Ontario’s colleges say budget commitments will produce a more highly skilled workforce
Apr 28, 2017 | Canadore College
(NORTH BAY, ONT.) – Measures announced in the 2017 Ontario Budget will allow more students to acquire the professional and technical qualifications to pursue rewarding careers, Ontario’s colleges said today.
“The budget reinforces the government’s commitment to helping more students get the expertise they need to pursue meaningful careers through experiential learning,” said George Burton, president and CEO of Canadore College. “It also reaffirms the pivotal role that colleges play in student success.”
Measures announced in the 2017 Ontario Budget include:
- Exploring new opportunities to improve access to apprenticeship programs.
- Increasing the funding to support college sustainability by an extra $10 million this year. The increase will be $16.5 million by 2018-19.
- Developing a new website to provide better information about careers and the labour market to students, parents and employers.
- Enhancing student assistance so that recent graduates won’t have to pay the provincial portion of their OSAP loans until they’re earning at least $35,000 a year.
- Reaffirming the investment of $190 million over three years in the Career Kick-Start Strategy to help more students and graduates get work-related experiences as part of their education.
- Recalibrating the Second Career retraining program for laid-off workers.
“Producing a higher skilled workforce is essential as new technology and innovations continue to transform and strengthen our economy,” said Burton. “And while these measures are welcomed, in future budgets we hope to see an increase in base funding per student for colleges to help off-set inflationary pressures."
Canadore trains people through applied learning, leadership and innovation. It provides access to over 65 full-time quality programs and has outstanding faculty and student services. The College and its students add nearly $290 million to the regions of Nipissing and Parry Sound. Approximately 1,000 students graduate from Canadore each year, and they join 43,000 alumni working across the globe.
For more information, please contact: Jessica Charette at 705.475.2538 or jessica.charette@canadorecollege.ca; Carrie Richmond at 705.474.7600, ext. 5216 or carrie.richmond@canadorecollege.ca
#Corporate Communications #Experiential Learning #General #Office of the President