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These projects include the development
ol a wood products plant, the building
up of a profit making and job creating
dry wood kiln, and the start-up of a

mineral assay laboratory for the region.

These works have all been guided through
the office of the Selkirk College
Continuing Education Coordinator and have
already brought in an additional $380,000

to a previously stagnant economy.

But these efforts do not stand alone as
examples of the type of economic renewal
initiatives communities can generate from
within their local post-secondary

institution.

At Fraser Valley College in Abbotsford,
a new Youth Employment Council is
creating new job opportunities and
economic development for the estimated
9,000 to 15,000 young people in the

region.

In 1984, the Fraser Valley College Board
approved a $2,500, one-time only start-up
grant to assist in implementing a task
force on youth unemployment that includes
representatives from the college, the
school district, employers, labour and

community agencies.

Of a different sort of renewal is the
variety of short courses for business
people being offered at Okanagan College.
These classes range in perspective from

productivity to marketing strategies and

 

 

business supervision. ®

And at the largest institute in the
province, Vancouver Community College,

the development of Pacific Rim educational
services is beginning to encourage future
export development with Japan, Malaysia

and Taiwan.

These programs are expected to be in the
forefront of new economic ties and
relations with Canada's and British
Columbia's international trading partners,

says Day.

The B.C. Council of Principals has
identified seven major areas where codleges
and institutes can become actively invdved
in community economic redevelopment - O
ranging from participation with privately
owned businesses to work with non-profit
societies and native band development

corporations.

"A true economic renewal demands that we
discover new ideas, and the colleges and
institutes of this province are making

sure these new ideas are being heard and

acted upon."

"We have reached a point where British
Columbians can no longer rely on being
the proverbial exporters of rocks,

Christmas trees and salmon," says Day.

- Douglas College News Services