News Article

Newfoundland perfect FITT for college instructor


9/30/2004 9:48:58 AM


Bill Kosar is the new FITT instructor at College of the North Atlantic.

September 30, 2004 - Be careful what you wish for.

It’s a saying that’s not lost on Bill Kosar, one of College of the North Atlantic’s newest faculty members who teaches the Forum for International Trade Training (FITT) Business Administration program at Burin campus.

Formerly a lawyer with his own practice in Ontario, Kosar had found himself in the situation you find many successful law practitioners – working 100 hour weeks, and taking his work with him wherever he went… even on vacation.

Then one day a colleague suggested he consider teaching.

“I had taught at Ryerson University before and enjoyed it so I took a part-time position with Sheridan College and soon after, other positions at other colleges followed,” he says.

Kosar loved teaching international law, but before long he found himself in a similar situation as before.

“I was teaching for three different colleges and was spending the better part of my day traveling to and from work and between campuses,” he says. “I enquired as to when I could expect to get a permanent, full-time position and was told it could take up to 10 years! I didn’t have 10 years to wait.”

Kosar wished he could spend more quality time with his wife Michelle and their two children. Then one morning he checked his email, only to find a message from the Forum for International Trade Training advertising the faculty position at College of the North Atlantic.

“I applied for the job, not really thinking anything would come of it,” he says. “Then I get the call that the college is interested in interviewing me for the position.”

Kosar had never been to Newfoundland and Labrador, and his pre-conceived notions of the province – formed through the stories of relocated Newfoundlanders – proved to be highly inaccurate.

“I was expecting Guatemala North,” he says. “I was told everybody drove rusted out pick-up trucks and everyone was very poor, but that’s obviously not the case – in fact, I have a 14-year-old Volvo and think it may be the oldest car on the island! I never knew how beautiful this place was – the trees, mountains, rivers and ponds – it’s all incredible.”

Kosar’s first visit was a bit of a fact-finding mission for him and on his flight back to Toronto he wondered to himself if he could really live in a province such as Newfoundland and Labrador.

“I was driving along the 401 on my way home from the airport and the traffic was terrible and all I could see for miles and miles was concrete and buildings… I decided then that I couldn’t live there anymore. I made up my mind to move to Newfoundland.”

An avid sailor, Kosar has now purchased a home in Burin – only minutes from the ocean – and will begin looking for a boat so that he and his family can visit the numerous outports that dot Newfoundland’s coastline next summer.

“I will get a sailboat, but likely only a small one as I’ve discovered the wind out here is strong enough to blow your skin off!” he laughs, saying he will opt for a larger cabin cruiser for longer ocean voyages and family outings.

For now Kosar is looking forward to getting back to teaching – for only one college – and settling into his new surroundings.

“We have a lovely private spot and plan to do some renovations, put in a nice garden to enjoy and so on, but my traveling is not completely over,” he says. “There are plans to offer the accelerated FITT program and this may take me around the island and to Labrador.”

The accelerated program is done over a weekend and can be customized to suit the needs of any business or organization. The regular FITT program consists of eight courses that Kosar is teaching at the Burin campus, but also via video technology to students at St. John’s and Labrador. For more information on the FITT program visit www.fitt.ca or College of the North Atlantic’s website www.cna.nl.ca.

“The FITT designation – Certified International Trade Professional – is becoming recognized as the standard in Canada,” says Kosar. “Many employers who do work internationally are now insisting their employees have it.”

Kosar has been involved with the FITT program since 1995, and since that time says he has seen the value of having such training steadily increase.

“Globalization is upon us,” he says. “We can’t avoid it. And whether you like the idea or not, we have to live with it and try to make the best of it… we have to reap the benefits and take advantage of the opportunities that globalization is providing. The FITT program provides an excellent foundation of knowledge to allow people to do this.”

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For more information contact:

Stephen Lee
Communications Manager
College of the North Atlantic
Ph: (709) 643-7929
Email: stephen.lee@cna.nl.ca