Career Options
Academia"Working in the college system is rewarding because you're giving back to the community. You're supporting students as they prepare for their careers, and you see the fruits of your labour when you see graduates making a difference in the community." SHARON ASCHAIEK |
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 [ 2006-06-21 ] |
Rick Webb is discussing what he sees as the core benefit of working in Ontario's college system. As director of human resources at Sault College of Applied Arts and Technology in Sault Ste. Marie, the educational destination of approximately 2,100 full-time and 4,500 part-time students per year, it's a benefit he experiences first hand on a daily basis.
But while he and the approximately 700 staff members at Sault College appreciate the unique rewards of working at the college, many in the surrounding community don't. This lack of awareness is problematic at a time when the school continues to experience a growing labour shortage among its ranks of faculty, support staff and administrators.
"We have a lot of baby boomers on staff who are starting to retire -- we have potentially 89 people who can retire over the next five years," Webb says. "When you have that many people set to retire in such a short period, it's on our radar screen."
The skilled labour shortage at Sault College is part of a wider employment market trend that affects all of Ontario's 24 colleges. According to the Conference Board of Canada, a non-profit leadership organization that monitors economic trends, public policy and organizational performance, by 2020, Canada could be short about one million workers, largely due to an aging population.
Like other Northern Ontario colleges, Sault College faces an additional problem: a smaller local labour pool and a reduced ability to attract commuters.
"We have about 80,000 people in the community, and we're competing for the same people as industry," he says. "We also can't appeal to people 30 to 60 minutes away to commute like Southern Ontario schools can."
Webb has turned to the web to enhance the school's recruitment efforts. He's using Internet employment databases to search for suitable candidates, and has had the school's website reconfigured to make it easier to apply for positions online.
He's also increased the school's marketing efforts to promote the benefits of working there. Chief among them, he says, are competitive compensation and benefits packages -- academic staff can make up to $83,699 per year -- mainly Monday-to-Friday positions with no shift work, and two months off during summer.
The school is also increasing professional development opportunities for its staff. Each year, up to three faculty members may leave the college for an extended period to pursue experiences to enhance their practice, including working directly in their field. As well, all staff may take courses at the college for only a $20 administration fee.
Webb hopes these efforts will help fill persistent job vacancies at the school in areas such as accounting, nursing, information technology, trades and the sciences. He points out that unlike at universities, when colleges recruit instructors, they focus less on educational credentials and more on a candidate's entire range of experience and skills.
"One of the great things about college-level teaching is it's mainly a practical learning environment. For the most part, you don't need a master's degree to work here -- if you're working in the field and you have a unique talent, you can come and impart that knowledge to students."
Also in growing demand at Ontario's colleges are administrators -- from secretaries to deans -- and support staff -- librarians, marketing staff, registrars, accountants, groundskeepers, IT personnel and more.
Gladys Rangaratnam, president of the Ontario College Administrative Staff Association (OCASA), attributes much of the shortage to excessive college downsizing in the 1990s.
She adds that the increasing technological complexity and growing workload of many positions, combined with the difficulty colleges face in staying competitive with industry, also makes it harder to find qualified candidates.
However, Rangaratnam, who is also dean of research and advanced learning at Cambrian College, says the benefits of working in an ever-evolving learning-oriented environment is a perk that's unique to the college system. OCASA as well as the colleges are also working on providing more professional development and networking opportunities as well as wellness seminars for administrators.
"EXCITING ATMOSPHERE"
"In a learning environment, the potential for your own professional and personal growth is unlimited," she says. "Because colleges are so firmly embedded in their communities, they are always on the cutting edge of progress, which creates a challenging and exciting atmosphere."
Don Sinclair, executive director of the College Compensation and Appointments Council, is keenly aware that the 14,778 academic, support and administrative staff who work at Ontario's colleges are the lifeblood of the system, and he's committed to exposing what he sees as the "hidden gem" of Ontario's employment market.
APPLY ONLINE
The council, a Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities agency that handles collective bargaining at the colleges, has partnered with the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU), the union representing about 15,000 academic and support staff at Ontario Community Colleges, to create www.ontariocollegeemployment.ca. Still under construction, the site will over the next few months become a dominant tool for applying online for college teaching positions.
"If your goal in life is to become rich, the college system is not for you," Sinclair says. "But if you want a rich life, you should look at the colleges, because they provide fulfilling opportunities to pass on knowledge to young people and positively influence their lives."
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