Strecha Talks Career Training With The Province
Zyg Strecha, director of the Automotive Training Centre in Surrey, was recently interviewed by the Province. The article in question looks at the current career training choices and programs available to prospective students, and highlights opportunities and resources in this ever-changing landscape.
Essentially, the point was being made that both education and job markets have changed dramatically in the past decade, and prospective students face a number of new challenges, including financing. Enter Zyg.
“We understand the challenges students face to better their careers,” Strecha said. “That’s why we support financial aid programs and provide support to our students during the application process. Financial assistance may be available to those who qualify.”
This, of course, is only one small part of the overall picture, as more and more people are starting to opt out of traditional colleges and universities. This change was recently summed up by BC’s Education Minister, George Abbott, in a public statement.
“The reality is that our world has changed, and continues to change,” he said. “An education system designed in the very different circumstances of an earlier century can’t possibly meet the challenges students face – both now and in the future.”
We agree, and the need for a more practical and specialized education is the reason for the increased popularity of Canadian career and community colleges.
“A university degree used to be an entree to a job. [Employers] didn’t care if your degree was in archaeology—they’d take you into the accounting firm and train you for the job,” Ann Buller, president of Centennial College told The Chronicle of Higher Education. “Their university degree means they have a good, solid education but not necessarily something that translates easily into a job. We (meaning career colleges) can help them discover their passion.”
That passion, not to mention intensive, specialized curriculum and the financial flexibility discussed by Strecha, are just some of the reasons why it is a good idea to enroll in a career college. If you love cars, for example, why spend four years at a university in an unrelated program, when you can take auto mechanic training or auto body courses and find a career in the industry within a year? Put simply, with the resurgence of the automotive industry, at home and abroad, and the changing educational and career landscape, there may never have been a better time to enroll in an automotive training program.
Don’t be left behind.
