Northwest Community College serves 34 communities in a geographically dispersed region across some 180,000 square kilometres of Northwest BC. Small local populations often create limiting factors with regard to identifying and securing a viable cohort in many programs.

The Coastal Pathways Partnership is a unique collaboration between industry and education that provides a sustainable solution for trades training in Prince Rupert. With industry contributing capital for state-of-the-art equipment, the local School District providing learning space (shops and classrooms) and NWCC contributing curriculum and teaching expertise, both millwright (running in fall 2013) and electrical (running in winter 2014) foundation training have been restored sustainably to Prince Rupert.