A northern Alberta college says cuts are coming after a significant drop in enrolment.

Keyano College is preparing for a second year of layoffs as the Fort McMurray-based college projects a 40 per cent drop in student enrolment next year.

The college’s leadership blames the back-to-back cuts and smaller student body on federal limits to international students.

This year’s layoffs will be “similar to last year,” said Keyano College spokesperson Chantal Beaver. The college cut or merged 70 positions during the 2024-25 academic year, including 17 vacancies. Those jobs were from all sections of the college, and were a mix of union and non-union jobs.

“The challenges we’re facing are not unique to Keyano. This is a sector-wide issue across Canada,” said Beaver.

“At Keyano, international students were a very meaningful part of our enrollment mix. [We’re] seeing reduced enrolment, reduced revenue.”

Keyano’s board of governors is budgeting for an equivalent of 1,500 full-time students for the 2026-27 academic year. Enrolment was the equivalent of 2,500 full-time students last March.

Staffing grew by 23 per cent between 2023 and 2025 to handle the rising international student population.

“We’re going to do everything we possibly can to approach this with care and respect and to minimize workforce impacts wherever we can,” said Beaver.

Omer Hussein, who is president of the Wood Buffalo and District Labour Council, said international students were used as a “Band-Aid” to fill funding gaps.

Keyano received more than $37.9 million from the province in 2025-26, or 45 per cent of the college’s annual budget. This is a rise of more than $658,000 from when the college’s international student boom started during the 2022-23 academic year. Hussein said this funding has not been enough to keep Keyano’s programs competitive.

“We have a history in our region that once people leave for education or employment, it’s really hard to have them come back again,” said Hussein.

“This is devastating in a time where we need to be doubling down and supporting young people in both employment and education. If you look across all sectors, we have job shortages but the training isn’t there.”

Programs not matching local labour needs: Hussein

A spokesperson for Advanced Education Minister Myles McDougall did not respond directly to Hussein’s claims, but said in an email “all decisions are being made with careful consideration for staff, students and the institution’s long-term success.”

Hussein also said Keyano is failing to run courses that would interest students in staying in Fort McMurray. There are 18 suspended programs this year, including the primary and advanced care paramedicine programs. Keyano is awaiting provincial approval for a new diploma and post-diploma program.

Most suspended programs have never run, despite being listed in the college’s course guide. They mostly deal with technology, such as an advanced network and cybersecurity program or certificates in artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Beaver said those programs were approved around 2023 and 2024, and would have launched if there was local demand for those skills. Hussein said he sees a mismatch between Keyano’s programs and the region’s labour needs.

“The college needs to respond faster to changing work environments and changing demands, because things are happening rapidly and the college takes two to three years to develop a program,” said Hussein.

“If our college can actually turn around programs fast enough, there’s no reason why we can become the training hub for all of northern Alberta.”