NorQuest Bridging to Post-Secondary Program

at NorQuest College - Edmonton Campus Canada

NorQuest College offers an approved and accredited two-year full-time Social Work diploma program with a multicultural focus. As its mission, the program emphasizes the value of human diversity and teaches the practice of social work within an anti-oppressive framework that is supportive and empowering.

As a social worker, you may have the ability to improve the quality of life for yourself and for others through self-reflection and offering resources, services, and opportunities for your prospective clients. In addition, you will be prepared to create social change through your work and professional activities.

Program themes include:

• Competency working in different cultures
• Social work practice that recognizes and deals with oppression
• Awareness of cultural displacement issues
• Awareness of personal abilities and resiliency
• Spirituality
• Community practice
• Holistic practice
• Practice in specialized settings

Students in the Social Work program can expect to develop knowledge and skills in the following areas:

• Social work foundations
• The helping process
• Social policy
• Assessment and interviewing
• Social work models and practice
• Working with groups
• Working with families and communities
• Mental health
• Abuse, violence, and addictions

The Social Work diploma program teaches students the value of human diversity in the context of Indigenous and multicultural knowledge and practices within an anti-oppressive and ethical framework that is supportive and empowering.

Practicum/Work Experience

• This program includes two practicums totalling 700 hours.

This one-year professional certificate program will prepare you to become a leader in the food and beverage industry. Learners will be ready to manage existing establishments or take their first step in launching a business.

Energy Management is an interdisciplinary program that provides students with the skills and knowledge necessary for the growing workforce needs in the energy sector. You will learn to apply emerging renewable energy sources, understand energy efficiency, and navigate energy policy so that you can support and direct the energy needs of organizations and communities.

The program focuses on the professional side of the energy industry to rapidly familiarize students with innovative and emerging technology trends such as microgeneration, supply chain management, and community energy and emissions planning. The interdisciplinary approach of this program provides learners with a suite of skills to be effective in an industry that innovates frequently.

At the end of Year 2, students will have the option of completing a 16-week paid internship as a competitive elective.

Practicum/Work Experience

• This program includes an optional co-op placement of 600 hours.

The Machine Learning Analyst diploma program provides a flexible, industry-aligned education to help you enter the artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) workforce.

This program will prepare you for entry-level jobs creating business solutions for companies of all sizes. The program focuses on developing fundamental skills in AI and ML, such as data analytics and computer programming, and will help provide you with fundamental business acumen so you can work in multi-disciplinary teams to develop competitive business solutions that are based on modern strategies.

This program was developed as part of the Alberta AI Pathways Partnership. Through this partnership, the program prepares you for AI-related careers through a work-integrated project course where you work on real-world ML problems with local businesses, while also developing a portfolio to prepare for employment.

The Community Support Worker program is an eight-month certificate designed to develop fundamental knowledge, skills, and attitudes in students to work with marginalized communities and individuals. Graduates are expected to work at the front line of human-service delivery settings.

The following are some of the agencies and organizations that provide these services:

• Street work organizations
• Group homes
• Emergency shelters
• Settlement agencies
• Cultural organizations
• Child and family service agencies
• Indigenous service agencies
• Cultural societies
• Personal and in-home supports for persons with disabilities
• Services that support older adults

Practicum/Work Experience

• This program includes a 200-hour practicum and a 45-hour practicum seminar.

The Teaching English as an Additional Language Professional certificate is a flexible credit program that prepares graduates to be effective instructors of adult English language learners, and certified K-12 teachers who can better address the diverse language and cultural needs of their learners.

Students will develop a clear understanding of how curriculum, methodology, teaching materials, and assessment can be designed, selected, and effectively implemented into classrooms with English language learners. Through active engagement with second language acquisition theory, the essential skills framework, language proficiency benchmarks, and current research, students will develop the knowledge, skills, and practical experience to teach confidently within a variety of English language teaching and learning contexts.

Practicum/Work Experience
This program includes a 50-hour field placement, with 30 hours of observation and 20 hours of teaching within an adult English language classroom or (for certified K-12 teachers) in a K-12 classroom.

The Health Care Leadership post-diploma certificate program is offered in a student-centred classroom or an online hybrid environment to prepare graduates for leadership roles within a variety of health-care settings.

The program delivers theoretical knowledge and skills assessment related to leadership and management with focuses on: leadership development, cultural sensitivity, communication, organizational behaviour, principles of adult education, business fundamentals, strategic planning, and inter-professional collaboration. Students will acquire advanced leadership skills that will assist them in being recognized as essential contributors to the overall operations of both private and public health organizations.

Learn from experienced health care leaders who know what you need to be successful in modern health workplaces. Mobilize your team, influence your peers, and drive progress for yourself and for your organization.

Establish personal and professional leadership competencies that help you flourish as a leader in health care. Connect with diverse participants and experience NorQuest’s holistic approach to values-driven leadership.

Advance your theoretical knowledge and leadership development skills, focusing on cultural sensitivity, communication, organizational behaviour, strategic planning, inter-professional collaboration, principles of adult education, research, and business essentials. Your new awareness of what’s needed in today’s health care system will allow you to confidently apply for and obtain leadership roles within your chosen health profession or in related fields.

Learn how to enhance your clients’ quality of life through leisure activities. Gain knowledge and skills to plan, implement, and evaluate individual and group therapeutic recreation and social activities, and explore the concepts, theory, and practical experiences related to leadership and critical thinking.

You will learn how to enhance your clients' quality of life through leisure activities. The program will prepare you to work with a variety of client groups in different care settings.

Both a certificate and diploma are available:
The Certificate year (Year 1) Therapeutic Recreation – certificate focuses on the knowledge and skills required to plan, implement, and evaluate individual or group therapeutic recreation and social activities.
The Diploma year (Year 2) focuses on the concepts, theory, and practical experiences related to leadership and critical thinking in order to prepare graduates to work more independently.

Student Success
Students are more likely to be successful in this program if they:

• Are physically and emotionally able to manage workplace demands.
• Have access to a vehicle to travel to complete their clinical practice.
• Have access to a computer and basic computer skills
• Applicants are requested to review the job requirements listed below and assess their ability to fulfill the demands of the therapeutic recreation occupation.

Working in therapeutic recreation, you must be able to:

• Work shifts and weekends
• Be on your feet for extended periods of time
• Use your knees, back, and arms to move clients who have minimal body strength
• Be comfortable taking a leadership role in groups of all sizes
• Work with clients of all ages, cultures, and genders
• Function effectively independently, on a team, and in stressful situations
• Demonstrate adaptability and critical thinking skills

Practicum/Work Experience :- This program includes two practicums totalling 640 hours

Indigenous Studies Diploma program was approved by Advanced Education to launch in Fall 2021! NorQuest is proud to be the only post-secondary institution that offers this diploma in the Edmonton area and, in fact, in the province!

The Indigenous Studies name reflects on the subject of study that covers a wide range of Indigenous knowledge including culture, history, arts, and Indigenous ways of being and knowing. This diploma program offers learners the opportunity to broaden their understanding of the cultural, historical, social and political experiences of Indigenous peoples in Canada. 

Indigenous Studies is designed for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous students to explore Indigenous ways of knowing and learning, treaties agreement, culture, and health and wellness. Students will be trained through experiential learning, land-based learning, and theory-based courses. 

The full-time diploma program will run over 6 terms and can be completed in 2 years of full-time study.
Students will be involved in experiential learning through a Land-Based Learning course in term 3 of the program. Through land-based teaching, learners will develop and experience Indigenous ways of knowing through storytelling, language, traditional teachings and personal reflection, to show the resilience of Indigenous people. 

In addition, the diploma offers students an optional Community Service Learning course in term 6. Students who choose this optional course will have a unique opportunity to get to know their community, to work with an Elder or Traditional Knowledge Keeper, and to participate in a range of activities that develop skills in critical thinking, leadership, ethical decision-making, social consciousness, community engagement, and governance. 

Graduates of the program will have the knowledge and skills to work with Indigenous peoples, communities, and organizations or to transfer to university to continue their education. 

Many of the courses are university transfer, allowing for course-by-course as well as block transfer agreements with universities across Alberta and beyond. 

Current understandings include a block transfer agreement with the University of Alberta’s Aboriginal Teacher Education Program (ATEP) and course-by-course transfer to their Bachelor of Arts, Native Studies program. Courses from this program will be available in Open Studies as well.  

NorQuest Bridging to Post-Secondary provides an opportunity to students who need additional English language or academic upgrading courses to fully meet admission requirements for a post-secondary program.

NorQuest Bridging students will

• Receive a conditional offer of admission to their target post-secondary program and be able to reserve a seat in the target program
• Work closely with an advisor to design a personalized education plan
• Have up to four terms of study to meet the conditions of their admission by completing English as a Second Language (ESL) Intensive or Academic Upgrading courses at NorQuest College
• Be able to take select courses in their post-secondary program prior to full admission
• Take skill development courses to promote academic success

Participating post-secondary programs

• ELP Band E programs
  • Accounting Technician
  • Administrative Professional
  • Business Administration
• ELP Band F programs
  • Disability Studies
  • Early Learning and Child Care
  • Environmental Protection Technology
  • Interdisciplinary Therapy Assistant
  • Settlement Studies
  • Therapeutic Recreation
• ELP Band H programs
  • Health Care Leadership
  • Practical Nurse