INSIDE DOUGLAS COLLEGE / March 17, 1992

 

 

Creating a new breed of bankers

The Lower Mainland is poised to
become the financial centre of
Canada, says Douglas College
Business Instructor Joe Ilsever, and
financial institutions will be look-
ing for people who can handle
that flow of cash.

“Because of the Asia Pacific
link, Vancouver is destined to be-
come the financial centre of the
country. Bank offices are moving
here because of that. We need
people who can manage that
money. And not just the banks,
but credit unions and trust com-
panies as well.”

In consultation with the In-
stitute of Canadian Bankers and
the Lower Mainland banking com-
munity Douglas College has
developed a two-year diploma pro-
gram in Financial Services Studies.
To begin in September 1992, the
curriculum includes courses in
communications, computers,
economics and marketing, as well

as courses dealing specifically
with financial services, such as
bank systems & practices,
Canadian financial systems, and
financial products & services.

“When people come out of this
program, they will possess employ-
able skills, so that they can go
right into the financial sector,”
says Ilsever.

People who are now working
in that sector but want to move
up should also look at the pro-
gram, he says. “Those who have
basic banking experience can get
the educational grounding to posi-
tion themselves better.” As well,
the program is designed for high
school graduates who want to
build a career in banking, begin-
ning as customer service
representatives or working in data
centres, accounting, and product
marketing.

Ilsever says the banking in-
dustry is changing rapidly, and will

continue to do so. The Financial
Services Studies Program was
designed in consultation with the
banking community to be respon-
sive to change.

“The business of banking has
changed dramatically over the
past several years, but the change
that is behind us will pale in com-
parison to that which is still
ahead,” says Jim Francis, Assistant
Vice President of Training &
Development of the Hongkong
Bank of Canada. “Bankers of the
future will need skills and
knowledge quite different from
those of the past and the training
and educational challenge will
grow and grow. From what we
have seen in the evolution of this
program we are confident that it
will address many of the needs of
tomorrow’s bankers.”

For more information on the
Financial Services Studies Pro-
gram, Call Joe Ilsever at 527-5459. a

College environment institute to study urban ravines

Douglas College’s Institute of
Urban Ecology has received a
grant of $56,000 from the Real
Estate Foundation to study Lower
Mainland ravines.

Through the project, the in-
stitute will produce an inventory of
urban ravines (there are about 100
in the Lower Mainland) and
develop educational material
about them. A case study on the
biology, geology and social impact
of the Byrne Creek Ravine (located
on Burnaby’s South Slope) will also
be completed.

“Urban ravines are a com-
munity asset,” says Val Schaefer,
Douglas College Biology Instructor
and project supervisor. “They have
been left in their natural state be-
cause unstable slopes prevented
development. They are pockets of
stunning wilderness in the city.”

The project will also benefit
Douglas College Geography and
Environmental Science students by
involving them in specially
designed labs and assessment
studies. Students will also be in-
volved in the detailed Byrne Creek
study planned for the summer.

Schaefer says the funding was
provided because the study fits the
Real Estate Foundation’s mandate
of supporting projects involving
land use and community benefits.

“We need to identify and help
conserve ravines,” says Schaefer.
“Although ravines are not directly
destroyed by development, they
are affected by storm-drain runoff
that erodes their slopes. Many pol-
lutants in the runoff kill the fish in
streams along ravine bottoms.”

Douglas College will host an

open house next September to
present preliminary findings of the

project, and a public forum in
November to discuss the impor-
tance of ravines as hidden
community assets. A

 

INSIDE
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