. Each member of the management team is deeply involved in the community and through their networking brings forward ideas for curriculum change as well as potential business opportunities for the future. The participation of the senior level staff of the College on all economic development committees provides concrete evidence of our commitment to being a real partner in all aspects of the economic development of this region.Partnerships and alliances have become key factors to success in Ottawa’s rapidly changing economy and Algonquin College, through its President and the leadership team, has become intimately connected to most of the activities which are driving and supporting this massive expansion. The College is seen as a key provider of skilled labour and is flexible and responsive to the changing market conditions. Fast track programs, vendor certification, unique work experience and cooperative programs, as well as alternative delivery systems are just a part of the myriad of responses that Algonquin has made to develop the human resource pool with the skills required to enable the city to continue its growth.The College is seen as a leader in responding to the challenges of the economy and in being a part of the solution to the human resources challenges facing this City. In point of fact, human resources is the single greatest challenge that this economy faces because without a growing labour pool with an increasingly higher skill set, this economy cannot continue to expand at the present rate. Algonquin College has partnerships with the K-12 system, all levels of government, the business community and the economic agencies to help ensure that each of the partners contributes their strengths to the equation. These partnerships also ensure that the College is seen as ready and willing to support economic development and provide unique solutions to problems in a rapid yet flexible manner.The College has made its presence felt in all areas of the community as it intends to continue to develop the workforce for the full range of employment opportunities that this community offers. With a strong advisory committee network and tentacles reaching into the furthest reaches of the region, Algonquin is well-positioned to respond quickly to newly identified education and training needs and offers both traditional or customized programming to suit the client’s situation.Algonquin is committed to doing whatever is required to be a full partner in the economic development of the community through labour force development. The College has invested in facilities, equipment and personnel specific to the growth strategy and now mirrors the new economy, embracing change in a way that will allow it to continue to be responsive to an environment which will transform even more dramatically over the next decade. Such a commitment has meant that the College has had to initiate alternative delivery strategies and foster innovative approaches to the introduction of new learning products as well as the phasing out of more mature offerings. It has also meant that while recognizing non-traditional hours of work, the College has embraced the massive opportunities and challenges posed by the Internet and continually seeks to augment internal expertise through external relationships.The knowledge economy, driven by the new technologies, has forever changed our approaches to the delivery of education and training with the growing integration of the traditional and virtual campus experiences. The adjustments have not been without pain. The increasing pace of change continues to make life difficult for many individuals; however, there has never been a better time to be a part of a College that has seen the economic development opportunities that exist and has become fully engaged in their exploration.