STEPHENVILLE, NL – College of the North Atlantic (CNA) is poised to revitalize its path for success as Newfoundland and Labrador’s public college, and it is reaching out to all of its stakeholders to help chart the course for the future.
President & CEO Dr. Bill Radford and Board of Governors Chair Alastair O’Rielly know the expectations and planning methods to achieve this goal will be the result of a collective effort, as the college moves forward with an action plan that will bring about a renewed strategy for the next five years.
A series of workshops have been planned to facilitate discussion in order to prepare and deliver a five-year Strategic Plan (2019-2024), which will move the college forward as a leading post-secondary body and enable it to grow as an organization. The plan will also ensure its students continue to successfully obtain the required innovative and portable skills necessary to attain employment, not only locally, but across broad jurisdictions as well.
These workshops can be attended in-person at specific locations throughout the province, or virtually (more details on how to participate can be viewed here: https://adobe.ly/2I1TJzE). The kickoff will occur at Bay St. George campus in Stephenville on May 9, followed by campuses in Happy Valley-Goose Bay (May 10), Grand Falls-Windsor (May 16), and Prince Philip Drive in St. John’s (May 17). All events will be held at 7 p.m. A second series of workshops are scheduled for June. Details are being finalized, and more information will be available at the above link once the first workshops are completed.
Dr. Radford said he would like to see as much participation in the sessions as possible so that CNA will capture the true vision of all its entities - those who work to provide education, as well as the end users: students, industry and business, as well as community and government partners.
“Before we can implement any long-term strategy we need to understand several things, such as the needs of today’s labour market and industry and be responsive to them,” Dr. Radford said. “We need to prepare our graduates for the digital disruption that businesses are already preparing for, so we also must do our part. There are numerous other factors that will shape our future operational plans, such as international students and immigration, which we need to incorporate into our vision. It is imperative that we look at how we do things and where improvements are not only needed, but required.
“Extensive consultation with stakeholders, such as this, is necessary to capture emerging shifts in labour, planning priorities, and providing a benchmark that aligns our business, users and end-users, vision, values, goals and objectives. We want to continue to strive for excellence as a builder and leader in post-secondary education. I am encouraging everyone to pull together in this collaborative planning opportunity and help co-create our vision for CNA’s future.”
Board of Governors Chair O’Rielly concurs and added, “The workplace is changing rapidly in response to global economic shifts, demographics and the transformative impacts of digitization, robotics, automation and artificial intelligence. To maintain excellence in post-secondary education and training, we must understand, anticipate and respond to these forces. The Strategic Plan is a critically important and timely initiative that will develop a road map to the future for CNA, in collaboration with faculty and staff and, most importantly, through engagement with the employers and students we serve.”
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Media contact:
Michelle Jesso
Communications Specialist
College of the North Atlantic
709-643-7721
michelle.jesso@cna.nl.ca