Advanced Education Minister Andrew Wilkinson made the following statement in recognition of the 40th anniversary of Northern Lights College.

“In May 1975, an Order-in-Council established what is now known as Northern Lights College based in Dawson Creek. The college officially opened its doors in September of the same year.

“Northern Lights College has grown over the past four decades. The college has expanded to include five campuses and three access centres that serve communities across more than 363,000 square kilometres in northern B.C. Four of the campuses have established Aboriginal Gathering Spaces, which are shared places for Aboriginal students to receive advocacy and support, as well as socialize and hold special events.

“Known as ‘B.C.’s Energy College’, Northern Lights College trains students for high-demand careers in trades, oil and gas, clean energy and more. Recent Northern Lights grads are more likely to be employed in training-related jobs compared to other B.C. students, and 91% of Northern Lights College students found their education useful when finding employment. Past trades students rated the quality of instruction they received at 100%.

“Northern Lights College has three Centres of Excellence. The Clean Energy Technology and Aerospace centres are located at the Dawson Creek campus. The Centre for Training Excellence in Oil and Gas is located in the Jim Kassen Industry Training Centre on the Fort St. John campus. The Oil & Gas centre works with post-secondary institutions, industry and other partners to address skills training and education challenges in this growing industry on a provincial scale.

“Congratulations to students, alumni, faculty and staff as they celebrate the 40th anniversary of Northern Lights College.”