Labour Education Applied Research North (LEARN) is a joint initiative created in 1995 between the Northern Alberta Development Council (NADC) and a group of northern Alberta post-secondary institutions. Currently, the partner institutions are: Grande Prairie Regional College, Keyano College, Northern Lakes College and Portage College. As of July 2021, the NADC is no longer part of the group.

The role of LEARN is to:

1. Provide the partners with labour force and economic information to help them identify new training programs, or modify, suspend, or terminate existing programs. This research informs decision-making regarding student funding and related matters.
2. Investigate matters of community and/or economic development as they relate to the member institutions’ business.
3. Report and investigate industry trends, specific occupations, and training opportunities, as well as other related topics such as demographic trends and community needs.

 In addition to research, meetings with industry representatives are periodically held to inform the partners about current and future labour force needs. LEARN also serves as a potential forum for further communication and cooperation between the colleges.

Micro-credentialing in Northern Alberta

A recent study conducted on the behalf of Labour Education Applied Research North (LEARN) identified that there is a need to develop a common definition, outcomes, assessments and quality assurance processes for micro-credentialing. Click here to view the full report.

LEARN reports can be found here.