ROAD TO HIGHER LEARNING
Sask Polytech scores partnership with CFL to provide continuing education
It's the off-season, but there are still big plays to be made for the Canadian Football League Players' Association (CFLPA) and Saskatchewan Polytechnic.
Late in 2020, Sask Polytech announced a new partnership with the CFLPA. The agreement gives hundreds of active CFL players and their spouses the opportunity to access post-secondary education or training through Saskatchewan Polytechnic's School of Continuing Education, which offers diplomas, certificates, degrees and micro-credentials offerings.
The partnership offers an exciting opportunity for players to envision a future after football.
“The day and life of a professional football player can be an unpredictable journey. Our Academy at the CFLPA has been set up based on the needs of our members to make sure they have the tools to succeed in football, and in the days after,” Solomon Elimimian, president of the CFLPA, stated in a press release in December. “By adding this partnership with Sask Polytech to our Academy's reach, we know that players in Canada and around the world can begin planning for their futures on the field, on the job site or in the board room.”
With the players' sole focus on their sport, the School of Continuing Education is a good fit as it seeks to reduce the time commitment for students to be on campus. For players not living in Saskatchewan that is a very good thing.
“Saskatchewan Polytechnic is a leader distance education, particularly distance education in vocational training,” says Paul Carter, dean for the School of Continuing
Education. He adds, the institute works hard so that their training programs are able to be completed entirely through distance learning or with little time commitment on campus.
Because the training is not limited to a particular locale, a change in the colour of jerseys doesn't have to derail education or training.
“The nature of a football career involves a lot of moving around from city to city and team to team,” explains Carter. “Some players can play for a while with one team, but some players play for multiple teams throughout their career. So it involves moving both for them and their spouses.”
The agreement is with the School of Continuing Education, which offers diplomas, certificates, degrees, and micro-credentials in a variety of fields and industries.
In addition, the agreement also gives players and their spouses access to career counselling and career preparedness, for those who aren't sure what the next steps will look like after they hang up their cleats.
“We have a really talented team of people who do career counselling and career preparedness,” says Carter. “That's also something that's included in the offerings that are available to the players.”
The agreement between the CFLPA and Sask Polytech is exciting for a province that is known for its love of football.
“We're pretty passionate about our football here. We wanted to lead the country in giving back to those players that put that football experience on the field for us,” says Carter.
Players have already shown interest since the partnership was announced, some even accessing the career counselling that's available.
The partnership with the CFLPA is not the only partnership Sask Polytech has recently announced. The education institute has released a string of announcements since last September and Carter hints more are to come.
One new program, announced at the end of January, seeks to provide essential skills and training in water treatment to Indigenous people. The program is a collaborative initiative of the City of Saskatoon, Gabriel Dumont Institute, Radius Community Centre, Sask Polytech and Saskatoon Tribal Council.
In November, Sask Polytech became part of the Next Generation Manufacturing Supercluster, a network of industrial companies, start-ups, researchers and government-funded labs designed to promote collaboration and training.
Last fall, the school joined Microsoft to help learners in Saskatchewan gain the skills they need to help the province recover economically in the postpandemic world. The Microsoft Skills Program will provide in-demand skills in data and AI.
And Sask Polytech is the only Saskatchewan training partner for Lighthouse Labs after a partnership was announced in September, which will provide critical training in the technology sector.
It's growing these types of partnerships that uniquely positions Sask Polytech to meet the educational needs of residents in Saskatchewan and beyond and puts the school at the forefront of providing employment skills in an ever-changing world.