North Island College is celebrating a new space for students.
The new space is at the former St. Joseph’s General Hospital in Comox. The first floor of the building has been renovated and now has two washrooms, study areas, meeting rooms, and skills labs.
The college signed a four-year lease on the space. It will now be used to deliver Health Care Assitant and Early Childhood Education programs for Comox Valley students for the current school year.
“We’re thankful to the Ministry of Advanced Education, Skills & Training for providing the funding for NIC to renovate, lease and equip the space. It will allow us to meet the increasing demand for high demand programs,” NIC President John Bowman said.
“We are grateful to the Views at St. Joe’s and Providence Residential and Community Care Services Society for making this initiative possible.”
The renovated space will help students to stay in one community for lab and theory components of their programs. It also benefits other health programs at the college by making learning and practicing more accessible.
A cohort of Health Care Assistant students started their program in August, with another one starting in January 2020.
Early Childhood Care and Education will start in winter 2020.
NIC is now doing a feasibility study to see if other programs can use the space in the next few years.
“We are looking forward to making the most of this space over the next few years while we seek more permanent solutions to the severe space constraints at our Comox Valley campus,” Bowman added.
Applications for the January intake of the Health Care Assistant and Early Childhood Care and Education certificates are now open. More information can be found through this link.
