The Business + Higher Education Roundtable (BHER) is pleased to welcome New Brunswick Community College (NBCC) to our growing membership.

As one of New Brunswick’s leading post-secondary institutions, NBCC expands BHER’s impact in Atlantic Canada. Their membership will allow us to support their commitments to building a resilient workforce, increasing higher education rates, and addressing occupational shortages in New Brunswick. 

Transformational relationships are central to NBCC’s vision, from partnering with employers to problem-solving with community non-profits, to engaging with governments at all levels, and collaborating with Indigenous communities. Building on this foundation, NBCC is re-envisioning post-secondary education to make experiential learning more accessible to more students in a greater variety of ways. BHER’s leadership in innovative work-integrated learning (WIL) is just one of the many alignments in our priorities.

"NBCC’s purpose is to drive social and economic wellbeing in New Brunswick through education. Expanding opportunities for our students to engage in innovative work-integrated learning is an important part of this, and our partnership with BHER enables us to be at the leading edge of WIL initiatives at a national level,” says Mary Butler, President and CEO of NBCC. “Through this partnership, we can collaborate on initiatives that not only address the workforce needs of our region but also empower our students to become catalysts for positive change in their communities."

“NBCC is at the forefront of WIL,” says BHER CEO Val Walker. “From the Every New Brunswicker initiative that connects international students with employment opportunities, to the Step Up to Nursing pilot project that allows students to earn while they learn and address healthcare needs, to the Mobile Training Centre that bring hands-on training to rural, remote, and First Nations communities, it’s exciting to welcome a new member that is making a difference in skills and training challenges.” 

New Brunswick faces distinctive regional challenges such as a smaller population, aging workforce, and one of Canada’s highest risks of job disruptions due to technological advancements. But it also has distinctive advantages: a high level of collaboration across institutions, levels of government, and industry; close ties with the rest of the Atlantic provinces; and the potential to grow WIL exponentially. 

BHER took a deep dive into these challenges and opportunities when we hosted a virtual event on supporting economic prosperity in Atlantic Canada through WIL earlier this year. NBCC’s VP Academic, Innovation, and Student Affairs Ann Drennan participated in that event and we’re excited to have NBCC join our broader network of PSI and industry leaders.