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need to be focused and time-limited.
Businesses should contact HRS-
DC’s Minister’s Office or their local
Members of Parliament to find out
when consultations will take place on
this grant. Some are already happen-
ing.
But … what are career colleges?
Right from the start of this article,
the term “career college” has been
used, and yet a lot of Canadians don’t
know what career colleges are.
Career colleges are private, post-
secondary institutions providing vo-
cational training and education. They
are regulated by provincial govern-
ments, often accredited by professional
regulatory bodies, and offer various
programs in different sectors.
Are career colleges a new
“
thing”? No. Some career colleges
opened in the mid-nineteenth century
–
prior to most public community col-
leges.
A number of them continue to
thrive and provide services in their
communities. Examples include
Westervelt College, since 1885, in Lon-
don, Ontario; Willis College, since
1896,
in Ottawa, Ontario; and Saska-
toon Business College, since 1907, in
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
There are almost 500 members of
the National Association of Career Col-
leges (NACC), located in all provinces
throughout our country. The associa-
tion itself was created in 1896.
The longevity of these colleges
speaks highly of the quality of the
education provided: you won’t stay in
business that long if you don’t provide
a good service!
The innovation, the flexibility and
the business model of these institu-
tions make them the partners of choice
for private and public sector employ-
ers who look for partners that under-
stand their needs and are focused on
the delivery of a workable solution for
all parties.
Canadian Forum Linking Employers
and Educators
NACC has recently created the
Canadian Forum Linking Employers
and Educators, a tool designed to cre-
ate a bridge between employers and
career colleges. The “bridge” is meant
to allow employers to find tools to ex-
press their training requirements easily
and for career colleges to respond.
The Forum (made up of repre-
sentatives from the career college and
business sectors) will also be used to
promote the opportunities for part-
nerships. Expect to hear from Forum
representatives in the months to come
with more information on the partner-
ship opportunities for businesses seek-
ing to train their workforce.
And in the meantime…
While businesses may not be able
to benefit from the Canada Job Grant
until 2014, partnerships between em-
ployers and career colleges continue to
be developed and grow.
The result of these partnerships
is exciting: employers find a properly-
trained workforce, and unemployed
or underemployed Canadians find real
jobs. And the economy grows.
While we continue to seek ways
to better train our future skilled profes-
sionals in various sectors (IT, business,
trades, health care, culinary arts, etc.),
we need to better understand the key
players and stakeholders.
The government also needs to
play a supporting role. We think the
creation of the Canada Job Grant is a
good sign. We look forward to more
good signs in the future.
If you would like more information, do not
hesitate to contact me at
NACC
