Tourism Administration Prepares You For a Variety of Careers

“It’s a mixture of the hospitality side, where you get to learn about how the hotel operates from scratch, … and after that you get to learn how the tourism industry operates,” says Lexina, a graduate of the hospitality administration (officially known as Hospitality and Tourism Administration) at Centennial College. “Some of the program is labs and some of it is classes. After you finally finish your program, you go into co-op as well — depending on whether you choose it or not. I learned how to put together an event because for a final project for one of my classes, we had put together an event for graduation. I learned how to work with other people and time management was a factor as well.”

While Lexina does a great job of offering her perspective on the three-year Hospitality and Tourism Administration program, let’s take a closer look. First and foremost, to apply students must have completed an Ontario Secondary School Diploma or equivalent or be 19 years of age or older. They must also possess compulsory English 12C or U or skills assessment, or equivalent.

Designed for those planning to build their futures in the tourism industry, this Hospitality Administration program truly reflects Canada’s second largest employment sector, which provides a diverse range of career opportunities. Courses cover a full range of business practices in marketing, human resources, finance and industry operations — as applied to the entire hospitality and tourism field. Students also gain valuable work experience through an individualized industry internship that is meant to provide a practical foundation for their career.

Specific courses within the Tourism Administration undertaking include: Kitchen and Dining Room Practices (learners experience a combination of food preparation and service theory reinforced by the actual practice of the concepts learned); Human Resources For Hospitality and Tourism Administrators (designed to introduce students to a variety of tasks and functions of a human resources department employee, administrator and manager in the current hospitality and tourism business environments); Hospitality and Tourism Marketing (students define marketing, distinguish between product and services marketing and demonstrate an understanding of consumer behaviour, market segmentation, the marketing mix and their application to the marketing plan); and more.

In addition to their courses, students have access to many on-campus resources that enhance learning, including a full-service hospitality management centre, on-site conference centre and state-of-the-art computer labs.

Once they successfully complete their Ontario College Advanced Diploma from Centennial College, students have two options. First, qualified graduates may be eligible to participate in an articulated program with selected universities, institutes and professional associations. These partnerships allow graduates to apply academic credit towards further study. The hospitality administration’s partners are: Athabasca University, International Hotel Management Institute (Switzerland), Ryerson University, Southern New Hampshire University (U.S.A.), University of Calgary, University of New Brunswick and more. The second option is for graduates to enter the field and find jobs in hotel and restaurant general management, human resources management, sales and marketing management, convention services coordination and tour coordination. The tourism industry boasts revenue in excess of $61.4-billion from 60,000 different companies that employ over 1.66-million Canadians coast-to-coast.

Graduate from Food and Nutrition Management in Just Two Years

“It’s not really a hospitality focus but it’s food service operations so the students do some cooking,” explains Bonnie Jasper program coordinator for the Food and Nutrition Management program at Centennial College. “We have four food labs in the program and there’s one in each semester. Although we’re not hospitality or culinary focused if you’re going to do a diet history on a client and they say they eat tuna and brussel sprouts, we need to know what those foods are. In order to be employed as a dietary manager and nutrition technician, you need to be a member of the Canadian Society of Nutrition Management. That’s what makes our Food and Nutrition Management program great, we accredited.”

Jasper gives a great overall look at this undertaking that is offered at Centennial College in the form of a two-year program and results in an Ontario College Diploma. Let’s take a closer look at her observations. First and foremost, it should be noted that to apply, you must present at minimum an Ontario Secondary School Diploma or equivalent or be 19 years of age or older. In addition, you must have compulsory English 12C or U or skills assessment, or equivalent and Math 11M or U or 12C or U or skills assessment, or equivalent.

As Jasper mentioned, the Food and Nutrition Management program holds an accreditation from the Canadian Society of Nutrition Management (CSNM). This ensures that graduates are automatically eligible for membership in the CSNM and OSNM (Ontario Society of Nutrition Management). CSNM membership is a requirement of the Ontario’s Ministry of Health and Long Term Care to work in a long-term care facility and most acute care facilities. With this accreditation comes a focus on Food Service Program and food and nutrition management that is taught through theory-based lectures and hands-on applications, during which students participate in on-campus food labs. Using Centennial’s Hospitality Management Centre for these labs, students learn the practical aspects of quantity food preparation and service and conduct experiments to learn the physical food properties. They also learn about topics such as: Principles of Sanitation, Safety and Hygiene; Kitchen Production, Introduction to Food Services, Food Properties Analysis, Mathematics for Food Service Management, Perspectives on Human Aging and much more.

To complement in-school study, students spend the final seven weeks of the Food and Nutrition Management program in a supervised work experience in a health care facility. The placement provides students with work experience to develop the managerial skills required to fulfill an entry-level position in the health care, food/nutrition industry upon graduation. These positions include dietary managers, nutrition technicians, food and nutrition managers, food service coordinators and quality control technicians.

An Inclusive Environment is Offered Through Child Studies Courses

Do you feel like your needs for ESL sensitivity are not being met? Do you wish to study in an inclusive environment where the teaching staff understands your needs? Does your interest lie in learning to be active in the community, in Child Studies Training or in a volunteer management program? If you answered yes to any of these questions then the Community and Child Studies Foundations program at Toronto’s Centennial College may be for you as it covers child studies courses, general English studies and more. It was created specifically with Canadian newcomers in mind to help them not only overcome communication obstacles but excel in further studies.

Taking just two semesters to complete, the undertaking is essentially a pathway for pursuing a career in the community services and child studies department. That’s because it offers the solid academic foundation students need to take on the more challenging and advanced courses of program such as Early Childhood Education, Child and Youth Worker, Developmental Service Worker, Community and Justice Services, Police Foundations, Recreation and Leisure Services and Social Service Worker. When students successfully complete the program, they obtain an Ontario College Certificate and apply to a Centennial College program of their choice.

Getting you to the academic level where you are prepared for these advanced child studies courses or volunteer management courses is executed in a number of ways. Firstly, it is ensured that you have the opportunity to develop academic and professional skills and attitudes, as well as be aware of the personal requirements needed to facilitate success in your program of choice or in the varied careers within the Community Services and Child Studies fields. In addition, you will participate in reflective practice to facilitate professional skill development, while enhancing communication competence in all language strands. Faculty members who are experienced in both Community and Child studies conduct all of the courses within the program. These faculty members not only support and guide you, they also utilize ESL collaborative teaching approaches.

Specific community and Child Studies Courses topics in this program include: development of communication skills, basic overview of community and child studies, interpersonal skills, professional practice and ethics, psychology, health and first aid and others.

Applying for Community and Child Studies Foundations is simple. All you have to do is present at minimum an Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) or equivalent or be 19 years of age or older. You must also have completed the compulsory English 12C or U or skills assessment or equivalent. However, possession of minimum admission requirements does not guarantee admission to the program. Please be advised that the program is only open for admission to applicants who have been advised and assisted to register by the Centennial College Assessment and Advising Centre. You cannot apply directly to ontariocolleges.ca for admission to this program.

Developmental Services Workers Ensure Purpose in People’s Lives

In the province of Ontario, many organizations are hiring developmental services workers with training from Centennial College. These organizations include:

Community Living, Durham District School Board, Frontier College, Kerry’s Place, Toronto District School Board, York Region School Board and many, many others. Graduates of this undertaking are trusted and well-respected in the field as they are able to support the promotion and maintenance of health and well-being; promote the development of inclusive communities; display competent, responsible and professional behaviour and attitudes; identify and use personal development resources and activities that promote professional growth; facilitate the development of everyday skills; and provide support with respectful and empowering approaches. This DSW program enables the graduate to fill a variety of work roles (i.e. educational assistant, support worker, residential support worker and employment supporter).

Developmental Services Worker (DSWs) support individuals with developmental disabilities in a variety of settings, including school, work and home. They are, essentially, responsible for linking people with intellectual disabilities to their communities to ensure that they are valued members of society.

Taking two years to complete, the Centennial College program for developmental services workers focuses on balancing practical knowledge (through community observations, real-life examples, field placements) with theory (via projects and lectures) with a curriculum that reflects current issues and developments in the field. The emphasis of the undertaking is on understanding the nature of intellectual disabilities, personal support requirements and technique, communication and facilitation skills, critical and reflective thinking, team skills, time management and accessing resources. Specific topics covered include: Interpersonal Skill Development, Introduction to Disability, Valued Social Roles, Social Psychology, Pharmacology, History of Disability, Readings in Disability and more.

In addition to this training, students of the developmental services worker program also take part in two supervised field placements in semester three (two days per week) and semester four (three days per week). During this experience, students spend time in community organizations applying what they have learned in the classroom while gaining new knowledge by actively working with clients. Certain field placement agencies may require a criminal reference check prior to student placement. Certain criminal convictions may disallow placement in these agencies and program completion may not be possible.

If students want to further their education in the field of developmental services workers, they can do so by participating in articulated program with selected universities, institutes and professional associations. If they are eligible, these partnerships allow them to apply academic credit towards further study. The partner of the Developmental Services Worker program is Ryerson University (Disability Studies). Graduates with a B grade average or better can apply to Ryerson’s two-year post-diploma degree completion program, Bachelor of Applied Arts in Disability Studies.

College expects applicants to present at minimum an Ontario Secondary School Diploma or equivalent or be 19 years of age or older. Having completed compulsory English 12C or U or skills assessment, or equivalent is also necessary. English proficiency will be considered in the admissions process and a program admission session may also be required.

Complete Massage Therapy Training in Three Years

“This Massage Therapy program is a three year offering that takes the students from beginning stages of performing massage therapy,” says Laurie Copeland, a faculty member at Centennial College’s Massage Therapy Training. “It includes anatomy, physiology, pathophysiology, neuroanatomy, neuropathology and leads right into sports injuries, orthopedic injuries. Because we are pretty much self-employed once we get our license, the employment rate is 100 per cent. Other than that, studies or follow-ups of our grads have shown that they have secured some form of employment.”

While Laurie does an excellent job of providing an overview of the Message Therapy program, let’s take a closer look at specific details. Those who are interested in applying, must have completed at least an Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) or equivalent or be 19 years of age or older. They must also have finished the compulsory English 12C or U or skills assessment, or equivalent; Biology 11C, M or U, or 12C, M or U or equivalent and one of the following sciences: 11C, M or U, or 12 C, M or U Chemistry or Physics, or Exercise Science or equivalent. After receiving an offer of admission, students will receive a document to be completed by a doctor or a nurse who will confirm that the student meets the health requirements of legislated acts, ministry guidelines and agency policies.

Once they enter the Massage Therapy training, students will discover that the focus is on the assessment and hands-on treatment of the muscles, fascia and joints of the body to improve or maintain optimal physical health, function and mobility. As a result, students learn and implement a variety of techniques including: Swedish massage, facial and rhythmic techniques, trigger point therapy, remedial exercise, stretching techniques, wax baths, whirlpools and steam cabinets. In addition to courses such as Nutrition and Lifestyle Practices, Therapeutic Relationships, Fitness and Remedial Exercises, Issues & Research Literacy in Massage Therapy, students also obtain hands-on learning in an on-site Massage Therapy Clinic. In this clinic, students interact directly with clients who come with a wide range of complaints while having the guidance and support of an experienced Registered Massage Therapist faculty member.

Qualified graduates of the Massage Therapy training may write the registration examinations administered by the College of Massage Therapists of Ontario to qualify for Registered Massage Therapist (RMT) designation. Upon graduation, students are prepared to: consult patients about their medical histories and any stress or pain-related problems to determine whether massage would be helpful; develop treatments that specify which types of massages are to be used, as there are many modules; assess clients’ soft tissue condition, joint quality and function, muscle strength and range of motion; implement a variety of techniques including; maintain treatment records and consult with other health care professionals such as physiotherapists, chiropractors, physicians and psychologists in order to develop further treatment plans for the client.