Confederation College ready to venture into new programs

“Everything’s done, fit, and ready to fly,” Don Lovisa, manager of the local Confederation College campus, enthused yesterday afternoon.
As the college interviews instructors for its new general carpentry apprentice (phase one) program set to start Feb. 21, Lovisa was pleased to see it drew a full slate of 16 students.
“That’s the cap on the enrolment, and its good to see for a first-time program,” he said.
Phase one of a process that can take up to five years to complete, the eight-week course–featuring in-class and hands-on work–is a stepping stone to becoming an apprentice.
“It’s one of those programs where we see the benefit of the ‘multi-use’ facility [at Westfort],” Lovisa said. “Class starts at 2 p.m. and by 3:30 p.m., we can move down the hall to utilize the high school’s tech department.”
The college only has to hire an instructor, a position which Lovisa said attracted many applications.
“We’ve got some very good ones. The instructor must be a certified carpenter to teach the course,” he noted.
After the eight-week course, students are required to work for one year under a certified carpenter, then return for phase two of instruction.
Although the college here only offers phase one for now, Lovisa hoped to offer phase two down the road.
The course is regulated by the Ministry of Education and Training (apprenticeship branch).
In related news, the local campus is getting ready to launch another new program–personal support care worker.
“It’s a position that was developed under the Ontario government’s long-term health care reforms,” noted Lovisa. “It consolidates home supportive care training, health care ‘A’ training, and respite care training into one program.”
The personal support worker assists people with the tasks of daily living based on the individual needs of each person they support, including home management, personal care, family responsibilities, and social and recreational activities.
These services are provided in homes and apartments in the community, in long-term care facilities, congregate house settings, the workplace, and educational facilities.
The full-time program lasts 18 weeks, during which students will spend seven weeks learning theory, two weeks in supervised labs, and nine weeks in clinical experience.
But Lovisa noted the program, which is accepting applicants beginning today, has a few prerequisites.
“Students must have an Ontario Secondary School Diploma (general level or equivalent), a record of immunization, a criminal record check, and a TB (tuberculosis) test,” he said.
“Because it’s in the medical field, and there will be hands-on work, the requirements are quite stringent,” he stressed.