Smart people make the smart choice
By Lorna MalcolmsonManager, Communications and Information
Services Association of Canadian Community Colleges
Services Association of Canadian Community Colleges
Smart people, more than one and a half million of them, are making the progressive choice for their postsecondary education, their career, and their future. That choice is to attend college. From my own experience, a college program is one that gives you current, in-depth skills that are immediately applicable, open the proverbial door to relevant employment opportunities, and propel you on your way to a stimulating career.
Canada has more than 150 colleges to choose from. Today, the word college also covers institutes of technology, institutes of advanced learning, community colleges, university-colleges, polytechnics, and CÉGEPS. Each provides the top-quality technological skills, adaptability, flexibility, and hands-on knowledge required by today's complex workplace. Program areas are extensive, ranging from animation, media, renewable energy, and environmental protection to engineering technologies, forestry, journalism and broadcasting, and extending to veterinary technology, writing, agri-food, software design, information technology, and health care. The number, type, and specializations of programs available are too numerous to mention here, but can be examined in detail on each institution's website.
Just how do colleges ensure that their programs and your post-secondary education are up-to-date and relevant? By ensuring that the content or curricula of every program is guided by an expert advisory committee comprised of representatives from relevant sectors, colleges prepare their graduates to be truly career-ready. Close ties with businesses and industries allow colleges to quickly create new and adapt existing programs to respond to specific workforce needs, such as new medical imaging technologies, forensics, Just how do colleges ensure that their programs and your post-secondary education are up-to-date and relevant? By ensuring that the content or curricula of every program is guided by an expert advisory committee comprised of representatives from relevant sectors, colleges prepare their graduates to be truly career-ready. Close ties with businesses and industries allow colleges to quickly create new and adapt existing programs to respond to specific workforce needs, such as new medical imaging technologies, forensics, cyber crime, eco-tourism, multi-media production, coastal zone management, or environmental geomatics. You learn from experts either employed or with extensive experience in your chosen field. As such, your college education will never be dated or out of touch with the job market. The closer connection to the working world also provides opportunities for networking and a quicker transition from graduation into the workforce.
In the spirit of responsiveness to the demands of your future employers, a college education can include diploma, post-diploma, certificate, apprenticeship, degree transfer, and applied degree programs. All are the result of industry demand for graduates with immediately applicable work skills.
Simply put, a college education is a high-level qualification that combines theory with careerready, hands-on experience.
You won't just learn the whys but also the how-tos. For example, students benefit from the research carried out by many colleges in partnership with business and industry. Not only do they learn the theory of applied research, prototype and product development but also the real-world application or commercialization of new research. In aerospace, textiles, agriculture, virtual reality technologies, manufacturing and health, to name a few sectors, students learn from cutting-edge research and the latest market developments.
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Even more hands-on is the area of apprenticeship. Salary, knowledge and practical skills are passed to the student through on-site experience coupled with classroom instruction. Your career is no longer based on a text book but how you apply that textbook. Opportunities in the highpaying skilled trades - an area heavily involved in apprenticeship training - will be plentiful and lucrative in the coming years.
Most colleges provide the opportunity for practical work experience. Programs may have a co-op component, allowing students to work in their chosen field while going to school, thereby gaining on-the-job experience (which can strengthen the post-graduation employment search) and opportunities for networking. Some colleges also offer the possibility of internships in developing counties for students and graduates, where interns get the chance to test the skills that they have learned, gain valuable experience, and sample other cultures.
With smaller class sizes than many universities, colleges allow for a productive studentteacher ratio, and an atmosphere that supports the outcome of learning: your knowledge, your capacity, your future. This means you won't be lost in a sea of students and it's easier to make friends with similar interests. Colleges and institutes generally have more affordable tuition fees than universities. If, like most Canadians, you will be borrowing to pay for your education, then a college or institute education means you will have a lower student debt to repay following graduation.
In terms of accommodations, college and institute campuses are located in more than 1,000 communities across Canada, so you're likely to find one very close to home. Or, if you prefer to study away from home, you have a wide range of urban and rural campuses to choose from with residence facilities and housing offices to assist with all types of on- and off-campus housing.
Today's colleges and institutes are vibrant institutions, offering well-equipped, modern facilities, Internet hubs, and online learning. Student support programs include career counseling; employment and job search assistance; financial counseling; academic support and study counseling; special needs programs and disability services; and programs for first-year and international students, among others. The majority of colleges and institutes have great social programs, offering a variety of varsity and intramural sports, tours and events plus superb on-campus social and recreational facilities.
Even if you want to go to university, college is still a great choice. Many colleges and institutes have transfer and articulation agreements with universities. A college or institute certificate or diploma taken before going to university will not only provide you with an edge, but also a marketable skill so you can earn a living while getting your degree. Or, consider that an increasing number of university graduates enroll in college/ institute diploma or post-diploma programs in order to translate their studies into marketable career skills.
Choosing where to obtain your post-secondary education is an important decision. At first, the large number and variety of post-secondary institutions may seem daunting, but it is important to note that each of these institutions share a common responsibility: to educate and train tomorrow's workforce. The difference lies in what you want to get out of your education. Your goals and career aspirations will guide you through the maze.
Drop by and visit your local college or institute and experience the vibrancy for yourself. To help you navigate your options and find out more about a college/institute education, check out the websites of the colleges and institutes near you. For a list of all college/institute Internet addresses across the country, visit www.accc.ca.
Even more hands-on is the area of apprenticeship. Salary, knowledge and practical skills are passed to the student through on-site experience coupled with classroom instruction. Your career is no longer based on a text book but how you apply that textbook. Opportunities in the highpaying skilled trades - an area heavily involved in apprenticeship training - will be plentiful and lucrative in the coming years.
Most colleges provide the opportunity for practical work experience. Programs may have a co-op component, allowing students to work in their chosen field while going to school, thereby gaining on-the-job experience (which can strengthen the post-graduation employment search) and opportunities for networking. Some colleges also offer the possibility of internships in developing counties for students and graduates, where interns get the chance to test the skills that they have learned, gain valuable experience, and sample other cultures.
With smaller class sizes than many universities, colleges allow for a productive studentteacher ratio, and an atmosphere that supports the outcome of learning: your knowledge, your capacity, your future. This means you won't be lost in a sea of students and it's easier to make friends with similar interests. Colleges and institutes generally have more affordable tuition fees than universities. If, like most Canadians, you will be borrowing to pay for your education, then a college or institute education means you will have a lower student debt to repay following graduation.
In terms of accommodations, college and institute campuses are located in more than 1,000 communities across Canada, so you're likely to find one very close to home. Or, if you prefer to study away from home, you have a wide range of urban and rural campuses to choose from with residence facilities and housing offices to assist with all types of on- and off-campus housing.
Today's colleges and institutes are vibrant institutions, offering well-equipped, modern facilities, Internet hubs, and online learning. Student support programs include career counseling; employment and job search assistance; financial counseling; academic support and study counseling; special needs programs and disability services; and programs for first-year and international students, among others. The majority of colleges and institutes have great social programs, offering a variety of varsity and intramural sports, tours and events plus superb on-campus social and recreational facilities.
Even if you want to go to university, college is still a great choice. Many colleges and institutes have transfer and articulation agreements with universities. A college or institute certificate or diploma taken before going to university will not only provide you with an edge, but also a marketable skill so you can earn a living while getting your degree. Or, consider that an increasing number of university graduates enroll in college/ institute diploma or post-diploma programs in order to translate their studies into marketable career skills.
Choosing where to obtain your post-secondary education is an important decision. At first, the large number and variety of post-secondary institutions may seem daunting, but it is important to note that each of these institutions share a common responsibility: to educate and train tomorrow's workforce. The difference lies in what you want to get out of your education. Your goals and career aspirations will guide you through the maze.
Drop by and visit your local college or institute and experience the vibrancy for yourself. To help you navigate your options and find out more about a college/institute education, check out the websites of the colleges and institutes near you. For a list of all college/institute Internet addresses across the country, visit www.accc.ca.