Efforts are underway to keep students educated during trying times.
At the City of Powell River Council meeting on April 2, councillor Jim Palm said he wanted to speak on the topic of education in Powell River during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s very important to a lot of families,” he said. “You may have heard [BC] premier [John] Horgan on TV yesterday saying he was worried about skilled training for the many jobs that are turning up in our province in the near future.
“I just want to take my hat off to Vancouver Island University (VIU), our local campus and the staff, and the Nanaimo staff, for quickly, during spring break, getting on top of the more than 80 students we serve under dual-credit programming in Powell River. They have been putting plans in place for continued education and completion whether it’s a trades certificate, or an individual class on the academic front at VIU. All of those processes and plans are now in place.”
Palm said students are still being educated and gaining skills.
“It was quite amazing how quickly VIU jumped to the task,” said Palm. “Everybody is now coming up to speed very quickly on Zoom [internet teleconferencing] and utilizing that tool. It’s quite a thing to behold how this has unfolded in such a short period of time.
“I want to assure the public as I’ve assured parents over the last three days with phone calls, that all of the students who are in VIU courses or trades programs will be graduating with their credentials.
“Our students and parents that I’ve phoned have nothing but disappointment that these programs were curtailed somewhat, but the good news is they are all getting through, they will all get their credentials and be able to join the workforce once the COVID-19 situation clears up and people are back to work in our restaurants, construction and whatnot, serving the public.”
