Career Colleges Ontario Recommends Changes to Private Career Colleges Act

Career colleges in Ontario train over 67,000 people every single year.

Career Colleges Ontario recently met with Progressive Conservative critic for Training, Colleges and Universities MPP Rob Leone and PC Critic for Apprenticeship Reform MPP Garfield Dunlop  to present recommendations for changes to the Private Career Colleges Act, 2005, which is currently under review.

“I really found our meeting with Career Colleges Ontario to be constructive and informative” said MPP Dunlop. “I encourage (Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities Brad) Duguid to introduce legislation this fall that would amend the PCC Act and help streamline a distorted system.”

Earlier this year, Conservative Leader Tim Hudak and MPP Rob Leone released a white paper entitled “Higher Learning for Better Jobs,” which highlighted the crucial role that career colleges can play in an ever-shifting economy.

“As our economy adapts over time, skill requirements change, plants close and jobs are often lost,” wrote Hudak and Leone. “Career Colleges are perfectly positioned to help Ontarians adapt to these changes as quickly as possible.”

Leone whole-heartedly agrees.

“Career colleges have always been a partner in delivering higher education,” says Leone. “As we have stated in our higher education discussion paper, the government’s attitude toward career colleges must change so that they continue to be a viable option for people acquiring skills training.”

Ontario’s career colleges provide hands-on training to over 67,000 students, employ over 12,000 staff, and save the taxpayers in the province more than $1 billion every year. Reviewing and implementing the CCO’s recommendations will provide the government with an opportunity to make optimal use of the province’s career college sector to meet the needs of employers.