Parkland College and Cumberland College are connecting with the communities they serve. The Community Engagement Meetings are across the region 鈥� from north of Prince Albert to Esterhazy 鈥� with the goal of having the college and the community work together. The meeting in Yorkton took place on Feb. 25.
Mark Hoddenbagh, president of Parkland聽 College and Cumberland College, said they鈥檙e hoping that through the meetings, the community will understand the colleges better, the college will have a better idea of where to go in the future, and to get the community鈥檚 input into that direction. Hoddenbagh said that from that perspective, the meetings have been a success so far, with Yorkton being the fifth such meeting.
鈥淎t every one, people come up with different ideas... Some are the same, obviously, but there are always different ideas, so I think that鈥檚 a real sign of success.鈥�
Hoddenbagh notes that they鈥檝e found some themes already. For one, he sees that the college needs more agriculture programming, as agriculture is the main employer in the regions they operate. He also notes that they have to develop more than technical skills, with more focus on 鈥榮oft skills鈥櫬� 鈥� things like communication skills and work skills 鈥� so students are better prepared for the workplace.
鈥淗ow do we help our students prepare for the workforce before they graduate? Rather than, I graduated, I have technical skills, but I still don鈥檛 know how to work. So how do we build that in people?鈥�
Another priority the college sees is to look for partnerships as the college builds for the future, Hoddenbagh explains, as they can鈥檛 do everything on their own. The benefit of these partnerships extend far beyond the college doors.
鈥淗ow do we get together and build something that鈥檚 going to be world class?聽 It鈥檚 going to say to people and students, hey, I鈥檓 going to come to Yorkton, but other people say I want to stay here, I want to move to Yorkton because they have such a great facility for my kids to learn hockey or whatever.鈥�
Colleges are part of the community, Hoddenbagh said, and these meetings are a way to get that community involved in what the college is doing.
鈥淚 want to encourage our community members to keep thinking about Parkland or Cumberland depending on where you live, and to keep being there to support us, and think about sending your kids to us, because we offer a first-class education.鈥�
