The west coast connection – Port Alberni 

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Port Alberni joined the NIC family in the second year of operations through an agreement in 1976 with School District 70, but it almost didn’t happen at all.

When the community was looking for a post-secondary option, the school district considered a partnership with Malaspina College, but a single vote decided things in favour of North Island College. The result was the agreement which saw the college leasing out a school facility at Smith Memorial.

The campus grew the first couple of decades, and by the late 1980s it was clear a new option was needed. In 1994, NIC opened the campus on Roger Street and marked the occasion with a celebration that included sealing off a time capsule. Included among the items were a BC Tel phone book, a community education calendar, lapel pins and a Sears catalogue—all of which were revealed when the capsule was opened at a 25th anniversary celebration in 2019.  

Located within the unceded traditional territory of the Hupacasath and Tseshaht First Nations, the campus has long offered programming to support Indigenous Education, such as in 1998 when the Nuu-Chah-nulth language in two dialects was offered to 36 Port Alberni students.

The Port Alberni campus includes a versatile mix of programming to serve the region, including health and human services, as well as continuing education courses. Training for trades like welding or joinery has also been a key feature, with many based out of the Tebo Street site. Others, like the culinary program and its familiar bistro, operate back at Roger Street.

Students can also earn Red Seal certification in their trade, with many getting their first feel for trades in high school before moving on to NIC. With dual credit programming available now, it’s a sign that those long-time relationships between the college and local secondary schools are as strong as they were in the early days.

Learn more about the Port Alberni campus here.