New Learning Centre Opens in Midland

It was my pleasure to be at Contact North | Contact Nord’s official opening of the new learning centre on Friday March 4, 2022. Contact North | Contact Nord’s newest online learning centre will help Midland-area residents get their degree, diploma or certificate or upgrade their skills without leaving their community.

NEWS RELEASE

March 4, 2022                                                                    

Contact North | Contact Nord’s newest online learning centre to help Midland-area residents access education and training without leaving their community

Local MPP to lead ribbon-cutting ceremony on March 4

(Midland) – Contact North | Contact Nord’s newest online learning centre, within the Gateway Centre for Learning, is set to help Midland-area residents get their degree, diploma or certificate or upgrade their skills without leaving their community.

Simcoe North MPP Jill Dunlop will be on hand for the official opening of the centre, which gives local residents access to a variety of free services, including:

  • Information on available online programs and courses from Ontario’s 24 public colleges, 23 public universities, 9 Indigenous institutes, 76 district school boards, 200 literacy and basic skills providers, and 20 skills development training providers 
  • Help with registrations and funding options
  • Free, in-person access to high-speed Internet, computers, web conferencing, extended reality (XR) headsets and technical support
  • Support and encouragement to complete programs and courses
  • Supervision of exams

“As Ontario’s community-based bilingual distance education and training network for over thirty years, Contact North has been a leader in assisting underserved residents in small, rural, Indigenous, and Francophone communities,” says Dunlop, who is Ontario’s Minister of Colleges and Universities and a former faculty member at Georgian College.

“I am thrilled to participate in the grand opening for the Midland location, making an active contribution to the economic recovery of Ontario through accessible education and training for residents who no longer have to travel outside of their community to learn.”

Adds Robin Brushey, Director, Recruitment & Partnerships, North Central Region, for Contact North | Contact Nord: “I’m thrilled to be opening a centre in Midland, where there is such a clear need for services like ours. I can’t wait to see the workstations in this building filled with students working toward their employment and education goals.”

And Jennifer Ellis, Executive Director of the Gateway Centre for Learning, adds she’s pleased her organization is providing the physical space for the online learning centre.

“A Contact North | Contact Nord online learning centre is exactly what Midland learners need to help them get the education and training they need for the job they want,” Ellis says. 

The official opening of the Contact North | Contact Nord Midland online learning centre takes place on Friday, March 4, 2022, at 12:45 p.m. at the Gateway Centre for Learning, 488 Dominion Avenue, Midland, ON.