Education/training
Free seven-week program for qualified internationally trained immigrants in technology sectorFast track bridging programCentennial College in Toronto and Sheridan College in Oakville have teamed up to provide a seven-week bridging program for newcomers to Canada who want careers in technology. |
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 [ 2007-05-30 ] |
Its official name is Fast Track to Technology Occupations - Programs for Internationally Trained Individuals, but mercifully referred to as FTTO. Classes for the bridging program begin July 9 with the colleges planning to share 220 students, each school taking about 110.
Jane Jenner, special projects manager in the Office of the Vice-President, Academic, at Sheridan, says both colleges are still taking applications, and a second information night is planned for June. The first was held earlier this month.
To be considered for FTTO, Jenner says internationally trained immigrants should first get in touch with program co-ordinators at Centennial and Sheridan to discuss their qualifications and experience. And since English language skills will be crucial to students' success, this early contact will give co-ordinators a chance to assess informally how well they speak and understand the language.
The best place to start the FTTO process is via the Internet. Details can be found at www.sheridaninstitute.ca or www.centennialcollege.ca/ future/ft_index.jsp.
Applicants will also be encouraged to have their credentials examined by either the University of Toronto or World Educational Services to see where they stack up against Canadian qualifications. If they have TOFL or Canadian Language Benchmark scores so much the better, but the colleges will assess their English skills if not.
"The idea here is to do our best to acknowledge the immigrants' knowledge and learning," Jenner says.
If those accepted into the bridging program are successful at the end of seven weeks they will be offered direct entry into the second year of a three-year diploma program, if that's what they're interested in. They may be eligible for admission into other programs such as post-graduate certificate courses, Jenner says. She also points out that although Sheridan and Centennial offer a number of similar technology programs there are also differences in the schools' respective lineups.
DIFFERENT LINEUPS
Some of the programs at Sheridan include computer science technology, telecommunications technology and chemical engineering technology-environmental. At Centennial, the programs include automation and robotics technology, biotechnology-industrial microbiology and new media design. All such programs usually begin in September.
Gary Closson, Sheridan's dean of the School of Applied Computing and Engineering Sciences, says the bridging program is part of a broader provincial initiative to get those with education and training acquired abroad into the workforce.
"Centennial and Sheridan both have extensive experience in dealing with foreign students," Closson says, so a partnership between the schools seemed a natural fit when the Ministry issued a Request For Proposal. Closson says he worked with Sam Mikhail, a former dean at Centennial, now retired, on the project. The FTTO is funded by Ontario's Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration and money is in place for this year and next, Closson says.
Among the topics to be studied in the bridging program are Canadian communications styles and those from abroad, which can be "quite different," Closson says; expectations about how to work in teams in Canada; domestic health and safety legislation and responsibilities; working in a unionized environment and so on.
The bridging program is free to successful applicants. However, Closson points out tuition fees for regular classes will be the same as those of other students.
BRIDGING PROGRAM QUICK FACTS
- The seven-week bridging program begins July 9.
- Centennial and Sheridan will accept about 110 students each.
- There is no charge to take FTTO course but students must pay regular program tuition fees.
- An information session is planned for June.
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