International projects

The International Projects and Mobility team informs and enriches the college’s international culture by organizing and delivering events and workshops, and by facilitating international opportunities for students, faculty, and staff.

In addition, the International Projects and Mobility team offers expertise in international project development, implementation, management, international relations, and intercultural experience in a wide variety of international contexts.

Areas of expertise

The International Projects and Mobility team can provide consulting services in the following areas, and we would be very excited to discuss working with you and lending our expertise to projects that involve:

  • competency-based education and training
  • technical and vocational education and training
  • workforce-relevant curriculum development, assessment and review
  • regional and community education through distance learning
  • apprenticeship preparation and trades-specific training
  • employment/career and support services tailored to vulnerable learners
  • academic upgrading and foundational learning (literacy and essential skills)
  • industry linkages (funding, programming, joint projects)
  • public/private intercultural and diversity training
  • labour market intelligence and needs assessment
  • experience in establishing sectorial tables (e.g., NorQuest College Workforce Advisory Council)
  • prior learning assessment and recognition for non-traditional learners
  • short-term study abroad language and culture programs in Canada

International projects

NorQuest College has a long history of international development and consulting projects, and has previously designed and managed initiatives in Africa, Asia and Latin America. NorQuest has a strong understanding of the principles of participatory development and collaborative project management.

NorQuest has provided training for nearly 40 years and has helped thousands of students to further their education or pursue livelihoods that are more rewarding. NorQuest's programs prepare students to enter the workforce quickly, providing students with marketable skills through work workplace-relevant curricula.

The International Projects and Mobility team is constantly seeking new partners in education and international development. We have formed successful local, national, and international partnerships and would welcome having a conversation with you to discuss how we might collaborate with you.

Young Africa Works – Kenya: Youth Employability Through TVET – Development of Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR) Guidelines and Tools

Location: Kenya

Client/partners: Government of Kenya, Colleges and Institutes Canada, Mastercard Foundation, Humber College and Red River College

Dates: 2020 - 2025

NorQuest College has partnered with Humber College and Red River College to support the implementation of a strong and comprehensive PLAR system and the introduction of PLAR services at participating Kenyan Government Agencies. This initiative will lead to increased recruitment, retention and transition of youth to employment.

Working closely with the Kenyan National Qualifications Association (KNQA), the project team will conduct an analysis of current government RPL policy, develop RPL assessment tools and procedures for implementation within local Centres of Excellence, and champion benefits of RPL within the extensive Jua Khali informal economic sector.

Young Africa Works – Kenya: Youth Employability Through TVET – Curricula Gap Audit

Location: Kenya

Client/partners: Government of Kenya, Colleges and Institutes Canada, Mastercard Foundation, Seneca College and College of the Rockies

Dates: 2020 - 2025

In partnership with Seneca College and the College of the Rockies, NorQuest will lead a curricula gap audit across Kenya’s ‘Big Four’ (manufacturing, food security and nutrition, universal health coverage, and affordable housing) industries and digital sectors. The project will include an assessment of existing CBET curricula, support the launch of new courses at 10 Kenyan Polytechnics, and identify new levels and course content in line with sectors identified through rapid labour market scans.

Improving Skills Training for Employment Program (ISTEP) – Pre-Technology Program

Location: Tanzania

Client/partner: Colleges and Institutes Canada, Global Affairs Canada, and the Vocational Education and Training Authority (VETA)

Dates: 2015 - 2018

The Improving Skills Training for Employment Program is a six-year program that strengthens skills development in Tanzania. ISTEP is helping technical and vocational training institutions deliver skills training that will allow students to find or create employment in the tourism and extractive sectors.

In collaboration with Lakeland College, NorQuest College participated in a targeted project that supported the development of curricula for remedial and pre-entry Pre-Technology Programs in Tanzania. The Pre-Technology Program was designed and delivered in partnership with the Vocational Education and Training Authority (VETA) Central Office in Dar es Salaam, and was later piloted with VETA across the country.

Education for Employment (EFE Andes) - Agri-Food Processing Curriculum Review and Development

Location: Peru

Client/partner: Colleges and Institutes Canada, Global Affairs Canada, Ministerio de Educación-MINEDU (Ministry of Education)

Dates: 2012 - 2015

The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Labour and Promotion of Employment of Peru recognized that the agro-industrial sector was a key sector for their economic development, particularly in the rural areas. Ministries involved seek to increase the quality of agricultural and agro-processing education being offered by its Technical Institutes, ultimately seeking to provide vulnerable youth with equal opportunities for formal employment and entrepreneurship in the sector.

NorQuest College, in partnership with Olds College, worked with local partners to develop and implement CBET curriculum, build pedagogical and entrepreneurial capacity, strengthen private sector relationships and support accreditation.

Skills to Access the Green Economy (SAGE) – Integrating Learners with Disabilities Consultancy

Location: Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, and St. Lucia

Client/partner: Colleges and Institutes Canada and Global Affairs Canada

Dates: 2020 - 2022

The Skills to Access the Green Economy Program (SAGE) will help Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, and St. Lucia become more resilient by supporting demand-driven technical and vocational education training (TVET) in key economic sectors associated with climate change in the Caribbean. The program aims to increase the capacity of local training institutions to deliver gender-sensitive skills training programs that meet economic and environmental needs in the region, by leveraging the expertise of Canadian colleges and institutes. It also encourages the participation of adolescent girls and women, youth and vulnerable populations in demand-driven technical and vocational education (TVET) fields.

For this Consultancy, NorQuest College has partnered with the College of the North Atlantic to work with institutions and employers to integrate persons with disabilities into TVET training programs and employment. The project provides information on the supports presently available in each country, and works with partners to develop strategies to address gaps ad institutions and in workplaces.

Ultimately, the Consultancy will work with local partners to develop strategies and tools to fill any existing gaps in the recruitment, screening, and supports processes for learners with disabilities.

Fund for Innovation and Transformation – Empowering Women in Rural India By Debunking Feminine Eye Health Myths Project

Location: India

Client/partners: Fund for Innovation and Transformation (FIT), Global Affairs Canada, Rotary Eye & ENT Hospital and Operation Eyesight India

Dates: 2022

In collaboration with Operation Eyesight India and the Rotary Eye & ENT Hospital (REEH), NorQuest College will be piloting an innovative solution that will recruit, train, and equip eight local female community health workers (LFCHWs) to provide eye health services in a majority women-staffed Mobile Vision Centre that will visit 15 villages in the Chenani block of Udhampur district, in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, India. The LFCHWs will provide education on women and girls' eye health, eye care services targeting women and girls, and will also serve men and boys village-wide. These services will help to debunk sexist eye health myths which lead residents to believe that women and girls who wear spectacles are unhealthy, behaved sinfully in past lives, and are less desirable for marriage.

Young Africa Works – Kenya: Youth Employability Through TVET – Institutional Partnership #17

Location: Kenya

Client/partners: Government of Kenya, Colleges and Institutes Canada, Mastercard Foundation, Fanshawe College, Northern Lights College, Sang’alo Institute of Science and Technology and Friends College Kaimosi

Dates: 2021-2024

In Kenya, Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan) is partnering with the MasterCard Foundation to implement the Young Africa Works-Kenya. The Project will build national capacity, support Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) reform initiatives across Kenya, and support institutional partnerships across Kenya. Young Africa Works will support Kenya’s ‘Big Four’ sectors (Agriculture, Health, Manufacturing, Housing), and the digital economy by developing 26 Centers of Excellence (COEs) which will be model institutions focused on increasing the participation of young Kenyans, particularly women, in market-relevant skills training programs.

For this particular Project (TVET-17), NorQuest College is partnering with Fanshawe College (FC) and Northern Lights College (NLC) to roll out twelve different programs across two Centers of Excellence in Kenya. NorQuest College, in addition to being the lead and managing project resources, will provide subject matter expertise in Culinary Arts through its Foundations in Cooking Program and Instructors. Fanshawe College and NLC will be responsible for supporting other subject areas in the project (Food Technology and Agriculture).

Orion Edutech Partnership – NorQuest offers high school equivalency courses to students in India

Location: India

Client/partner: Orion Edutech Ltd. India

Dates: 2022-2024

NorQuest International is partnering with Orion Edutech Ltd. India to offer high school equivalency courses to high school students in India. In addition to their regular high school curriculum, Indian students can enroll in and complete NorQuest courses based on the Alberta high school curriculum and obtain a NorQuest high school equivalency diploma once they meet the necessary requirements. Courses will be offered through online synchronous delivery at various schools that have partnered with Orion Edutech. Students can complete their final course at NorQuest College, Edmonton. Students unable to travel to Canada will be able to complete the final course in India via online delivery. For more information, visit Orion Edutech.

International projects team

Simrit Parmar

Manager, International Projects and Mobility

simrit.parmar@norquest.ca

Greg Sowak

International Projects Officer

greg.sowak@norquest.ca

Mario Meraz

International Projects Officer

mario.meraz@norquest.ca