Committee aims to help with student retention post-graduation

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The growth and prosperity of André Frenette’s local excavation business depends on finding skilled workers and graduates of collège communautaire du Nouveau-Brunswick Bathurst campus have played an important role.

The owner of RH Frenette said students from CCNB have helped to fill that gap, when at times in the past he’s not been able to fill vacant positions in his company.

“It’s really helped to grow the business and it simplifies filling available jobs a little bit, because sometimes the available jobs are important for the business to function well,” he said in French.

CCNB President and CEO Pierre Zundel said the college is creating a community committee focused on welcoming, integrating and retaining international students at the Bathurst campus.

“We need those people to stay and to feel good and feel welcome in this society because we need them to work with us,” he said.

The retention of international students will become even more important in the next 10 years, Zundel said, as there won’t be enough young people to replace about 40 per cent of the New Brunswick workforce that will retire at that time.

“If we’re going to have enough people in the construction trades and the hospital emergency rooms and all across our society, we’re going to have a lot more people who are coming from other countries,” he said.

“We need to be able to welcome them, to help integrate them into our society and to become neighbours and coworkers.”

Zundel said to help students truly integrate will require participation from multicultural associations, employers, municipalities, the post-secondary institutions, and the kindergarten-to-Grade 12 education system, since those who do stay will often have children. He said CCNB graduates will learn how society works in this part of the world, but the community also needs to learn how to work with people from different cultures.

He expects similar committees will be put in place at other campuses across the province.

Zundel said two thirds of the 31 post-secondary programs available in Bathurst have class enrolment made up of two thirds international students.

The Bathurst campus had 444 international students enrolled as of December 2023.

While students are studying, many hold part-time jobs in the service industry, which Zundel said is necessary to keep local businesses operating among the current worker shortage.

Bathurst Mayor Kim Chamberlain told the Chaleur Regional Service Commission board during its April meeting the college’s current international student retention rate is about 50 per cent.

She said the city was approached by the college to participate and will have Coun. Jean-François Leblanc represent Bathurst, but she feel it’s important to involve more of the region.

She suggested a member from another municipality or the service commission also participate.

In past years, Chamberlain said the city has held welcome barbecues for students and other activities as a means of “integration and inclusion in the community” for Canadian and international students alike.

The commission will look for other businesses that frequently hire in the region who can sit on the board and the item will be brought back to a future meeting.

Once the committee meets, Zundel said it will decide what action needs to be taken to meet its mandate but said the focus will be on social opportunities and activities, with learning opportunities for both students and community members.

“It’s about learning and education, and it’s about contact mostly,” he said.