Professions of the future - master any profession in Canada in 1-2 years
An event on the professions of the future was recently held. It featured speakers from leading Canadian colleges and information from the Canadian Embassy.
I'll be honest, the more I immerse myself in education in Canada, the more often I think about going back to school: there are so many prospects for university graduates.
I studied programming at a Ukrainian university, and we were taught programming languages that were no longer in use back then. There was just an outdated curriculum, which has changed little over the years. To this day, I don't understand why we had such disciplines as sociology, philosophy and history. I, as a programmer, never needed them.
I learned very little useful things during my 5 years of study, most of the things that came in handy in my life, I mastered on my own. And now almost none of my classmates are working as programmers.
Education in Canada
In Canada, education is arranged differently. To become a programmer, you only have to study 1-2 years and then get a Canadian permanent residency. By the way, when you go to college you can get a scholarship of up to $10,000 CAD — in various programs, not only in programming.
At the event, the representative of Humber College from Toronto said that in Canadian universities the curriculum and each program are developed in collaboration with the Government of Canada and companies where students are then recruited. The programs are regularly updated in accordance with the demands of the labor market. I think this is a very important point: not only do you get a diploma, but the road to future opens for you: you get a job and then you get enough points to get a permanent residency, i.e. you immigrate to Canada.
Canadian companies are interested in people with knowledge that is not only needed now, but will be needed in 5 years. So now students are being offered such a curriculum so that they get the profession of the future.
In-demand professions
Did you hear that Team Spirit, a Russian eSports team, won the Dota 2 World Championship in October? The players received more than $18 million USD in prize money. Isn't that the profession of the future?
In the world, people of all ages play games: on phones, computers, and consoles. Facebook has transformed into a new company, Meta, which has announced that it will be building a virtual universe. Therefore, game developers for all kinds of platforms are definitely a profession of the future, and you can study for them, for example, at Humber College.
A representative from Douglas College, which is based in Vancouver, began her report by saying that there is now a shortage of social services and healthcare professionals in British Columbia. Since the trend is now towards automation in manufacturing, there will be a need for people to analyze a lot of data. If you already have a bachelor's degree, the college will soon be opening a two-year program in digital marketing, which is in high demand and will grow even more.
Who else will be needed in the future? Specialists in business development, risk management. There is a shortage of cybersecurity staff right now; it is unlikely that enough people will be trained in the next 3-5 years, so think about this area.
I'm going to move back to Toronto and talk about the report from Centennial College. This institution has decided to combine the fields of IT and medicine and is offering a program called Health Informatics Technology. You will be taught how to develop applications for electronic medical records and other software products. After graduation, you will be able to work as a software developer, health information systems analyst, database developer, mobile app developer, and more. Such a program is not created by chance, but because medicine and IT are fields that are simply at the top of the list in terms of demand in Canada right now.
A representative from Georgian College, also in Toronto, highlighted professions such as nurses, software engineers, electricians, pilots, pharmacists, psychologists and business consultants. All of these professions will also be very much needed in the future.
Features of studying in Canada
Another important point is the qualities that students develop during their studies. In Canada now, when applying for a job, they pay attention not only to qualifications and knowledge in the profession, but also to the so-called "soft skills". These are, for example, communication skills, creativity, leadership, and so on.
One college representative says that students from CIS countries especially lack teamwork skills, because educational institutions simply do not pay attention to it, and the ability to work with people from different countries. But if you study in Canada, you will learn all of this. And they also develop leadership skills and the ability to analyze and organize information.
Jobs for students and graduates
I want to tell you about working in Canada for students and graduates. You can legally work up to 20 hours a week during your studies. College representatives told me that most students take part-time jobs in retail, hospitality and catering. There are a lot of part-time jobs in those fields, with wages starting at $17 CAD an hour or more. That works out to about $1,360 CAD per month and $16,320 CAD per year, so students can recover some of their tuition and living costs.
After college, the outlook is already more interesting. In Toronto and across Ontario, there is high demand for financial services professionals, web developers, analysts, architects, robotics, project managers and human resources professionals. A Humber College spokesperson also noted insurance agents. This is an underestimated profession, not many people want to study it, but employment among graduates of this direction is 100%, often students find a job even before graduation from college. Insurance in Canada is popular because the population is aging. In British Columbia, the most in-demand fields are data analysis, health information processing, and cybersecurity.
And now for the best part — admissions and scholarships. All the colleges which were represented at the event — Humber College, Douglas College, Centennial College and Georgian College — are not only our partners, but also the Canadian language school ILAC. It means that you can take an online English preparatory course at ILAC and then get accepted without having to take an IELTS language test. Sounds like a great opportunity to me.
Scholarships
All colleges offer different scholarships to their students. At Humber College, undergraduate programs can receive scholarships ranging from $1,500 to $4,000 CAD if you do well. According to a college representative, one in two students receives a scholarship.
Douglas College offers an entrance scholarship of $1,000 to $2,000 CAD to those who have passed IELTS and have a good academic record, or $1,000 CAD to those who have completed the ILAC preparation program. Considering that 1 week of online English courses now costs only $100, this means that you will be attending for free. Students who write two essays, interesting information about themselves and enclose references on admission can get $2,500 CAD. Then you can get $500-1000 CAD per semester — depending on your grades.
If you enroll at Centennial College in a two-year program, you may qualify for a $3,000 CAD scholarship. This is for those who already have a bachelor's degree.
And Georgian College has the most generous offers: 12 weeks of free English at ILAC, a one-time scholarship of $1,000 CAD and then $5,000 CAD per year, for two years of study that's $10,000 CAD. My wife and I went to Toronto specifically to do a excursion of the college.
The same promotion is for students who want to study in Vancouver in network administration or software development programs. Studies take place at the ILAC campus with a view of the years. Upon completion of the program, you will receive degrees from two colleges at once: Red Deer Polytechnic and Sterling College.
Cost of training
I think it's important to say how much it costs to attend Canadian colleges. Studying on average without scholarships costs $15 000 CAD a year, together with accommodation count on at least $25 000 a year. With part-time work and scholarships will be cheaper, for example, if you come to Georgian College and get a one-time scholarship of $ 1000 plus $ 5 000 CAD for the year, you have already saved $ 6 000 a year. If you work part-time, you will earn another $16,000 per year. That's a total savings of $22,000 CAD. But you will still have to pay for college first and show the money in the account when you get the visa, and only then you can recoup some of the costs. I recommend to consider the option of getting a future profession through education in Canada only if you have at least $20 000 USD on hand.
If you want to study in Canada, I advise you not to procrastinate. The Georgian College has already opened admission in May, now is the time to apply for a scholarship of $5,000 CAD per year. And Humber College is accepting students for fall 2022, there the best time to apply — until December 31.
Entering Canada for students
The promised information from the Canadian embassy representative concerns who can now enter Canada. With a student visa, you can fly in whether or not you have the vaccine. If you do not have the vaccine approved in Canada, you will have to be on self-exclusion for two weeks. Since regulations are constantly changing, I recommend always checking the official website for information:
Separately for the unvaccinated, I would like to say that there may be restrictions in colleges, for example, dorms will be more expensive or you will have to take a COVID test every week. One of our clients that we sent to Toronto to study went to Europe to get vaccinated. Some students get vaccinated directly in Canada.
The biggest problem may be with obtaining a student visa, now there are big delays in the processing of documents. And another important point — do not just go to the program that you liked the name more or where there is a larger scholarship. Most likely, you will be denied a visa. You need to select colleges and programs according to your work experience and past education. All these questions are best discussed with immigration counselor — my wife Ivana. If she thinks that you have a chance of getting a visa, the cost of the consultation will be deducted from the cost of services to apply for a visa. But there's a downside here too — we usually have a 2-3 week waiting list to book a consultation, so book as early as possible.
Alex Pavlenko, Founder of Immigrant.Today
