The Lucknow Sentinel, 2015-10-21, Page 3Wednesday, October 21, 2015 • Lucknow Sentinel 3
New eCampus Ontario portal
Helps more
students pursue
college education
Submitted by Lambton College
More people will have
access to online college
courses that prepare them
for meaningful careers
through the new eCampus
Ontario portal that officially
launched last week.
"Greater numbers of
students will get access to a
broad range of online col-
lege courses," said Judith
Morris, President and CEO,
Lambton College. "This
means more people will
acquire the professional
and technical qualifications
to pursue rewarding
careers?'
eCampusOntario.ca was
formally launched last
week by Training, Colleges
and Universities Minister
Reza Moridi. It has been
created as a new portal for
learners looking to find
online college and univer-
sity courses and programs.
The first phase of the portal
includes a searchable cata-
logue of more than 13,000
online courses, registration
information and more.
The new web -based por-
tal will allow users to:
search high-quality online
courses available that are
widely recognized for credit
across the post -secondary
sector, explore information
about course transferability,
access resources and
supports.
eCampusOntario.ca will
continue to evolve. The
consortium that governs
the portal - including all of
Ontario's public colleges
and universities - will be
looking for opportunities to
add more functionality and
more student supports.
"I have had the opportu-
nity to co-chair the launch of
this 45 post -secondary insti-
tution online consortium
portal with Jack Lightstone,
President of Brock Univer-
sity, and believe eCampus
Ontario has the opportunity
to position Ontario as a
leader in online develop-
ment and delivery globally,"
said Morris.
Creating a provincial plat-
form for online course deliv-
ery also allows Ontario's col-
leges and universities to
share best practices and
online resources through
professional development
and communities of
practice.
"The new eCampus
Ontario portal helps
strengthen Ontario post-
secondary education," said
Morris. "It builds on the
college sector's many
advances in online
learning."
Additional details can be
found at: https://www.
ecampusontario.ca/about.
Unemployment Rate Rises in the Region
Four County
Labour Market
Planning Board
Submitted
The unemployment rate
for the Stratford -Bruce Pen-
insula economic region
jumped up 0.5% from 6.1%
in August to 6.6% in Sep-
tember, while the province's
rate remained steady at
7.1%.
This rise in the local
unemployment rate can be
attributed to an overall
employment loss of 7,000
jobs. Trade, comprised of
wholesale merchants in
farm products, food, bever-
age and tobacco products
and building and material
supply products, saw the
largest loss of 5,500
jobs. Educational services
continued to lose ground
with a loss of 800 additional
jobs.
Job losses locally were in
full-time employment, a
loss of 8,600 positions,
while part-time employ-
ment grew by 1,600 posi-
tions. This reflects the prov-
ince's labour market
activity which saw a loss of
59,400 in full-time
positions, and an 8,700
increase in part-time
employment. Trade lost the
most ground provincially
with a total loss of 17,100
positions, followed by a
7,500 loss in Educational
services.
While the province
gained ground in Manu-
facturing, with an increase
of 6,000 positions, the
local region saw the most
growth in Other services.
This growth can be attrib-
uted to 1,300 job gains in
services such as automo-
tive repair and mainte-
nance, funeral services
and personal care ser-
vices. Finance, insurance
real estate and leasing
also gained ground last
month with the addition
of 700 jobs.
The Four County Labour
Market Planning Board, one
of 26 non-profit organiza-
tions in Ontario that play a
leadership role in labour
force planning, continues
with businesses and com-
munity groups to address
the most pressing concerns,
deliver the most up-to-date
information, and the catalyst
for building a strong eco-
nomic climate through com-
munity activities.
Over $210,000 in grants to be distributed at Fall Grant Presentation
Community
Foundation
Grey Bruce
Submitted
On October 29, 2015,
Community Foundation
Grey Bruce will announce
community grants totaling
more than $210,000 at its
Fall Grant Presentation
and Annual Dinner. The
event, to be held at the
Best Western Plus in
Kincardine, will also fea-
ture a performance by
Kincardine's Lighthouse
Players prior to the
awarding of grants to
forty-two different
community non-profit
organizations. This
represents welcome news
for charities serving peo-
ple in the two counties
and both First Nation
Territories.
The establishment of
the new Kincardine Com-
munity Fund will be high-
lighted. Councillor
Andrew White, who Chairs
the committee working to
develop the fund, will
speak about what this
fund will mean for
Kincardine.
More than $112,000 will
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be awarded for not-for-
profit projects and pro-
grams, while $100,000 will
be distributed for
capital projects including
renovations, retrofits and
the purchase of capital
equipment. All grants will
support the charitable
sector's vast and varied
efforts to improve quality
of life in Grey Bruce
communities.
The event is the culmi-
nation of the 2015 fall
grants cycle for the Foun-
dation. Following a day-
long review of the grant
applications on October
13, Joan Eaglesham, Chair
of the Grants Review
Team, expressed her
thanks to the volunteers
and staff. She added, "It's
gratifying to see the
number and variety of
programs and projects
being developed to serve
our residents in social,
health, recreation and
education services as well
as supports for the arts
and environmental sec-
tors, all important ele-
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healthy communities. I'm
especially pleased by the
work undertaken in Kin-
cardine to develop a Com-
munity Fund that will
direct even more support
to this community. There
are so many needs here;
we only wish we could do
more."
Community Foundation
Grey Bruce invites all
members of the public and
media to attend the grant-
ing reception.
Reservations are required
for dinner. Grant
presentations will take
place following dinner and
entertainment at 6:30 p.m.
Community Foundation
Grey Bruce is a public
charitable organization
founded in 1994, with a
mandate to strengthen
Grey and Bruce
communities through
endowment building,
grant making and commu-
nity partnerships.
Paul Zinn, Broker
Ph: 519-528-2411 • Cell 519-524-0264 • Fax 519-528-3523
www.mcintee.ca • E-mail: Iucknow@mcintee.ca
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