A Banff Hospitality and Tourism Institute steering committee will hold two upcoming public sessions to discuss proposals towards developing new local opportunities for students, employees and business members.
Education and business members have partnered to develop an institute located in Banff offering students dual credit programming and educational advancement for those already employed in the local hospitality and tourism workforce.
The steering committee consists of a mixture of members of the Canadian Rockies Public Schools board, Olds College and local business leaders. The institute wants to raise awareness and seek input from the public for its development.
Public sessions will open with an overview presentation, followed by audience consultation in a question and feedback format. Information gathered will be reported back to the community this summer.
“CRPS has been taking advantage and been a champion of the dual credit program set out by the province, and is one of the school divisions that has embraced it for a number of different courses,” said CRPS superintendent of schools Chris MacPhee.
“Students are even obtaining business certificates that can go toward a business diploma; we know there is an uptake of students taking a variety of courses like medical technology.
“We had a student three months ago scrub in for surgery in Banff, so we have a variety of these scenarios where the student is getting credit both at the high school level and postsecondary. It’s a bridge where students who may have never considered going to post secondary can because now it’s affordable and it’s in their lap.”
The committee wants to look at local community expansion. The current timing also fits in with redevelopment of Banff Elementary School.
“The reason we wanted to look into expansion is because we’re moving two new grades into Banff Community High School,” said MacPhee. “Starting this year, Grade 6 will stay, so that opens up space in the school and leaves opportunity for the dual uptake courses. As well, there are business partners coming in and giving scholarships to students who are taking advantage of these courses because they are able to do a practicum with the business community.”
Over 2017, the committee will seek input and support, plan infrastructure development and create the governance structure. The institute is targeted to open in the fall of 2019.
Potential provincial ministry partners include Advanced Education, Alberta Culture and Tourism, Economic Development and Trade, Education, Environment and Parks, Human Services, Indigenous Relations and Labour. Potential local authority partners include Banff Town Council, Canmore Town Council, Improvement District No. 9, Stoney Nakoda Tribal Administration and the Municipal District of Bighorn.
Potential federal government ministry partners include Employment, Workforce and Labour, Environment and Climate Change, Innovation, Science and Economic Development and Small Business and Tourism.
Steering committee members include MacPhee, CRPS board trustee Luke Sunderland, Banff Community High School principal Steve Greene, Dr. Jason Dewling, vice-president academic of Olds College, Dr. Barb Mulholland, dean, School of Agribusiness, Land, and Fashion for Olds College, Banff Lodging Company manager Cathy Geisler and Brenda Stanton, Banff & Lake Louise Hospitality Association manager of research, communications.
The upcoming public community information sessions will take place on Tuesday (May 30) from 7-8 p.m., at Canmore Collegiate High School Theatre (1800 - Eighth Ave.), and on June 1 from 7-8 p.m., at Banff Community High School (330 - Banff Ave.).
Everyone is invited, seating is limited. To learn more about the Banff Hospitality and Tourism Institute concept and to learn more into supporting it, contact Chris MacPhee at [email protected], Luke Sunderland at [email protected] or Steve Greene at [email protected].
