Easy access

Before too long, up to 70 per cent of new jobs in Northern Ontario will require a post-secondary education.

Acquiring it just got a little easier for those in remote communities that have no direct access to a college or university campus. On Friday the province announced it will spend $3.5 million to help Contact North upgrade its distance education infrastructure.

Contact North CEO Maxim Jean-Louis said the money will help his organization provide a much better educational experience to the 40 per cent of the province’s students who can’t physically access the classroom.

"It means better access, it means a better visual image, it means a better sound system. It really means a better learning experience," Jean-Louis said.

"We are going to replace any system that we have that is getting out of date. We are also going to get the very best, leading-edge systems that we can put into those communities so they can have direct access and interactive learning experiences."

Improvements will be made to equipment and bandwidth for Contact North’s audio-conference, video-conference and e-learning technologies.

Jean-Louis said it shows a commitment on the part of the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, which spearheaded the upgrades.

"There’s nothing second best in Northern Ontario," Jean-Louis said. "We want to experiment with the leading-edge technologies."

In 2009-‘10, about 6,000 students completed 17,600 full- and part-time courses using the Contact North network, up 60 per cent over the year before. As of last fall students had up to 322 college courses, 37 university courses, 93 literacy courses and one secondary school course to choose from.

That’s an increase of 30 per cent over 2008.

Minister of Northern Development, Mines and Forestry Michael Gravelle said distance education clearly plays an integral role in Ontario’s education plan, adding that every resident, regardless of where they live, deserve to have a high-quality post-secondary education opportunity.

"In 90 communities in Northern Ontario, they can have that experience. They have a huge number of people registering every year," said Gravelle, making the announcement on behalf of Training, Colleges and Universities Minister John Milloy.

"This $3.5 million allows them to upgrade their (technology) so this can be the high-quality educational experience that people deserve. It’s also my understanding that they will be adding in some more work stations as well, so they can increase the number of people who are able to access the system."