MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY
Gardiner Centre, Labrador Campus partner to offer local professional development

At Memorial University's Labrador Campus, in-person professional development is making a meaningful impact.

Three recent programs the first to be offered by Memorial's Gardiner Centre on site in Labrador sold out, highlighting the growing demand for accessible, community-based training.

Their success underscores the role Labrador Campus plays to help people build skills, advance careers and drive regional growth.

"We're proud to collaborate with Labrador Campus and bring relevant, impactful training to professionals across the region," said Valerie Howe, director of Gardiner Centre. "This is about building leadership capacity, enhancing critical skills and supporting community and economic development in Labrador."

Learning, leadership and local impact

For many professionals in Labrador, accessing in-person training close to home has been transformative.

Desmond Chaulk, with the Department of Health and Social Development, Nunatsiavut Government, says having a customer service course available in Happy Valley-Goose Bay was "valuable."

"Being able to access training locally made it possible for more of us to participate without the extra travel costs," he said.

Professional development hub

The Gardiner Centre is Memorial's award-winning hub for professional development.

Recently held offerings at Memorial's Labrador Campus include the Advanced Administrative Professionals Program, the Personal Leadership Development Program and a short course in customer service, all designed to support real, day-to-day professional growth.

From early-career employees to seasoned professionals, learners in the programs gain tools to advance their careers, contribute to their organizations and strengthen the communities they call home.

"After reading about what the course covered, it became clear that the information could help me in my position," said Mr. Chaulk. "It was assigned to all employees, but I was genuinely interested once I saw how relevant it was to my work."

Participants say the training helped them sharpen their communication skills, apply leadership strategies on the job and build customer service techniques with immediate relevance to their workplaces.

Mr. Chaulk says the content was well planned out and the instructor kept everyone's interest.

"It taught me how to properly deal with the public and even how to say no' when there was something I didn't agree with, which is a great benefit in my role."

Stronger communities, closer to home

In total, more than 20 participants completed the Advanced Administrative Professionals Program last year, while more than 40 others completed the Personal Leadership Development Program and customer service courses recently.

The in-person learning opportunities are about more than just skills training.

Dr. Sylvia Moore, vice-provost of Labrador Campus and dean, School of Arctic and Subarctic Studies pro tempore, says Labrador Campus is "very much" focused on supporting the Labrador community and also growing its collaborations with people and units throughout Memorial.

"We were thrilled to collaborate with the Gardiner Centre and support these valuable training opportunities that bring a very real and significant benefit to the professionals in our region," Dr. Moore said.

In the future, the Gardiner Centre and Labrador Campus aim to deliver professional development training at times when academic students are on break from classroom learning, optimizing the space available at Labrador Campus.

Topics on the horizon include project management, as well as another offering of the Advanced Administrative Professionals Program and Personal Leadership Development Program.

"This course provided very valuable information that will help me do my job at peak performance," said Mr. Chaulk. "With the catered meal, the great instruction and the chance to learn alongside colleagues, it made for an enjoyable and productive day."

Visit the Gardiner Centre website for upcoming offerings and registration details.