Partnerships

The PDO partnered with the Musqueam Nation to provide early childhood education (ECE) training to indigenous learners. Students received essential skills and culturally informed ECE training, delivered on-site at the Musqueam Nation reserve. They also received support from a Musqueam elder within the classroom. VCC provided overall project coordination, qualified ECE instructors, and a comprehensive curriculum. Read more

The PDO collaborated with Mohawk College, Red River College Polytechnic, and Nova Scotia Community College to deliver a national material handling training program, designed to aid economic recovery after the pandemic. Through this project, students received training to prepare them for entry-level warehousing roles. The project included 21st-century employability skills, forklift operations, and certification from the Manufacturing Skill Standards Council (MSSC).

My experience with the program was very positive, the instructor, coordinator, and all the staff really helped me and gave me lots of support. Some of the AHA moments were getting to do forklift training also learning about all the different jobs in warehousing. I am so grateful for the financial support, transportation, grocery cards, and work boots. Doing this program has really helped me integrate into Canadian society and I am very excited for what comes next.

The PDO developed a medical office assistant training project in collaboration with local WorkBC centres, sector employers, community-serving agencies, and VCC’s Applied Business department. In this training, multi-barriered students received a combination of vocational and employability skills training, on-the-job work experience, and follow-up support. As a result, students were able to successfully find work as medical office assistants after graduation.

Working with VCC’s Continuing Studies department and the Progressive Intercultural Community Services (PICS), the PDO developed an Administrative Accounting and Bookkeeping training that equipped students with the skills, knowledge, and experience needed to find entry-level work in accounting and bookkeeping. The training included cohort-based classroom instruction delivered by qualified VCC instructors, job search support, and four weeks of on-the-job experience with local employers such as the City of Vancouver, City of Burnaby, Appnovation, ATL Senior Living, Dick’s Lumber, Business Depot, and Profix Accounting.

The Administrative Accounting and Bookkeeping program truly understood my needs as a newcomer. The program provided me with the skills and work experience I needed to overcome the challenges that prevented me from finding sustainable work in Canada.

The PDO partnered with the BC Care Providers Association to deliver online Supportive Care Assistant (SCA) training, which prepared students to work in non-clinical roles within healthcare. This training was part of a national initiative to build capacity in long-term care, delivered by College and Institutes Canada (CICan). Students also participated in paid work placements within the community with employers like Kaigo Senior Living, Nikoniko Home Care, German Canadian Care Home, and Finnish Home along with many others.

I didn’t have experience in healthcare, so the Supportive Care Assistant program seemed like a nice way to explore the field. This program builds a bridge to opportunities in the healthcare field. You don’t know if you would like to work in healthcare until you try. The SCA program prepares your mind for what it will be like. I’m looking forward to building a career in healthcare.

The PDO facilitated a collaboration between the Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) program and the Immigrant Employment Council of BC (IECBC) to provide LINC students access to Applied Skills Curriculum to Empower Newcomer Development (ASCEND) program. ASCEND is an online, self-paced program designed to aid newcomers in adapting their skills to the Canadian job market, focusing on improving job search techniques and soft skills for learners.