Canadore College is reaffirming its role as a Military-Connected College with the release of its Defence & Military-Connected College Strategy, building on the College’s longstanding relationship with the Canadian Armed Forces, 22 Wing/Canadian Forces Base North Bay, military-connected learners and the broader defence community.
The strategy brings together work already underway across Canadore while establishing a clear direction for strengthening military learner pathways, workforce development, applied research, industry collaboration and civilian preparedness.
“Canadore’s connection to the military community is longstanding and deeply rooted in our community,” said Dr. Sandra Efu, President and CEO of Canadore College. “This strategy reaffirms that commitment while providing a framework for how we can build on our strengths in applied education, aviation, skilled trades, advanced manufacturing and innovation to better support military-connected learners, families, industry and our partners.”
The strategy identifies five strategic priorities: military learner pathways and student success; strengthening Canadore’s strategic partnership with 22 Wing/CFB North Bay and the Department of National Defence; defence, mining and advanced manufacturing workforce development; defence and advanced manufacturing innovation; and culture, recognition and system leadership.
Supporting military-connected learners remains central to the strategy. Canadore will continue to strengthen pathways for Canadian Armed Forces members, veterans and military families through Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR), flexible delivery, military-aware advising and academic supports, while exploring additional pathways for spouses and families into high-demand programs.
Canadore’s Aviation Campus and Aircraft Maintenance Engineering programs are among the College’s existing strengths that demonstrate the connection between applied education, aviation and military-related workforce needs. The College also welcomed Cadets to its Aviation Campus this past summer, providing hands-on exposure to aviation and postsecondary education and further strengthening connections between Canadore and the military community.
“Strong relationships between the military, educational institutions and the broader community are essential to developing the people, skills and capabilities needed for the future,” said Colonel Shawn Guilbault, Commander of 22 Wing/Canadian Forces Base North Bay and the Canadian Air Defence Sector. “Canadore College’s continued commitment to military-connected learners, workforce development and applied innovation reflects the important role postsecondary institutions can play in supporting Canada’s defence community.”
The strategy also looks beyond the classroom to Canadore’s role in supporting workforce and economic development. It identifies opportunities to work with regional and national employers, defence contractors and other partners to respond to workforce needs across skilled trades, aerospace, mining, advanced manufacturing and infrastructure.
Priority areas for future development include dual-use technologies such as unmanned aerial and autonomous systems, aerospace and aviation maintenance, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence-enabled systems and health technologies.
Canadore will also leverage its applied research capacity, including the Innovation Centre for Advanced Manufacturing and Prototyping (ICAMP), to support prototyping, technology adoption, workforce readiness and opportunities for regional businesses to participate in defence-related supply chains.
Indigenous partnership, workforce development and research stewardship are embedded throughout the strategy. Research and partnership activities will continue to align with Canadore’s Indigenous Research Protocol and existing governance structures, including the TIPI Indigenous Research and Innovation Hub.
The Defence & Military-Connected College Strategy establishes a phased roadmap through 2030, beginning with strengthening internal coordination and existing partnerships before piloting and scaling new education, training, research and workforce initiatives. Through this work, Canadore will build on its existing contributions and strengthen Northern Ontario’s role in supporting Canada’s workforce, economic and defence readiness.
To learn more about Canadore College’s role as a Military-Connected College and to read the Defence & Military-Connected College Strategy, visit:
https://www.canadorecollege.ca/support/military-connected-college-at-canadore
Noah Note: Fairly local to me. Canadore has done me well over the years in the times I have interscted with them. No hate from them on me. I am happy to see that more and more educational institutions are not just exoanding their collaboration with the CAF, but creating clear strategies and long-term roadmaps to foster that relationship.
It's important to have these conversations, mind you. Our educational ecosystem is one of the major untapped ecosystems we have to exploit from a talent and research perspective yes, but also from capacity standpoint, education Institutes are home to a number of limited, key capacity drivers that could be far better utilizes than they are now.
Something to think of, at least.