Canadian Coast Guard College

Canadian Coast Guard College
Motto Nil sin cura ("Attention to detail")
Established 1965
Location Westmount, Nova Scotia, Canada
Campus Urban
Website http://www.ccg-gcc.gc.ca/College

The Canadian Coast Guard College (CCGC) is a maritime training college and Canadian Coast Guard facility located in Westmount, Nova Scotia - a suburb of the former city of Sydney in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality.

The CCGC core training program revolves around a 4-year Officer Cadet program that prepares navigation and engineering officers for service on Canadian Coast Guard ships. These cadets receive a Bachelor of Technology (Nautical Science) that is granted in collaboration with Cape Breton University. Other training programs include a 6-month program for Marine Communications and Traffic Services Officers that specializes in radiotelephony procedures for marine safety and vessel traffic services to co-ordinate and monitor vessel movements in Canada's territorial waters. Canadian Coast Guard officers that work in the nation's Joint Rescue Coordination Centres (JRCCs) also undertake advanced training at CCGC where a mock-up of a JRCC exists for simulation and training purposes. Additionally, various courses and training programs exist for specialized positions in CCG, including administrative courses, small vessel handling, search and rescue, and environmental response.


History

Established in 1965 as a residential college on the site of the former navy base HMCS Protector located at Point Edward along the western shore of Sydney Harbour, CCGC's first mandate was to train young men in 4-year diplomas of Marine Engineering or Marine Navigation for the Coast Guard's Officer Training Program. The Officer Training Program expanded in 1973 to include women.

In 1981, CCGC moved from its location on the former Point Edward naval base to an adjacent custom-built 120 acre (486,000 m²) campus in neighbouring Westmount. The campus, designed by Nova Scotia Architect Keith L. Graham is located in a wooded area immediately south of Point Edward and adjacent to Petersfield Provincial Park. It consists of a variety of interlinked residential, training, administration, and health/fitness facilities. CCGC also has extensive simulators for depicting the navigation of vessels in a variety of scenarios, fully operational dry-land mock-ups of vessel engine rooms, and a simulator for a rescue coordination centre (RCC).

CCGC has a small fleet of training vessels ranging from sail boats and rigid hull inflatable boats (RHIB) to 40 foot (12 m) lifeboat cutters, and one state of the art 47-foot (14 m) motor life boat- all housed in a custom-built boathouse on the college's waterfront along a small cove. Operational icebreakers, buoy tenders, and search and rescue patrol vessels in the coast guard's Atlantic and Arctic fleets frequently call at Sydney Harbour to conduct cadet familiarization training.

From the 1980s to the 2000s (decade), the college expanded its training programs to include not only the 4 year Officer Training Program for the CCG, but also customized marine training for students from Commonwealth Caribbean nations, as well as other federal government agencies such as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and the Department of Transport. The 4 year Officer Training Program has also been expanded to include training for students from several Middle East nations.

In the 1995, the 4 year Officer Training Program was granted degree accreditation through an agreement with the University College of Cape Breton, since renamed Cape Breton University. Following completion of the Officer Training program, graduates now receive a Bachelor of Technology (Nautical Science) from CBU.

CCGC functions as a conference facility for federal and international government-sponsored events and provides a variety of customized short term training programs for government agencies.

Training programs

Following training programs are offered:[1]

Departments

Training vessels

There is one vessel assigned to the College:

In 2011 CCGS CG 117 and CCGS CG 118 were retired as training vessels.

These vessels are modified 44-foot Motor Lifeboat used by the Coast Guard (18 excluding these training versions) from 1966 to 1970s.

References

See also

External links

Coordinates: 46°8′48.8″N 60°13′24.9″W / 46.146889°N 60.223583°W / 46.146889; -60.223583

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