Camosun College is bringing classes to the Malahat Nation as part of a program for those wanting to further their studies, or pursue opportunities emerging from the Nation’s economic-development efforts.
So far, 12 adult learners have been taking high-school English and math courses in Mill Bay and there is room for the program to grow, said Heather Del Villano, acting dean of Camosun’s School of Access, which focuses on upgrading for adults, including preparation for such paths as the health field, trades, arts and science studies or business.
“They reached out to us,” Del Villano said of the Malahat Nation. “They’re looking to fill the needs of students who haven’t completed their high-school credentials.”
The program, known as Supporting Opportunities, Achievement and Resilience or SOAR, has students ranging from teenagers to grandparents and has been funded by B.C.’s Indigenous Skills Training and Education Program.
“With the Malahat Nation promising to become one of the biggest economic drivers on south Vancouver Island, the SOAR adult-education program prepares Mel’uxulh mustimuhw [the Malahat people] to fill job opportunities at all levels, including trades, STEM, clerical and management roles,” said Malahat Nation chief administrative officer Josh Handysides.
Malahat Nation Chief Gordon Harry said that with permanent, full-time jobs coming “we want our people to feel ready for all of these opportunities and lead the economic development at the Malahat Nation.”
Del Villano said that Camosun has a mandate for the School of Access to do outreach “so we are well-equipped to go up to the Nation and deliver English and math upgrading courses.”
“We have our teachers who go up twice a week for math, twice a week for English,” Del Villano said. “They’re working with the students right there in-community.”
Camosun wants to make the classes as easy as possible for the students to take on, she said.
“It’s meeting the students where they’re at, both literally in situ and where they are academically,” Del Villano said. “We are there to meet them where they are and help them get where they want to go.”
The Malahat Nation and Camosun are holding a Monday ceremony at the Malahat Kwunew Kwasun Centre in Mill Bay to celebrate the launch of the program, which got underway in September.
Prayers and drumming will part of the gathering, followed by the formal signing of the partnership that is making the program possible.
Working with the Malahat Nation aligns well with Camosun’s strategic plan “of supporting Indigenous resurgence and doing good work in the community,” Del Villano said.
“We’re very excited about it,” she said. “It’s a terrific start.”
She said the courses being offered are self-paced and new participants can start in at any time.
“So if a student hasn’t started yet, they can start tomorrow, they can start next week, they can start in November,” she said. “It’s intended to be very responsive to the needs of the students and very flexible.”
Del Villano said similar programs have been operating for some time at the Victoria Native Friendship Centre, W̱SÁNEĆ College, Bridges for Women and Island Community Mental Health.
The Malahat Nation is Coast Salish and one of the five W̱SÁNEĆ Nations, with its offices in Mill Bay and reserve land on Saanich Inlet’s western shore.
Its registered population is 369.
Economic ventures include the Malahat Skywalk, Malahat Business Park, Malahat Film Studios and Malahat Nelson — a partnership with Nelson Environmental Remediation Ltd. — and a facility for making battery energy storage systems is being built.
The latter is a joint venture with Vancouver-based Energy Plug Technologies that involves assembling systems to be used by governments, corporations and consumers who are moving to electricity and green energy.
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