Adult learning
The aging population of Newfoundland and Labrador requires that Memorial University of Newfoundland (MUN) promote and raise the profile of adult learning among the general public. Its Division of Lifelong Learning offers an extensive selection of credit and non-credit courses and programs available online and on-campus. Consideration of adult learners is also of key interest at the College of the North Atlantic, which has all 17 campus locations offering some level of Adult Basic Education (ABE). The Comprehensive Arts and Science Transition program is designed for high school and ABE graduates who would like to improve their general employability skills or who are lacking either the academic courses or required grades for admission into their chosen college program. In the 2010 Provincial Budget, the Government allocated and additional $2.3million to implement a new strategic literacy plan.
Rural participation
Rural people in Newfoundland and Labrador and are among the least educated in the province. According to a Government Canada report from 2014 on the rural population in NewFoundland and Labrador only 1.83% of people living in an area with no metropolitan influence had a university education compared to 17.4% in urban areas. This is an issue for the province as many national and multinational firms have stated how the lack of qualified labour in rural areas is one of their major hurdles in rural Canada and the province is interested in finding ways to combat the unemployment and income disparity experienced in rural areas.
Memorial University is an example of an innovative approach to education delivery from remote communities. It offers courses online (around 450), through correspondence, teleconferencing and satellite links. It has also partnered with the community college system to offer first year university studies at select college campuses throughout the province. Accessibility to rural areas is also facilitated through cohort programs available through the university that combine distance and local delivery. The College of the North Atlantic has a Distributed Learning Service (DLS) in each of the college's 17 campuses. It offers programs and services through on-campus instruction, correspondence, mobile teaching units, distance education and community outreach. Students from rural areas have the opportunity to visit educational facilities such as Memorial University through the Intra-Provincial Travel Program. This program allows these students to realize the potential for opportunities beyond high school.
Apprenticeship training
The 2007 Budget allocated $300,000 for apprenticeship training to allow apprentices to be hired by health boards, school boards, and Newfoundland and Labrador Housing. In addition, Memorial University is being provided with $200,000, allowing them to hire an additional seven individuals through this initiative. Overall, almost $10 million was provided in 2007 to improve the apprenticeship system at different levels.
To recognize on-going changes in the skilled-labour market the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador struck a Skills Task Force in March 2006. Among the 50 recommendations in the report published in March 2007 was the creation of an Industry Coordinating Committee with representation from business, labour, industry, education, the Provincial Government and non-governmental agencies. This committee held a follow-up forum in May 2009.
In its 2011 Budget, the Newfoundland and Labrador Government again moved to strengthen apprenticeship training by providing "$15.4 million over three years to provide additional incentives to employers to hire apprentices, especially from under-represented groups." In April 2011, the Government introduced a $2.6 million Wage Subsidy Program to address issues apprentices have had in finding employment by providing a financial incentive to employers to offset the salary of apprentices.
Another $20 million will be invested to revitalize the apprenticeship system according to the Budget 2015. It will be used for skilled trade development and a variety of initiatives.
Discrimination and special needs
Women's participation
Memorial University is working to create opportunities for women in non-traditional fields. An example of this is its recent application to and permission granted by the Human Rights Commission to hire as many female apprentices as possible in the next round of hiring. Although general gender equity has been satisfied in Atlantic Canada's higher education institutions, areas such as technology, science and engineering are still working towards achieving it. Memorial University's 'Women in Science and Engineering' is one such program offered to help attain this goal.
Aboriginal participation
Although the aboriginal population is growing, Newfoundland and Labrador faces challenges recruiting aboriginals because of low education attainment levels and low literacy rates among the Innu and Inuit adult populations. The Labrador institute of MUN and the Happy Valley-Goose Bay Campus of the College of the North Atlantic provide a College-University Transfer year option. This program is co-designed between the two institutions to promote better success for aboriginal students. Post-secondary offerings in Labrador include Adult Basic Education, transition and university transfer courses, business, applied arts, trades and technology programs offered at the Labrador West and Happy Valley-Goose Bay campuses of the CNA, as well as an Aboriginal Bridging Program at the Happy Valley-Goose Bay campus of CNA. The 2008 Budget allocated $60,000 to establish an Aboriginal Literacy Development Consultant in Labrador. An additional $250,000 was allocated to assess facility requirements necessary to accommodate aboriginal enrolment at the College of North Atlantic in Happy Valley-Goose Bay. Memorial University continues to secure access to the Post Secondary Student Support Program (PSSSP) for members of the federation of the Newfoundland Indians and Labrador Métis Nation. The Aboriginal Human Resource Development Agreement (AHRDA) has helped to fund over 100 students in Newfoundland and Labrador in the 2007-08 school year. In mid November 2007, thirty bursaries were given to Métis students attending university. Memorial University's Faculty of Education has developed a distance education program for Nunavut students as well as a professional development certificate program for their teachers. The College of the North Atlantic's new Integrated Nursing Access Program allows Inuit students to stay in Labrador for the 3-year access program and the 2nd year of the BN (Collaborative) Program. Students will then do the 3rd and 4th years of the program at Corner Brook. In November 2011, Memorial's Presidential Task Force on Aboriginal Initiatives that grew out of the University's Strategic Plan issued its report. The report contains 22 integrated recommendations under four themes.
Students with disabilities
Memorial University, through The Glenn Roy Blundon Centre, established in 1992, is committed to providing and coordinating programs and services for students with disabilities so that they can achieve their maximum academic potential. The College of the North Atlantic received funding in 2006 to hire six new Disability Service Coordinators to assist students with needs. The College has invested in initiatives to improve access to a range of services for students with disabilities at increased campus locations. To ensure all learners have the opportunity to succeed, the College of the North Atlantic's Access for Success (AFS) initiative is designed to improve both student access and student retention. AFS involves the assessment of students' strengths and needs, the development of personal career plans, the use of a student success tracking computer program, and structured academic advising to ensure students are well suited to their program of choice, even prior to attending the college. In the 2011 Budget, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador committed to $400,000 in interim funding to begin the implementation of the Provincial Strategy for the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities. This strategy stemmed from public consultations conducted in 2010.