TMTVNEWS.COM, Castlegar, BC - Selkirk College is pleased to partner with SFU Centre for Sustainable Community Development and the Upper Columbia Co-operative Association. This partnership will bring the highly regarded Certificate Program for Community Economic Development (CED) program to the Kootenays, starting July 2012.

The SFU Certificate Program for CED accepts only 20 participants each year and has broad appeal to both economic development officers and community organizers. The program is comprised of eight, two-day courses and can be completed in 12 months. Courses will be offered in the Nelson and Castlegar campuses of Selkirk College.

Recently, alumni have been recognized nationally for their CED efforts. Past students were awarded a prize in the 2011 Scotiabank/CFIB Small Business Big Impact Challenge for their work creating the Burrard Market Square in Vanderhoof, BC. In 2009, alumni won a prestigious award from the Economic Developers Association of Canada for the 100 Km Kitchen Party in Northern Alberta. In both cases, award winners attribute these projects to ideas conceived and tools used in the CED program.

“The SFU Program gave me a deeper understanding of the role of Economic Development in Sustainable Community Development. I now know that you cannot have one without the other,” explains alumni Kelly Starling, Director of Economic Development, Brazeau County.

“The magnitude of the SFU CED Program is truly an eye opener for me. I know now with certainty that restructuring our economic development office to undertake CED was the right thing to do,” describes Richard Wright, Economic Development Manager, Gitanmaax Band.

“The CED program has greatly impacted me as a leader and small business owner working in my community. It’s given me the tools, experience and contacts I need to support our thriving community of builders working on Vancouver Island. It’s so important that this kind of education is made available to grassroots young leaders like myself. We have the inspiration and the energy to make things happen - we just need the right amount of support and tools to launch us on our way,” expands Dawn Smith, Island Village Builders Cooperative.

"We are really pleased to partner with Selkirk College and SFU to bring this unique program to the area for the first time," says Zoe Creighton, Coordinator of the Upper Columbia Co-op Council. "The courses will allow for timely discussions around increasing community control of our local economies and developing more meaningful employment in our region."

For more about this program visit www.sfu.ca/cscd/ced or contact Anni Holtby, Continuing Education Coordinator with Selkirk College at nelsonce@selkirk.ca or 250.354.3206.