Building capacity, driving knowledge

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1972 marked the legal formation of the Association of Canadian Community Colleges, which is now known as Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan), a national unified voice of the country’s colleges, cegeps and institutes.

From that time, CICan has steadily grown its reach through programming, advocacy and partnerships, mirroring and amplifying the success of its members in “engaging learners, communities and industry to boost outcomes for all,” says Denise Amyot, CICan president and CEO. “Our focus is on future-proofing society, and for achieving this, we believe that access to education is key.”

Colleges and institutes operate in every corner of the country – and this means over 95 per cent of Canadians live within 50 kilometres of a college, cegep or institute. Yet accessibility goes beyond geographic proximity, Ms. Amyot believes. “The college and institute system has the goal of making post-secondary education accessible for every community member, and we are developing a number of strategies to provide inclusive pathways for diverse learners, including those from different cultural, ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds.”

Measures to enhance accessibility include flexible programming. Colleges and institutes offer over 10,000 programs and are the main providers of upskilling and reskilling opportunities, including thousands of short programs and microcredentials. And all college and institute programs are developed in close consultation with local employers and experts to enhance “everyone’s chances to find employment,” she says. “We have also seen increasing awareness about the importance of advancing equity, diversity and inclusion [EDI].”

One simple metric is the number of women in leadership positions. While female presidents were rare five decades ago, “they now represent 38 per cent of colleges and institutes, and we’ve also seen a lot of improvement in the number of women in trades and higher education in general,” Ms. Amyot explains. “These are exciting changes – but we know we have more work to do.”

From the recognition that a focus on EDI is “not only a moral imperative but also a necessity for a sustainable future,” CICan has signed on for the 50-30 challenge, she says. “This is the Government of Canada’s call to commit to achieving gender parity on the board and senior management teams as well as at least 30 per cent representation of other equity-deserving groups, including Indigenous and racialized persons, people living with disabilities and members of the LGBTQ+ community.”

CICan’s approach to developing a culture of inclusion across the college and institute sector includes a national project called ImpACT-EDI, which facilitates the sharing among colleges and institutes of best practices, knowledge, skills and tools that can help to advance these goals.

“We’re committed to supporting our members through the challenge,” she says. “We want to bring the college and institute sector together to move beyond good intentions to action.

“It’s an exciting era for colleges and institutes. We’re all working together to ensure a bright future for communities, industry and learners.”

Advertising feature produced by Randall Anthony Communications. The Globe’s editorial department was not involved.