Career College's to the Rescue - Biz magazine Nov 06
Providing a myriad of alternative options, private career colleges experience explosive growth

Unless you’re Samson or Rapunzel, getting the haircut is the easy part. Getting the job is a whole different story. Once upon a time you finished school and, with diploma in hand, went to work for the same company until you retired. Those days have long since passed into legend.

“Most individuals will change their career possibly three to four times throughout their work life,” says Kevin Sloan, president and CEO of Canadian Therapeutic College and its sister school, Canadian College of Dental Health. The career path is rough at best, with no guarantees and no stability. Just when you think you are sliding through a smooth patch, you hit a bump and suddenly find yourself looking for work. It’s all part of life in the modern age.

And life doesn’t discriminate, nor does it make allowances for age. Whether you’re a balding Gen-Xer facing eviction from your luxury suite at Chez Mum and Dad’s, a baby boomer who has been unceremoniously downsized, or a young-atheart retiree looking to re-enter the workforce to supplement your pension, you’ll discover that going back to school isn’t just for kids anymore.

Janet Williamson, Campus Director for TriOS College, describes this situation: “Life happens to people. Some people run into major obstacles in their lives. Parents become ill or pass away. We have adults here with children: single mothers, single fathers. And we have people retraining due to restructuring in industry. These are life-altering situations.”

“The standard joke is that I never have any Kleenex, because it has all been used. I can’t tell you how many people whose lives have been shattered. We’re here to help them.”

Doreen Deacon, Campus Director for the Halton Business Institute agrees. “It’s quite a diverse section of people in terms of gender and age. Some of our students are coming straight out of Grade 12. Others have finished high school, worked in food services or retail and at 24 said, ‘I don’t want to do this anymore.’ We get Mums who have been raising a family. We also do a lot of retraining for people receiving benefits. They’re excited because they feel like they’re getting some skills together so they can move on with their life.”

In growing numbers, people are choosing private career colleges over traditional public post-secondary institutions like Mohawk or McMaster. No longer mere centres for computer upgrading and administrative instruction, today’s private colleges represent a new breed of institution that offer specialized training in a variety of fields.

TriOS has been operating campuses in six Ontario cities since 1998. Originally called TriOS College of Information Technology, they specialized in IT training partly in anticipation of the infamous Y2K bug that had the world dreading the new millennium.The bug came and went, the world survived and TriOS has since grown to include facilities in business, criminal justice and health care.

“It is a volatile business if you are not experienced businesspeople,” says Williamson. “I think you’ve got to be pretty smart to survive; and I think we are. The people I work for have really got it going. They are always looking ahead for the next issue and for the next plan.”

Burlington’s Halton Business Institute has been providing programs for 25 years under Deacon’s firm, but fair, guidance. “We started with 13 students and have gone on a steady growth pattern to the point where we now put through in excess of 100 students a year,” she says. “We’ve made a lot of additions to our programs over the years. We started with administrativestudies, then added specialty areas in medical office,dental and legal because these fields are tried and true.”

“In 1999 we took the plunge and added Police Foundations. And that has become an extremely important division of the college. We’ve had successful placements with Hamilton, Halton, Peel and the OPP; and had graduates from that program go into customs and immigration, corrections and investigation. They are doing extremely well.”

In less than ten years Canadian Therapeutic College has risen to become a jewel in the career college crown, having been hailed as a role model for other colleges to follow. Initially starting with a Massage Therapy program, they proceeded to introduce Canada’s first Sports Injury Therapy program and are only the second college in Ontario to be granted permission from the Ministry of Health to offer a Paramedic program. They have also recently branched out with Canadian College of Dental Health, a separate institution with programs in Dental Assistance and Dental Hygiene. The school’s graduates are actively sought out by organizations as far away as Vale, Colorado. It’s
been quite a decade.

Sloan explains: “We’ve managed to accomplish this by maintaining high standards for all of our students and by teaching above the core curriculum as set out by the individual regulatory body. These are baseline competencies that an educational institute should cover during the course of instruction. If that level is established at a seven, we teach at a nine. What this does is ensure we are producing quality graduates; those that are in demand and are well-received in the marketplace.”

The speed with which students can complete the programs is a big draw. As John Lennon once said, “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” Unfortunately, that means that life doesn’t wait while you’re seeing those plans through. The bills still have to be paid.

“You don’t have to go to community college,” says Williamson. “For some people that isn’t an option. They need to get in and get out and get back to work as soon as they possibly can. We meet that demand.” Tanya Blazina, Senior Media Relations Coordinator for the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, agrees.

Blazina says, “Private career colleges appeal to students who want to learn practical skills on a flexible schedule from an institution close to where they live. They also attract students who need practical skills to enter or re-enter the workforce as quickly as possible, mature students who want a compressed length of training or those who want specific practical skills in addition to their academic qualifications.”

Download the Entire Article (pdf)

Canadian Therapeutic College focuses its programs on standards of excellence rather than baseline competencies. They are richly and well developed and produce graduates that are highly employable and sought out as some of the industry’s best.

Canadian Therapeutic College
760 Brant St. Burlington, 
Ontario   L7R 4B7 Canada

Get Our Phone Number
Visit Our Website
Request More Information