A new kid on the education block will open its doors to students in Williams Lake on Feb. 3.
Christa and Craig Smith, the proprietors of the Academy of Learning Career and Business College, said the new college will offer business, information technology, health care and accounting programs.
“We have the population, we have the need and there’s nothing else filling that gap right now,” Christa said.
Learning is skills competency-based, meaning when students complete the courses, they have the skills to walk in and begin working immediately.
“It’s not a laddering into university, it’s not a go on and get your master’s or your doctorate,” Christa said. “Courses are very specific.”
Students can learn accounting and the Canadian Payroll Certificate, IT and Microsoft A plus certification, Home Inspection or office reception, as examples.
Rather than instructors, the academy has facilitators and because the college is accredited, the curriculum is developed and has to be approved through the Private Career Training Institutions Agency.
Students learn through short video clips, textbooks, online pieces and work with a computer.
“If they need help, the facilitator will help them through, and for some of the more technical courses they will have instructors they can Skype with,” Christa explained.
In order to facilitate a course, a person must complete that particular course and have passed with more than 90 per cent.
Christa has taken some of the courses and Craig is working on completing others so they can offer a range of the courses in Williams Lake.
Courses, like the medical office assistant program, will link students one-on-one with a Skype instructor from out of town.
Students will be expected to attend the academy in person at the Second Avenue North location four hours a day.
While she hesitated to describe the courses as work-at-your-own pace, Christa said if a student is understanding the concepts and going through the modules, they can complete a course in a week and a half to two weeks.
“It’s that constant gratification that there are no big midterm exams or end of semester exams. Every week you’re going to do an exam and move on,” Christa said.
“One course at a time,” Craig added.
When Christa took the academy courses she enjoyed setting her own learning goals and competing with herself to complete the material.
“I wasn’t going along with an instructor telling me to keep up or waiting on the rest of the class to get it before moving on,” she said.
“The other nice thing is you can be in a classroom with 20 other people, maybe doing something completely different, so you still have that social interaction but there isn’t the competition.”
A course can run with only one person registered, there will be intakes of new students every Monday, and with the four-hour school day the academy can accommodate two sessions a day.
The Smiths have already received encouragement from the community with people telling them to send their graduates over.
“We’ve already got the employment end covered, the other aspect of this is not just an education centre, it’s the full range of following up with students afterwards and making sure they get employment,” Christa said.