Red River College Winkler Campus will not deliver its Dental Assisting Program for the first time since 2008.

Along with declining enrolment in previous years, the College has also seen limited employment opportunities in the region.

"We're always evaluating the needs of the current labour market," Conor Loyd, RRC Spokesperson says. "But we're still very cognizant that these areas need support."

The long-standing program was prominent at RRC Winkler Campus, and every year offered a number of bursaries and awards including the Dr. H. Wayne Wilford Memorial Foundation Award, as well as the Manitoba Dental Assistants Association Professionalism Award.

RRC is working closely with the Manitoba Dental Assistants Association and local dental clinics to identify alternative educational partnerships.

For now, the College is redirecting resources to expand a Bachelor of Nursing program and LPN pathway, as well as new Early Childhood Education programming.

"We always keep in very close relationship with our industry stakeholders to ensure we're being agile and responsive to their needs... which is why we're able to offer programming like the Bachelor of Nursing program in a permanent environment because it's of greater benefit to students."

Loyd notes they identified a high need for Early Childhood Education training in the catchments of the Winkler area.

"So we're going to be pursuing that," he says, offering the same ECE programming in Winnipeg and Winkler.

The long-running Dental Assisting program at RRC in Winkler is on hiatus, but will be replaced with two new programs