Joel Schlesinger © Postmedia Network Inc.
Call it a natural fit.
Bow Valley College is renowned for providing innovative post-secondary learning and upskilling for new job opportunities.
And its new vice-president of academic has decades of experience helping students pursue their career dreams — be it in the trades, agriculture, energy, business or health care.
“A lot of my experience is similar to what Bow Valley College has long been doing: helping students further their education to advance in their careers, or work toward beginning a new one in an entirely new vocation,” says Michael Crowe, who took over the position at the start of the year.
Previous to coming to Bow Valley College, Crowe spent eight years in the same role at Lakeland College in Vermilion. He also has many more years of experience in administration in other roles at Lakeland College.
What brought Crowe to Bow Valley College was how the Calgary school’s value proposition sets it apart from many other post-secondary schools in Alberta, he says.
“When you look at the labour market and economic growth in Calgary right now, technology is becoming more important by the day in almost every sector,” Crowe explains. “And Bow Valley College is well-positioned to respond to that labour market demand by providing some of the most cutting-edge training.”
Crowe highlights educational opportunities in software development, digital design, cloud computing and data analytics as some of the many programs offered at the school. Furthermore, Bow Valley College just opened its Centre for Entertainment Arts, offering training in the television, film and video gaming industries, with programs for 3D animation and modelling and advanced game development.
Despite the pandemic presenting challenges for in-person learning, demand has remained high for Bow Valley College’s many certificate and diploma programs, which also include business administration, health care and community studies among other career paths.
Among the more exciting offerings are micro-credentials, Crowe says of the shorter programs that let people focus on particular gaps in their work experience to help them pursue new careers.
“Like all our program offerings, micro-credentials are really about helping students on their journey to a better future.”
This story was created by Content Works, Postmedia’s commercial content division, on behalf of Calgary Economic Development.