Career Guide

ROUTES TO LEARNING

University

Universities offer courses of study - full-time, part-time or co-op - that will broaden your knowledge and develop your analytical and thinking skills. Some programs such as engineering provide career-oriented, specialized training with an academic component.

Universities offer many programs, including:

College

Colleges offer two to three year programs that combine academic learning with hands-on training and lead to a diploma or certificate. Colleges offer a variety of programs.

Some examples:

Private Vocational, Technical and Trade Schools

Privately owned vocational, technical and trade schools provide short, career-oriented training courses. Classroom study can be full or part-time and may be combined with on-the-job training. Some schools also supervise programs, or the government and other institutions.

Vocational, technical and trade schools offer many courses which lead to careers such as:

Apprenticeship

Apprenticeship is a special kind of training required for many occupations in trades and technologies. It combines classroom instruction at a college as well as on-the-job, paid training. In some countries, an apprentice can start a program while in high school. In others, an apprentice must have a high school diploma.

Professional and Vocational Associations

Regulated Associations: These associations offer training and certification in an area of specialization, and people who want to work in that area must be certified. The associations' training usually requires work in the field, attendance at seminars and passing of examinations.

Occupations that require such certification include real estate brokers, massage therapists, insurance brokers, chartered accountants and stockbrokers.

Non-regulated Associations: These associations offer training and certification in an area of specialization, but membership, training and certification are not requirements for employment. However, many people find that the courses provided by non-regulated associations are important routes to finding work in their chosen field. There are many occupations handled by non-regulated associations, including gemologists, bankers, administrators, managers and direct marketers.

Other Specialized Educational Institutions

There are many schools and institutes, some private and some publicly funded, that provide practical, non-academic training in specific area of study. These schools offer a wide variety of courses in such areas as fine and performing arts, cooking, aviation, modeling, hairstyling, languages and financial management.

Company Training

Many companies today provide employees with in-house training or offer support if employees want to take courses outside the workplace.

Community Groups and Other Non-Profit Organizations

Community Groups, neighborhood organizations and non-profit institutions such as the YMCA offer training in a variety of subjects. These programs are often designed for people in transition who need to upgrade their employment skills.