Two heads are better than one, the basis behind a partnership signed Thursday between Confederation College and TBayTel.
The deal, which has no monetary value, will see the college turn to the municipally owned utility for technical advice as it expands into the region, while TBayTel will look to the college for expertise and potential workforce replacements.
Confederation College president Pat Lang said forging a relationship with the communications giant was a no-brainer.
"We share a common geographic area, from west of the Sault to the Manitoba border. We talked about that about being larger in size than Texas, with a quarter of a million people. Obviously in that area we feel we have students that are geographically bound. We need to figure out ways to get education to those students faster, more effectively and more efficiently," Lang said.
By building on existing infrastructure and tying into expansion plans TBayTel is making in the region, the two sides can benefit each other exponentially, though she acknowledged any contract work would still have to go through an open tender process and the utility would stand equally with any other bidder.
"We’re looking at this as a synergistic opportunity. They have a need for a skilled workforce, both from a technological perspective and from a business perspective, so this enables us to meet their needs for human resources as we move forward."
Don Campbell, president and CEO of TBayTel, called it an important move for his company, one of a number of partnerships inside and outside the region to advance Northern Ontario.
"For example," Campbell said, "we are developing products in the region, and we are going to access in a greater way the attributes of Confederation College. They are building buildings, developing further into the region in terms of video conferencing and IT requirements, and we can provide that too."
The newly renovated Dorion building at the east end of the Confederation College campus is a shining example, both Lang and Campbell said. The same applies to the under-construction REACH facility, for which TBayTel experts have helped provide the technology specifications for, looking not just at what exists today, but what might be coming down the road.
"We view this relationship as a conduit to what lies ahead, anticipating and meeting the needs of the future workforce," Lang said.
