Northern College is launching a new branding strategy aimed at attracting more students to northern Ontario and encouraging local learners to build their futures in the region. The campaign, built around the brand ‘Go North, Stay North,’ will be featured in the college’s recruitment materials, advertising and social media, with messaging tailored to different audiences. ‘Go North’ is designed to appeal to prospective students from outside the region, while ‘Stay North’ encourages students from northern Ontario to pursue their education and careers closer to home. Aimed at local and southern recruitment “So Go North, we’re really using it for recruitment for our students down south, but Stay North is more for our students within our own region in northern Ontario,” said Jaret Dicks, executive director of marketing for Northern College. The branding comes as northern Ontario faces growing demand for skilled workers, particularly in the mining sector and the trades. Northern College president and CEO Mitch Dumas said the college is building on its industry partnerships and the employment opportunities available throughout the region. “It was time to just move on now to a new brand and Go North, Stay North. What more can you say, right? That’s what we want people to do,” said Dumas. “We want people to either stay north or come here, get their education and find the great jobs that we have available here.” Dumas said employers continue to report a need for workers, creating opportunities for graduates to find employment locally. Industry partnerships “We have great partnerships with industries in the communities that we operate in, and they keep telling us that there are a lot of jobs,” said Dumas. Dumas pointed to one industry partner that reported 100 job openings last year and still had 80 positions to fill. “There are a lot of jobs here.” Northern College currently has just under 1,4000 students across its four campuses. The college hopes the new campaign will help enrolment grow and attract more students next fall. Dumas said increasing domestic enrolment is a priority. “We’re always looking to increase our numbers. Obviously, the international numbers have decreased significantly, so we need to tap into more domestic students,” said Dumas The college plans to maintain the branding strategy for at least five years.
