The Canadian Coast Guard College (CCGC) is a maritime training college and

Canadian Coast Guard The Canadian Coast Guard (CCG; french: links=no, Garde côtière canadienne, GCC) is the coast guard of Canada. Formed in 1962, the coast guard is tasked with marine search and rescue (SAR), communication, navigation, and transportation issues ...

facility located in Westmount,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

—a suburb of the former city of

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

in the

Cape Breton Regional Municipality Cape Breton Regional Municipality (often referred to as simply "CBRM") is the Canadian province of Nova Scotia's second largest municipality and the economic heart of Cape Breton Island. As of 2016 the municipality has a population of 94,285. The ...

. 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 A Bachelor of Technology (Latin ''Baccalaureus Technologiae'', commonly abbreviated as B.Tech. or BTech; with honours as B.Tech. (Hons.)) is an undergraduate academic degree conferred after the completion of a three to five-year program of st ...

(Nautical Science) that is granted in collaboration with

Cape Breton University , "Diligence Will Prevail" , mottoeng = Perseverance Will Triumph , established = 1951 as Xavier Junior College 1968 as NSEIT 1974 as College Of Cape Breton 1982 as University College of Cape Breton 2005 as Cape Breton ...

. 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, search and rescue, and environmental response.

History

Established in 1965 as a residential college on the site of the former navy base 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 Keith may refer to: People and fictional characters * Keith (given name), includes a list of people and fictional characters * Keith (surname) * Keith (singer), American singer James Keefer (born 1949) * Baron Keith, a line of Scottish barons i ...

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 simulators for depicting the navigation of vessels in a variety of scenarios, 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) and one motor life boat- all housed in a custom-built boathouse on the college's waterfront along a small cove. From the 1980s to the 2000s (decade), the college expanded its training programs to include customized marine training for students from

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

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nations, as well as other federal government agencies such as the

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal and national police service of Canada. As poli ...

Department of Fisheries and Oceans Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO; french: Pêches et Océans Canada, MPO), is a department of the Government of Canada that is responsible for developing and implementing policies and programs in support of Canada's economic, ecological and sc ...

, and the

Department of Transport The Department for Transport (DfT) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that have not been devolved. The d ...

. 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

. Following completion of the Officer Training program, graduates now receive a Bachelor of Technology (Nautical Science or nautical engineering) from CBU.

Training programs

Following training programs are offered:CCGC Training Programs
/ref> * Officer Training Program (OTP) ** Marine Navigation ** Marine Engineering * Marine Communications and Traffic Services (MCTS) Officer Program * Electronics and Informatics Technical Training (EITT)

Departments

* Marine Communications and Traffic Services * Electronics and Informatics Technical Training * Marine Engineering (Officer Training Program) * Navigation (Officer Training Program, Search and Rescue, Environmental Response) * Arts, Sciences and Languages (Officer Training Program) * Superintendent of Officer Cadets (Officer Training Program)

Training vessels

There is one vessel assigned to the College: * CCGS Goéland In 2011 CCGS CG 117 and CCGS CG 118 were retired as training vessels.

References

External links