Smiling male pharmacy assistant in a drugstore after completing his pharmacy assistant training

A rewarding and hands-on career in the healthcare field doesn't necessarily take years of training to land. As a Medical Office Assistant (MOA), you can contribute to the efficiency and safe operation of any healthcare practice, qualifying for the role in as little as 33 weeks. Today, we’re in conversation with Montana Robillard, an instructor for Algonquin Careers Academy’s Medical Office Assistant program. “My role as an instructor is so fulfilling; I love being able to share my 10 years of experience and knowledge with groups of amazing students who are so willing to learn,” she says. 

If you’ve been considering a career as a dental assistant, there’s never been a better time to start training. With dental assistants in demand in Ontario today, training for this career path could be a great way to secure a stable and fulfilling future. Dental assistants perform several duties within dental practices and are responsible for more than just providing hands-on support to dentists. These professionals work to educate patients, record medical histories, perform radiographs, take impressions, and much more.   

Have you ever considered transitioning to a career in business? Within a business management program at Algonquin Careers Academy (ACA), you’ll build communication skills and theoretical knowledge of the core elements of business. At the same time, you’ll be gaining experience with relevant industry software and accounting and payroll practices. As for launching a career in the field, there are many different paths that a business management program can lead to. 

If you’ve been considering whether to make a career change, you might be inspired by Rick Seabrook’s story. After working at a corporation for 18 years, Rick decided it was time for a change, and enrolled in ACA’s Accounting and Payroll Program to build the skills necessary to make the switch. After graduating, Rick landed a job providing bookkeeping and payroll services for small business clients. Below, discover more about what made Rick decide to enroll in the Accounting and Payroll program, what his experience at ACA was like, and how his studies enabled him to make a beneficial transition in his career path.

If you’re training for a career with an accounting and payroll program, you’ll be building the relevant skills you need to succeed in both fields. In accounting courses, you’ll learn how to prepare accounting reports based on a variety of financial statements, use relevant accounting software, compile data on budgets, prepare cost statements, and much more. In payroll courses, you’ll learn how to monitor employee attendance, calculate pay based on benefits, leave and overtime, verifying earning statements, prepare period reports, indicate gross and net salaries, and more. 

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to work as a pharmacy technician? We spoke to Moustafa Al Khatib, a recent graduate of the Pharmacy Technician Program at Algonquin Careers Academy (ACA), to learn more about the kind of responsibilities he has on the job, what his day to day work is like, and how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the role of pharmacy technicians in the healthcare field. 

If you’re interested in a career in the legal world, working as a law clerk may be perfect for you. Law clerks work to assist lawyers or other legal professionals in the preparation of legal documents, conducting research, gathering information, and other important duties. These professionals are equipped with a diverse set of skills and a wide range of legal knowledge, and the services they provide are essential in ensuring that lawyers can do their jobs effectively. 

Are you looking for a job right now? So many people are in the same boat. Get a leg up on the competition by tweaking a few things about how you interview on-screen. What is the difference between on-screen and in-person interviewing? The questions are the same. Your answers are the same. The interviewer is the same. You are the same. Would you go into an in-person interview without preparing? Well this also applies to interviewing from home. You would dress the same (at least the top part of you!), groom yourself the same, practice answering interview questions the same, research the company the same, and review the job opportunity the same. The difference? No harried commute to the interview. You should actually be more relaxed BUT there is something about on-screen interviewing that is nerve racking. You will need to get those butterflies under control. This article focuses on your on-screen look.

Ontario (and Canada) needs more Medical Laboratory Assistants/Technicians. There is a shortage of people trained in this field and all of our graduates are being snapped up to fill the demand. From the Facebook page of the Medical Laboratory Professionals' Association of Ontario, Marie-France Jemus, the manager of The Regional Virology Lab at the Childrens Hospital of Eastern Ontario says: “We are currently (and for the past decade) working with a shortage of Medical Laboratory Technologists but, thankfully, our laboratory technicians are coming in to the rescue! COVID-19 testing is a very manual technique and our Virology lab is growing by 2-3 techs weekly. Pre-COVID Virology had 6 MLT and 1 LT3 (MLA). Currently we are growing to 9 MLT and 30 LT3’s to get to 3000 tests per day. We anticipate to expand to 27 MLT and 65 LT3 to reach our fall target of 6000 test per day by mid-November!”

The Medical Laboratory Professionals' Association of Ontario (MLPAO) has awarded our Ottawa Medical Laboratory Assistant/Technician student Bea Boado a $500 bursary. Our instructors Nikki and Ann-Marie helped Bea with her submission and this is an excerpt of what they said: "Bea has a passion for this field, and I know she will make an excellent MLAT. Her values lie with patient care and providing the best care to the patient and attention to the SOP’s to ensure the patients' results are tested with confidence and accuracy. She has a strong belief that patient care does not simply end with a standard customer service smile, she believes it starts and ends with integrity and passion." 

Each year, Career Colleges Ontario peruses a long list of nomination submissions, from private career colleges across Ontario, to select the winners of the annual awards – Excellence in Teaching and Outstanding Graduates. Think Oscars at the level of private career colleges in Ontario. We have had five winners from our Paralegal program in two years - our paralegal program is HOT! HOT! HOT!

Congratulations to J-P Rodriques, an ACA Mississauga paralegal instructor, for winning the Career College Ontario Excellence in Teaching Award for 2020! J-P, a lawyer, is a regular, part time paralegal instructor with Algonquin Careers Academy and is also the paralegal program coordinator at another private career college. This other college nominated J-P for the CCO 2020 Excellence in Teaching award and he won! The award recognizes exceptional instruction, leadership and engagement. The nomination for J-P included 50 letters of recommendation from current students, graduates and colleagues.

Congratulations to Jeff Bogaerts, an ACA Ottawa Paralegal graduate, for winning the Career College Ontario, Outstanding Graduate Human Services award! We are very impressed with Jeff and what he has taken on and accomplished since his graduation. Jeff states that "returning back to school as a paralegal was the beginning of my third career." Prior to that, Jeff had worked as a Constable with the Toronto Police in the 1970s, and then had returned to school to take courses in Information Technology where he spent the next 30 years. With Jeff's previous experience, he was able to finish the 12-month program in just 9 months at Algonquin Careers Academy (ACA) and then write the exam to get his paralegal license from the Law Society of Ontario.  He maintained a strong average with many course percentages in the high 90’s. One of his instructors described him as “a cheerleader” for his classmates, not only during the program, but after graduation as well.

ACA Has MANY Outstanding Grads and Excellent Instructors but we had to narrow it down to the Best of the Best in submitting nominations for the Career Colleges Ontario (CCO) annual awards. CCO then selects from the Best of the Best of all the submissions by private career colleges and awards the winners at an annual gala event. This year  there will be an online presentation in July.

Our Medical Laboratory Assistant/Technician diploma program's accreditation certificate arrived in the mail! Again, both the Mississauga and the Ottawa campuses have been accredited by Equal Canada. And our Medical Laboratory graduates are being hired very quickly - Covid has created the demand for many more MedLabs to fill the open positions. If you are interested in becoming a Medical Laboratory Assistant/Technician, you can find out more about our program here: http://algonquinacademy.com/programs/healthcare/medicallabassistant

Whether you want to retrain for a new career or upgrade your current skill set, you can do so online with Algonquin Careers Academy this summer.  Choose from one of our many programs, including Personal Support Worker, Medical Laboratory Assistant/Technician, Pharmacy Technician, Paralegal, and more. 

As ACA continues to teach our students online during COVID times, we are listening to what our students have to say. We appreciate hearing from all of you with your ideas and comments. Thank you, specifically, to Edilyn and Bien for your testimonials.

As always, on behalf of the entire ACA management team, I hope this communication finds you, your family and friends healthy and safe.

If we have said it once, we've said it a thousand times -   OUR    STUDENTS    ARE    THE    BEST!  Grace Nguyen is a student in the evening Pharmacy Technician diploma program in Ottawa. According to her instructors, "Grace is a very friendly, cooperative student, ever willing to assist her classmates. She has always been the voice of the class. She is an excellent student."  Grace is a university graduate with maturity and good study ethics. When the group was learning on campus, she would always step forward to make things easier for her classmates.

May 1, 2020

We hope that this update finds you and your families healthy and safe!

For Jeff Bogaerts "returning back to school as a paralegal was the beginning of my third career." Before that, he had worked as a Constable with the Toronto Police in the 1970s, and then had returned to school to take courses in Information Technology where he spent the next 30 years.

Congratulations Dalia! This is the second time that Dalia has been awarded the Employee of the Month. This time, the award was given for her hard work, attention to detail and positivity during the OSAP audit in February (and she also supported a financial audit in December). Dalia is our Registrar/Financial Advisor in Mississauga. She works closely with the students to help them sort out the complexities of OSAP. Thank you Dalia for your loyalty and dedication to ACA. 

March 15, 2020

Michele Dewitt was nominated as this month’s Employee of the Month based on her customer service, commitment, and  professionalism. Michele is a part-time PSW Instructor at the Campus and when she is not busy teaching the core NACC PSW program, Michele is certified to instruct our students in GPA (Gentle Persuasive Approaches) as well. Michele works closely with her Program Coordinator (also named Michelle) on the updating of PSW resources, the organization of materials, and the overall student experience.

Ines Espinoza is our Business Management instructor. She is a new member of the ACA team - her energy and ability to bring life to a difficult subject matter has been a welcome addition. Her strong background in finance has seen our students become comfortable with the materials. You can often go by the classroom and see her using fun techniques to reach every student. So glad you joined us Ines - congratulations and thank you!hashtag

Sean was nominated for employee of the month because of his willingness to always assist those requiring support. He is reliable, dependable and always pitches in to support his campus in whatever capacity is required.

Once you have your medical esthetician diploma, then comes time to launch your career. You could decide to work at a spa, salon, or—if you’re feeling especially entrepreneurial—you might even consider starting your own esthetics business. But what do you need to do to make your new business venture as successful as possible? 

Congratulations to our Medical Laboratory Assistant/Technician graduate, Susmita Augni, for being awarded the Medical Laboratory Professionals’ Association of Ontario’s Student Achievement Award! Our MedLab team at ACA nominated Susmita for this award detailing all of the wonderful things that Susmita did as a student of our Ottawa campus. Her instructor, Ann Marie, says: “Susmita is an excellent candidate for this award because of her dedication to her studies and aiding her classmates in their studies as well as contributing to the professionalism of our field.”

Rima El-Zoor was nominated as this month’s Employee of the Month based on her leadership, commitment, professionalism and customer service. Rima is a key player of our Admissions team at the ACA Ottawa campus. In her role as an Admissions Advisor Rima is responsible for meeting with potential students to advise them on their career paths at the college, ensuring these students get properly scheduled and enrolled in their program of choice, and following up to ensure the satisfaction of these current students at our campus.

The Algonquin administration team works behind the scenes and Dalia, our Registrar in Mississauga, is a key player on this team! Dalia can always be counted on to simply “get it done” and she does this with a smile and always a kind word to say! Thank you Dalia for your contributions to the team.

Be ready to start your own salon or spa business after completing the Medical Esthetician diploma program at Algonquin Careers Academy (ACA)! Receive in-depth training from industry expert instructors, state of the art equipment and on-the-job experience to maximize your success in this life-changing career path.

Roanne Panopio was chosen  as this month’s Employee of the Month due to her outstanding commitment, leadership and customer service.  She is a former honour’s graduate of both our MLAT and PSW programs at ACA and is now our Student Services/Administration Coordinator at the Ottawa campus-she is integral to the operation of our front service desk area and it functioning so effectively.  Roanne is a team player, and pays attention to detail - she is quick and efficient and is always there to lend a helping hand to our Admissions Advisors, our Registrar, our Operations Support Manager, our Instructors, our Campus Director, and of course to our Students on the campus.  Roanne welcomes all students and visitors to the campus with a smile and always remembers everyone’s name - she is the perfect Algonquin Careers Academy Ambassador!

Kiran has been teaching with Algonquin Careers Academy for just over 3 years in the Pharmacy Technician program. She practices full time as a community pharmacist but still makes ample time to lend her experience to the ACA team and students. Kiran has a wonderful presence and the ability to share her positivity and joyous outlook through her teachings! When teaching difficult subjects, the classroom is always alive with energy as Kiran ensures she bring the topics to life through practical examples that her students can relate to! We are lucky to have Kiran on the Team! Thank you Kiran for all you do!

As part of all of our programs, we have a career/job search course that teaches our students how to prepare a great resume, write a good cover letter, search online and elsewhere for job opportunities, and many other things leading up to a mock interview at the end of the week. Shown here are students from the Ottawa Medical Laboratory Assistant/Technician diploma program dressed for success for their mock interviews. Nice work MLAT students - Ann Marie says "you clean up nice"!

This is a quick snap shot of our Ottawa business management class before they wrote their very last test. They have worked diligently for this day to come. They are well prepared to enter the business work force. Employers please call the Ottawa Campus if you are in need of an entry level bookkeeper/accountant, payroll clerk, human resource assistant, office manager... and ask to speak with our Career Counsellor.

Ann Marie Thompson was nominated as this month’s Employee of the Month based on her professionalism, leadership, commitment and customer service. Ann Marie is our Program Coordinator for the Medical Laboratory Assistant/Technician program. Ann Marie is very dedicated to both her students and her program and always goes above and beyond to ensure the success of both. Whether it is organizing extra review sessions for current and past students prior to their CSMLS and MLPAO exams, or attending extra seminars and then sharing the information with her colleagues, or arranging Canadian Blood services Stem cell donation projects to come and swab volunteers from the school, Ann Marie is there.  Ann Marie is often described by both her students and colleagues alike, as “dedicated”, “accommodating”, “disciplined”, and “enthusiastic about her profession”. Ann Marie is a member of our campus Health and Safety Committee as well as an active contributor for ideas and solutions that can help improve her program and the campus. Thank you Ann Marie for everything that you do, as it is truly appreciated!

Ian Bell, our Paralegal Program Coordinator, in conjunction with our management team, has completed an arrangement with an amazing company - uLawPractice. Ian is a user of uLaw in his own paralegal practice and thought it would be an excellent addition to our Paralegal diploma program for our students.

Elizabeth is our Office Coordinator and has been with us since February 2018.  She took her PSW certificate at ACA and then came to work with us shortly afterward. Elizabeth is known for her organization and cheery disposition!  You can always count on Elizabeth to greet you with a wonderful “Good Morning” as you step off the elevator to start your day.  Elizabeth is organized and is always a few steps ahead to ensure smooth operations at Algonquin.  Thank you Elizabeth for your valuable contributions! 

Our Personal Support Worker students in Ottawa were learning the Gentle Persuasive Approach to handling issues with their patients/clients.  GPA_pinching: The first photo depicts how a PSW can demonstrate suitable and respective self-protective techniques when a resident pinches. Make sure to stabilize your body part being pinched and then lean in to reduce the pinch or grasp with force resulting in the resident releasing their pinch and then call for help.

Our new cohort of Medical Laboratory Assistant/Technician students wasted no time in getting busy in the lab. The morning MLAT group got their hands on some needles to practice phlebotomy. Initially we do it with straws to simulate the vein and put a layer of play doh on top of the straw to simulate different thickness of skin.

Nicole, Asfiya, and Ann Marie (three of our health care instructors) were able to attend the WHO Patient Safety Day Sept 17th. There was a screening of an amazing documentary called "To Err is Human" looking at mistakes in the healthcare field and the impact that these mistakes have on families and organizations. It was a very valuable session and we have ordered the DVD of the movie to be able to teach to this model within all of our health care classes. The take away from the session was that without owning up to and reporting mistakes change will never happen. Excellent Professional Development for our instructors with an invaluable lesson - well done!

One of our Paralegal students, Kimberly Anderson, has this to say about taking Paralegal at ACA: “From the first day I enrolled into the Paralegal program, I knew I had taken the right path to where I want to be 5 years from now, and that will be a successful, licensed paralegal. The skills and knowledge I have developed over the course of a year, made my internship more comfortable knowing I had the skills I needed to achieve in the law field. And the Career Strategies Program is 100% accurate – it really helped me become more confident in what I can achieve.” Thanks Kimberly for those wonderful words about our school and paralegal program. I love how you are visualizing and setting goals for where you will be in five years! Go for it! To find out more about the paralegal program:  http://algonquinacademy.com/programs/law/paralegal

Debbie Scott was nominated as this month’s Employee of the Month based on her professionalism, leadership, commitment, and customer service. Debbie is our Education Manager at the Campus as well as our Business Management/Accounting and Payroll full-time Instructor. When she is not busy teaching business courses Debbie is frequently involved in curriculum development, or supporting computer courses, or answering computer inquiries due to her wealth of experience and expertise.

Nestor is known for his lively energy that he brings to the campus!  You can always count on Nestor for his wonderful “Good Morning Senoritas” every day when he walks in.  As a seasoned admissions advisor he is always seeking new avenues to reach out to students and help them reach their career goals.  His kind nature, sense of humour and charm are a wonderful addition to our team! Thank you Nestor for all of your contributions to Algonquin Careers Academy!

Shan is a Medical Laboratory Assistant/Technician student at our Ottawa campus. She was out on placement at Dynacare in Vanier. One of her customers completed an evaluation form giving her a rating of 10. The customer said this: “I went for bloodwork and was served by a student named Shan. She was extremely professional, pleasant and her technique was flawless. In fact, I would try to find her if possible in the future because of the above.”

Sofia Ktenas was nominated for employee of the month because of her enthusiasm to always assist those requesting support. She is reliable, dependable and always pitches in to support her campus in whatever capacity is required.

Congratulations to Karoulin Butris for all of her amazing-ness! 

What did they do wrong? Nothing! They were there for their Provincial Offences course as part of their Paralegal Diploma program. It was an opportunity to see the courts in action including some representation by Paralegals in the courtrooms. AUGUST 26 is the date to remember! We have our next classes of Paralegal starting in Ottawa and Mississauga.

Our Ottawa Pharmacy Assistant students are counting tablets to fill prescriptions. We have a new class starting August 26 at the Ottawa Bank Street campus in the afternoons 12:30 to 4:30, Monday to Friday.

14 out of 14 of our Ottawa Medical Laboratory Assistant/Technician graduates who wrote the MLPAO (Medical Laboratory Professional's Association of Ontario) Certification Exam PASSED! Congratulations to our graduates for their hard work and to our instructors who helped them with this success!

Our Intra Oral Dental Assisting (IODA) students have great things to say about our program, college, instructors and staff. Thank you for the wonderful feedback - you have made our days!

Our business management program covers Accounting and Payroll plus other courses such as Human Resources, Business Law, Marketing, Entrepreneurship, Business Planning, International Business, etc. Shown here are two students doing a Human Resources presentation and then reviewing some business law materials and collaborating on a team assignment.

Our Ottawa school offers Intra Oral-Dental Assistant Level 1 & 2. Shown here is a student demonstrating the process of taking a mandibular impression. Our instructor, Rebekah, introduces the process.

Karen Drevniok is currently an Administrative Assistant at Algonquin Careers Academy in Ottawa and has been employed with the company for approximately 9 years. Karen holds a wealth of institutional knowledge and most recently was selected as our Employee of the Month for June due to her outstanding organization of our campus Graduation ceremony. Planning and coordinating a Graduation is similar to planning a wedding - the selection of the venue, the invitations, the printing of the programs, the ordering and organization of the gowns/robes, the seating arrangements, the ordering of cakes and refreshments, as well as the arrangement of the speeches. Karen coordinated meetings, organized sub-committees and collaborated with her colleagues to ensure that our Graduation was a fun experience for our Graduates and recognized their achievements. Thank you Karen for all of your hard work and congratulations on being awarded the Employee of the Month!

Roxanne is our Mississauga campus Employee of the Month for June. This award acknowledges the time, effort and hard work of Roxanne Armstrong, our Career Counsellor, for her astounding success in planning the Spring Employment Fair at Algonquin Careers Academy. Roxanne arranged for more than 11 local employers to attend the Employment Fair and present and conduct interviews with students for employment opportunities. Students had the opportunity to speak with these industry partners and gain valuable insight into their new career field. Thank you Roxanne!

Michele, one of our Personal Support Worker Instructors, is describing to her students how to take the pulse of patients who might have heart issues. The PSW students are learning to do this using stethoscopes.

Deborah Stewart is our Registrar at the Ottawa campus and is often described as an "unsung hero".  Deborah is professional and well respected by both her colleagues and her students - she is always pleasant, professional and helpful.  Certainly, our admissions representatives (Rima and Sean)  count on Deborah to assist them with the enrolment of our students by providing financial experience and advice.  Deborah brings over 10 years of experience to her role and keeps up to date on all the new financial assistance guidelines in order to keep our campus in compliance with the ministry guidelines and to provide students with the best support.

Ian Bell is one of the six ACA instructors nominated for a CCO Excellence in Teaching Award.  Ian, a licensed Paralegal, is an Instructor and Program Coordinator of the Paralegal Program in Mississauga. If teaching is an inherent trait, then Ian came by it honestly.  As the son of a tenured teacher, Ian aspired to follow his father’s academic path.  Ian grew up in Barrie, Ontario, when it was still a small town and mainly cottage country.  While teaching remained a possible path, Ian began the journey towards becoming a lawyer. However, the opportunity to teach at Beverly Heights Junior High School during university, sparked a flame that would change his career path.

Christine Gregory is one of the six ACA instructors nominated for a CCO Excellence in Teaching Award. Christine, a Medical Laboratory Technologist, is an Instructor and Program Coordinator of the Medical Laboratory Assistant/Technician Program in Mississauga. As the only daughter of a military father, Christine had discipline and structure instilled at an early age. This discipline was at the crux of how she became an exemplary mother, community member and teacher.  At one point, Christine decided to go back to school and travelled two hours every day from the Trenton Military base to Kingston, Ontario to attend St. Lawrence College and pursue her Medical Laboratory Technologist (MLT) designation.

Michelle Godin is one of the six ACA instructors nominated for a CCO Outstanding Instructor Award. Michelle is an Instructor of the Personal Support Worker program and the PSW Program Coordinator in Ottawa. Michelle is an exceptional instructor. Throughout her 17 years of teaching, her dedication and work ethic has changed the lives of hundreds of students.  She believes that learning is a life-long journey, and believes that learning should be fun!  She is creative in her teaching approach to ensure that students understand the key concepts.  For example, she has utilized puzzles so that students can get a better grasp of the body systems, has made up a dance for the circulatory system and incorporates a “spa” day while teaching personal hygiene.

Irina Parsova is one of 6 ACA instructors who were nominated for the Career Colleges Ontario Excellence in Teaching award. Irina is an Instructor of Pharmacy Technician at the Mississauga campus.  Irina’s journey began in the Ukraine and growing up Kazakhstan. As a young child Irina’s parents always knew that she would pursue higher education.  Constantly immersed in books and conducting science experiments was where Irina could be found while her siblings were playing with toys.  Her high school years only solidified this belief as she was awarded the Gold Medal honour for the highest marks. After attending Kazan State Chemical University, where she completed her Master’s Degree in Bio Chemical Technology and Engineering, Irina began teaching High School. 

Asfiya Rahman is one of six ACA Instructors who were nominated for the Career Colleges Ontario Excellence in Teaching award. Asfiya is an Instructor of Pharmacy Technician and Pharmacy Assistant at the Ottawa campus. Asfiya has been a passionate and dedicated teacher for more than 25 years starting as a middle school teacher at the International Indian School in Riyadh KSA in 1994.  Supporting her students in learning and developing further ignited her passion for teaching.  Upon moving to Canada in 2006, Asfiya quickly found employment. However, she had determined that her life’s goal was to teach in the healthcare field and she registered at Algonquin Careers Academy (ACA) in the Pharmacy Technician program.  While completing her program, she received awards recognizing her academic excellence and leadership skills.  Due to her dedication, intelligence and enthusiasm, Asfiya was hired as an Instructor of the Pharmacy Technician program at ACA in 2008 and quickly promoted to the role of Program Coordinator / Lead Instructor.

Career College Ontario (CCO), a provincial association for member career colleges in Ontario, sponsors an Excellence in Teaching Award. The nominees are from career colleges all across Ontario. The awards will be presented at the CCO Conference Gala Dinner on Thursday, May 30th.

Christal Cote is one of the six ACA graduates nominated for a CCO Outstanding Graduate Award. She is an Ottawa graduate of the Paralegal program. Christal worked for the Federal Public Service and realized that she was more of an employee advocate than anything else so she volunteered for her union as Chief Shop Steward for several years.  Christal enjoyed conflict resolution and trained as a mediator in advanced negotiations becoming a Qualified Mediator in 2011.  Her volunteer work in grievance presentation paid off when she was hired by the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC).  Although the position at PSAC did not call for a legal background, she noticed all the others in the group were lawyers and their legal training was helpful.  One day Christal decided to look into becoming a licensed Paralegal and started at ACA the following Tuesday.

Christine Fanous is one of the six ACA graduates nominated for a CCO Outstanding Graduate Award. She is an Ottawa graduate of the Pharmacy Technician program. Christine began her career in pharmacy more than 20 years ago in Jordan as a licensed pharmacist prior to moving to Canada. She remains a registered pharmacist in Jordan. Upon moving to Canada, friends and family recommended that she stay in pharmacy and after researching her options, found that the best choice was the Pharmacy Technician program at Algonquin Careers Academy (ACA). She studied hard and graduated with a near perfect GPA.

Leonard Howell is one of the six ACA graduates nominated for a CCO Outstanding Graduate Award. Leonard is a Mississauga graduate of the Paralegal program. Leonard was born and raised in Montreal, Quebec. It was at Dawson College in Montreal that Leonard earned a degree in Social Sciences and completed a four year program in Social Services. During that time, Leonard worked in his community with youth in conflict with the law. Leonard had the opportunity to work for Bombardier Aerospace in Montreal. Leonard’s entry role started him off in the mailroom at Bombardier. Through hard work and a keen ability to learn quickly, Leonard soon was promoted to the marketing department in the Business Aircraft Division. It was here that Leonard developed strong computer programming skills.

Evelyn Marin is one of the six ACA graduates nominated for a CCO Outstanding Graduate Award. Evelyn is an Ottawa graduate of the Business Management program. Evelyn arrived in Canada as an immigrant who once had everything back home in Venezuela: a career, economic stability and a beautiful family. However, the political crisis in her homeland gave her no choice but to leave to a foreign country looking for better opportunities for her husband, her son and herself. She initially enrolled in the Paralegal program, but after coming to the realization that she knew nothing about Canadian law, she switched to Business Management because she had some background in business administration. She decided to live true to the words of the business leader Richard Branson “if someone offers you an amazing opportunity and you are not sure you can do it, say yes! Then, learn how to do it later.”

Nicole Boch, an Ottawa alumni of the Medical Laboratory Assistant/Technician diploma program, was one of our graduates nominated for the CCO Outstanding Graduate Award. Nicole operates at the highest level of performance in everything she does, and her time as a student at Algonquin Careers Academy (ACA) was no exception. During her time as a student at ACA in the MedLab program, Nicole maintained a grade average in excess of 90% at all times and received awards for Academic Excellence, Perfect Attendance and twice received Student of the Month recognizing excellence in academics and leadership. All of this was accomplished while maintaining a full time job where she worked until 11 pm every weekday. The ability to maintain this average while holding down a full time job was truly exceptional.

Career College Ontario (CCO), a provincial association for member career colleges in Ontario, sponsors an award to the top career college graduates - the Outstanding Graduate Award. The nominations are now in from career colleges all across Ontario. The awards will be presented at the CCO Conference Gala Dinner on Thursday May 30th.

It is difficult enough changing the sheets on an empty bed but try doing it with a person lying in it. The great part about hiring a trained Personal Support Worker is that they have learned to do this and so many other things that an untrained person will not have the skills to do. The excellent instructors of our PSW program train our PSWs so that they are ready and prepared to assist when and where required.

We are very pleased to announce that one of our morning students in the Medical Laboratory Assistant/Technician program at the Ottawa campus has received a $500 bursary from MLPAO (Medical Laboratory Professional's Association of Ontario). Shankroon is a very dedicated student and has gone above and beyond in her pursuit of this program. The selection criteria for this bursary include these requirements: · The applicant can demonstrate a personal commitment to the profession through leadership or significant participation in educational or community activities.  · The applicant must demonstrate strong academic and practical aptitude in their program with at least a 75% overall average mark up to the time of application. Congratulations Shankroon - we are so proud of you!  To find out more about our MedLab program: https://algonquinacademy.com/programs/healthcare/medicallabassistant

One of our Accounting and Payroll Administrator students, speaks of her decision to go back to school to retrain for a new career. At Algonquin Careers Academy, we realize what a difficult decision it is to return to school and we do everything we can to help our students adjust to school life and successfully complete their programs.

Algonquin Careers Academy has been in the business of education and training for MANY years. There are so many things that make this a worthwhile business and make us proud to be part of it. Helping students to achieve their dreams is the number one! When we hear back from our students with their words of appreciation and compliment, it makes us feel SO GOOD. And when our graduates call to tell us of the jobs they have as a result of taking our programs, we are SO PROUD of them and SO THRILLED with what our College and our staff have been able to do to help them! Keep up the great work staff, faculty members, students and grads - you are amazing!

Two wonderful testimonials about the Paralegal Program and Algonquin Careers Academy have been provided to us by two of our current Paralegal students. Thank you to Sarah and Holly for these outstanding endorsements!

Are you interested in working in the legal field?  To provide legal services in Ontario a person must be licensed by the Law Society of Ontario (LSO). To obtain a license, a person must graduate from a program accredited by the Law Society, pass a licensing examination and be of good character. The Paralegal programs of Algonquin Careers Academy, Ottawa and Mississauga, are accredited by the Law Society of Ontario to 2020.  

Congratulations to both Sharry and Jovilyn Verde our Graduates of the Quarter for the Spring 2018! This husband and wife team, originally from the Philippines, emigrated to Canada at different times, had a baby, and both took their Personal Support Worker certificates at Algonquin Careers Academy's Ottawa Campus. Sharry graduated in May 2016 and Jovilyn in 2017. Both are successful in their chosen field of Personal Support Worker. And their now 3 year old daughter, Shian, will be going to kindergarten in September.

We have just added new signage at our two Ottawa campuses. We think this is a good SIGN of great things to come for our students, graduates, faculty and staff! If you are a prospective student, come on in and SIGN up for that program you have been thinking about. Don't reSIGN yourself to your current situation, change it up by taking one of our programs. There is a program that is deSIGNed especially for you.

Congratulations to Christine Fanous our Ottawa Graduate of the Quarter for Fall 2017!

We are open for business! With the current strike situation at the Public Colleges, we thought potential students might want to know what alternatives are out there for them so we have put together this list of top 10 reasons to consider a Private Career College.  What do Private Career Colleges have to offer?

Congratulations to Dalia Putros for being a wonderful student, graduate and now employee of ACA! We have presented her with our Mississauga Graduate of the Quarter award for the Summer of 2017. Dalia graduated in 2015 with her Medical Office Assistant diploma. Dalia is currently the Office Coordinator for the Mississauga Campus of Algonquin Careers Academy.

CONGRATULATIONS TO Chris Reabel (ACA instructor of Fitness and Health at the Ottawa campus) for winning the prestigious GoodLife Instructor of Excellence Award! This award is given to those who shine above the rest and there were only 6 awarded across Canada - Chris was one of them. The requirements to win this award are a page long and Chris met them all. 

Some of our Med Lab students have only two more weeks of class before they go on their placements. This class invited the staff of ACA Mississauga and their instructor Christine for their last potluck at the college. On Monday, September 18, 2017, we will have a new start of Med Lab students. Good luck to all of the graduating students - we will miss you!

Our Mississauga Personal Support Worker students, as part of their  Household Management, Nutrition and Hydration course, prepared healthy meals for their clients. The students had to plan the meal for their specific client, purchase the ingredients, prepare the meal, present it in a pleasant looking manner and explain their choices to their instructor.

Our mock OSPE helps recent Pharmacy Technician graduates to prepare for the PEBC OSPE exam. Some of the graduates who are registered for the SEPTEMBER PEBC OSPE exam took this is an excellent opportunity to enhance their study program. Good luck to all of our grads who are taking the September exam!

Personal Support Workers in the PSW lab learning to change a bed with the client in it under the watchful eye of Neatu, their instructor.

Here our Pharmacy Technicians are practicing community prescription dispensing in the pharmacy lab. They look so professional, effective and efficient that they must be almost ready to go out on placement!

Our Mississauga Medical Laboratory class is in our lab with their teacher Christine practicing the skills and techniques required for their phlebotomy course. Don't let that body language fool you, Christine knows EXACTLY what is going on.

Ever wonder who makes up the student body of private career colleges in Ontario? Career College Ontario (CCO), the professional organization that represents private career colleges in Ontario, commissioned a study by Environics Research to answer this question.

Canada is home, it is a place that I am proud to call home. Being a part of a nation that can welcome and celebrate everyone. Canada means peace, safety and equality. Being Canadian is more than just a status, it is a privilege, an honour and the greatest opportunity of freedom.  Jessica F.

Congratulations to Christal Côté for being an awesome student and graduate of ACA! We have presented her with our Graduate of the Quarter award for the Spring 2017. Christal graduated in 2013 with her Paralegal diploma. She wrote her LSUC exams and became a licensed paralegal that same year. Christal is currently the Senior Grievance & Arbitration Officer for Carleton University Academic Staff Association (CUASA).

A lot of hard work by our students in their diploma or certificate programs culminates in a very special day once a year: GRADUATION DAY!

In the Administrative Law course of our Paralegal program for the day class, we have representatives from two teams pitted against each other at the ACA Industrial Relations Board - it is employer v. union. In the photo, a paralegal for the employer is serving one of the paralegals for the union with a notice of hearing. Administrative Law is one of the courses required for the Paralegal diploma. These students are nearing the end of their third term, and balancing Administrative Law, Immigration Law and Residential Tenancies. Our evening Paralegal students are currently entering their second term and will soon be in the thick of contract and tort, employment and insurance law.

In honour of National Medical Laboratory week, our Mississauga campus had some fun and interesting learning experiences including a contest; an amazing guest speaker, Lisa Huhn (multiple organ recipient); and an open house to show off our fantastic lab and Medical Laboratory Assistant/Technician diploma program. Congratulations to the winners of the contest - Nestor (who spent days and nights agonizing over how many test tubes were in the jar), Emma (who fluidly calculated the amount of liquid), and Rami (who flipped his lid counting tops)! 

Happy National Medical Laboratory Week #LabWeek to all of our Med Lab students, graduates, instructors and placement sites. Your amazing work helps us diagnose any issues and/or lets us know we are well.

What is one of the toughest and most boring subjects of Medical Office Assistant? Medical Terminology! However, not at ACA. Cindy Ramnathsingh teaches Medical Terminology through a series of games and flash cards. She works with a Jeopardy type of game revolving around medical terminology and pits two teams against each other to help them learn this difficult but necessary subject. Before billing and transcription, the students need to know the language so she makes Terminology fun – “megali” means large, “oh good, will you megali my marks”!

Darlene Vail has been an instructor of Medical Office Assistant at the Ottawa Campus since October 2016. Darlene takes her job very seriously but finds that you need to show the fun side as well. Therefore when she showed up one day in a Tyrannosaurus Rex costume, her fun side had prevailed.

1. Medical Field is Going to Explode!

Congratulations to our very own Supreet Kareer who we selected as our Grad of the Quarter for the Mississauga campus. Supreet graduated from our Paralegal program in 2012 and became a licensed paralegal the same year. Supreet went to work for the firm where she did her placement. In May 2012, when things were winding down at her work, she came to volunteer and then work for ACA part time. One part time responsibility led to another and she is now our full time Manager of Education and Paralegal Coordinator. Along with these duties Supreet also teaches many of the IT, business and legal courses.

Last week Supreet Kareer, our Mississauga campus Education Manager who is also an ACA Paralegal graduate, was teaching the the Business law course as part of the Business Management diploma program. On Friday, the students worked  on their assignments of Business Law Presentations. The presentations all went smoothly - the students were well prepared and dressed up very professionally. Hire our Business Management grads - they are prepared for anything!

Our Ottawa Paralegal class had their Career and Employment Strategies course this week and ended the week with a mock interview. All week they prepared their resumes and cover letters and practiced their interview answers. On Friday they had a very serious "mock" (oxymoron) interview and they came in full interview garb. That is a fine looking group of Paralegals with some excellent skills!

OTTAWA GRADUATE OF THE QUARTER – WINTER 2017

Our Ottawa Personal Support Worker A.M. Class had a very busy January! They completed five modules in that month and the entire class achieved a grade average of 80% or greater! Way to go ACA PSW’S!!!

The morning Pharmacy Technician diploma class in Mississauga worked in the on-campus lab last Friday learning about hazardous sterile and compounding - negative pressure techniques. Our new instructor Julie Wulff took them through what they would have to know to do this in the real world. Who is that looking over Julie's shoulder? Someone helping her to ensure that the students do it right. 

ACA offers a variety of Continuing Education workshops including Injections: Subcutaneous, Intra Dermal, Intra Muscular. An injections workshop was held at the Mississauga campus on Saturday, January 14. It received some very positive comments about both the workshop and the instructor, Suki Kaur RN, BScN, CDE.

Can you imagine? These Personal Support Worker students work all day and then come to class from 6 to 10 Monday to Friday so that they can achieve their PSW certificate. And they are still smiling in these photos! During their program one of their modules focuses on nutrition and diet. The module is called: Household Management, Nutrition and Hydration. Here they have prepared healthy, nutritious meals for their instructor Chris - LUCKY GUY! As PSWs they may need to do this for their clients. How many meals did you get to eat Chris? And is that wine????? This seems a bit like a reality TV program. If you need any food testers for the next one...To find out more about our day or evening PSW programs in Ottawa or Mississauga: http://www.algonquinacademy.com/programs/healthcare/personalsupportworker​

Paralegal Class Trip - Supreme Court of Canada

At Algonquin Careers Academy, we have a week long Career and Employment Strategies course to supplement our individual one-on-one employment counselling for all of our students. The week takes our students through all of the phases of the job search:

The Event and the Team

Our MOA class went on a class trip to the Health Achieve Conference to learn about the latest in health care technology and techniques. Our MOA students tried out the various gizmos and gadgets and learned about some of the state-of-the-art health care trends. We also had some fun along the way!

Lisa Huhn visits ACA Mississauga  each year to talk to our Medical Laboratory Assistant/Technician and other medically-focused students about her story as an organ transplant recipient. Her story never fails to move and inspire our students. Lisa was diagnosed as a child with Type 1 Diabetes. She struggled to keep her blood sugar under control and was not always successful. Eventually it affected both her kidneys and her pancreas – Lisa ended up on kidney dialysis with her pancreas failing. She got the call that a deceased donor was a match for her and received a life saving transplant of both organs. Throughout her life long health issues, Lisa visited many doctor’s offices and laboratories – she interacted with many Med Lab Technicians and Medical Office Assistants. The takeaway from her story for our students is to treat all their patients with respect and courtesy because you never know what they are going through. Another message? Sign up for organ donation at http://beadonor.ca/.

The rain and cold weather didn't affect the ACA Ottawa team's spirit as we worked together at our professional development day on October 21st. The team worked to identify and develop some quality standards that will help our team to provide the most excellent customer service in the Ottawa region!

The staff at both campuses wish all of our students, graduates, and others a Happy Halloween!

Watch for the graduation of these fine Accounting and Payroll / Business Management students in a few months time so that your business can hire them on!

The Law Society will be holding a live webcast open to all paralegal students, candidates and paralegal college instructors on Thursday, October 20th, 2016  from  2:30 to 4:00 pm. Please notify students in the Paralegal Program. The session will cover key components of the Licensing Process and will include a question and answer period. The session will be available on demand for those who are not able to participate in the live broadcast.

Congratulations Sarah for being chosen as our Mississauga Grad of the Quarter - Summer 2016!

The Algonquin Careers Academy administrative team from  both the Ottawa and the Mississauga campuses are taking a training course – Disney’s Approach to Quality Service. ACA has always tried to ensure that prospective students, students and graduates receive excellent customer service. Disney’s training wants us to reach the next level. “When an organizational framework properly unites its people, place and processes by putting the customer at its core, exceptional service becomes possible across customer touch points.” (https://disneyinstitute.com/courses/quality-service/) Exceptional service is what we are aiming to move up to.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Our Mississauga Pharmacy Technician diploma students are shown here working on their class assignment “Smoking cessation  and the role of a Pharmacy Technician”. For smoking cessation, better known as “Kick the Habit”, the students were asked to research:

The Rio Brazil Olympic Drug-Testing Lab would not have had its accreditation suspended if our Christine had been running it and our graduates doing the work!

Ever wonder what happens to that urine sample with which you provide your doctor? Our Medical Laboratory Technician/Assistant students and graduates can tell you.

You've closed the book on your final exam and now you wait for the employers to start banging on your door...

Congratulations and thank you to the ACA administration, the Paralegal faculty and the Paralegal students! We have received our accreditation by the Law Society of Upper Canada for our Paralegal diploma program. We are accredited until 2020 at both our Ottawa and our Mississauga campuses. We were the first Career College in Ontario to be accredited in 2008 and we are the first to be re-accredited at this time.

Mississauga Graduate of the Quarter – Spring 2016

Ottawa Graduate of the Quarter – Spring 2016

“The Canadian Pharmacy Technician Educators Association (CPTEA) is the national organization of Pharmacy Technician Educators established to lead, advance, support, ​and promote excellence in pharmacy technician education.” Mission Statement

Congratulations to our amazing Mississauga and Ottawa graduates of 2016! 

The graduation ceremonies for our most recent grads take place this week:

We are very proud of the outstanding placement rates of our graduates. In an independent, externally conducted survey of graduates from Community Colleges and Private Career Colleges, an initiative of the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, Algonquin Careers Academy had excellent results[1]. In Ottawa our graduate employment rate was 80% and our graduate employment rate in the field of study was 66.7%, six months after graduation. In Mississauga, our graduate employment rate was 100% and our graduate employment rate in the field of study was 66.7%, six months after graduation.  Our rates were considerably higher than the average private career college and, on average between our two colleges, were better than the 83.4% [2] graduate employment rate of community colleges for the same period.

The Medical Office Assistant students in Algonquin Careers Academy Mississauga are currently taking the dental module as part of their 33 week MOA diploma program. Balbir Sohi was brought in as a guest speaker to address the class regarding this dental module. Balbir is a Registered Dental Hygienist who has a mobile dental hygiene business called Smiles on Wheels. She brings her clinic on wheels to people in hospitals and nursing homes and as well, she makes house calls. Balbir organizes health and dental awareness camps in the Region of Peel and is a host on the TV show “Health Talk with Balbir” as well as a radio show. Balbir came to Algonquin Careers Academy Mississauga campus and shared her experiences with our MOA students. It was a great experience and the students were quite overwhelmed by her motivational speech. The Medical Office Assistant students also had the opportunity to visit her mobile dental hygiene clinic and check out the hygienist chair! To find out more about the Medical Office Assistant diploma program in Mississauga and Ottawa, click on: http:////www.algonquinacademy.com/programs/healthcare/medicalofficeassistant

Our Ottawa Pharmacy Technician students are working on Sterile Product Preparation using Aseptic technique. This is a skill to prepare injectables drugs used intravenously. The skill enables students to prepare products without any contamination - free from any microorganisms. Our students are well prepared to take on the role of Pharmacy Technician in the real world!

The Fitness and Health Promotion diploma program class in Ottawa has been crazily involved in the fitness side of things with Yoga on a balance board at GoodLife Lansdowne stadium, Sargent Chris' (aka our instructor Chris Reabel) Boot Camp and at the GoodLife anniversary party Sh’Bam class.

I meet with several people on a daily basis and they all tend to have one thing in common when it comes to going back to school.  Fear!  Many of them don’t know if they are cut out for school.  While they all have fear in common, their reasons all vary.  I often get asked, “Am I too old to go back to school?”  My answer will always remain that you’re never too old to go back to school.  Another concern that people have is failing.  My response to that is simple.  If you show up to class every single day with the will to learn, you will succeed.  Our small class sizes ensure that we can provide you with the extra help if you need it.  You won’t be on your own in this adventure.  There will be a class full of other students trying to achieve the very thing you’re aiming for.

To be eligible to license as a Registered Pharmacy Technician, you must graduate from a course that has been accredited by the Canadian Council for Accreditation of Pharmacy Programs (CCAPP). The Pharmacy Technician programs of Algonquin Careers Academy, Ottawa and Mississauga, have been awarded the status of Full Accreditation by the CCAPP. 

The Medical Laboratory Technician class at the Mississauga campus was doing a Hematology lab, with real blood collected in a Lavender top tube containing an anticoagulant EDTA.

The Fitness & Health Promotion industry is rapidly growing and clients are in need of professionals with specialized training who can help individuals, businesses and government organizations in creating better healthy lifestyle choices including physical activity and optimal nutrition. 

We are in a very exciting time for Personal Support Workers! With the changing curriculum more is being expected from the PSW. There are four main areas of responsibility:

Ottawa Grad - Thursday, May 26 at 7 pm   Mississauga Grad - Friday, May 27 at 7 pm

A day in the life of an ACA Business Management student

FIVE REASONS TO BECOME A PERSONAL SUPPORT WORKER

Why taking the Medical Laboratory Assistant/Technician (MLA/T) course is a good idea

Why you should  take the Pharmacy Technician diploma program at Algonquin Careers Academy

Ottawa Graduate of the Quarter – Winter 2016

Mississauga Graduate of the Quarter – Winter 2016

Accounting and Payroll and Business Management Careers you May Not have Considered

ACA’s Paralegal Program is All Encompassing

Medical Office Assistant dealing with Victims of Abuse

Our students come to Algonquin Careers Academy with a diverse range of work and life experiences. Part of our job in the adult learning environment is to take on the challenge of relating these experiences to a new career goal. Development of a strong functional resume works to highlight relevant experience from various career paths and can help those students entering a new market to link their previous skills to the requirements of their new position. At Algonquin Careers Academy, our Employment Specialists work with our students to develop a resume that is relevant.

Ottawa Graduate of the Quarter – Summer 2015

Mississauga Graduate of the Quarter – Summer 2015

Paula Callaghan

RAVINDER ATHWAL

Debora Lavoie

Wendy O’Neill

Are you thinking of taking a program at Algonquin Careers Academy? Attending an Open House gives you the opportunity to check out the school and the program first hand. This is a big decision for you to make and you want to find out as much as you can before you make it. Here are the benefits of attending our open house:

Pomp and Circumstance at the Algonquin Careers Academy Mississauga graduation on Tuesday, April 16! What an evening of excitement for the graduating students, fulfillment for the staff and pride for the families and friends of the graduates. Victoria Jones filled the emcee role in a professional and grad-friendly manner. We had two keynote speakers (Vic Pellicori and Don Fraser) to emphasize the changing nature of careers over the years, and to provide inspiration to the new grads to get out there and succeed in their chosen field.  

OACC (Ontario Association of Career Colleges) set up a meet and greet session for the Private Career Colleges to meet with the Members of Provincial Parliament including the Premier of Ontario, Kathleen Wynne; the Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities, Brad Duguid; and the opposition education critics.  OACC sent out a request for students to address the group, and Algonquin Careers Academy suggested Ian Bell. Ian was one of only two student speakers selected from across the province. He gave an impassioned speech emphasizing the necessity, importance, and effectiveness of Career Colleges, as well as the crucial role they serve in our society.

CONGRATULATIONS TO ELAINE!

Algonquin Careers Academy was the first private career college to be accredited by the Law Society of Upper Canada to teach the new Paralegal program (2008) and we have been growing and developing it ever since. Courses include Constitutional and Administrative Law, Ethics, Small Claims Court, Torts and Contracts, Legal Advocacy, Employment Law, Provincial Offences, Criminal Summary Conviction, Immigration Law, Landlord and Tenant and Professional Practice.

Career and Employment Services (CES) is the area within our schools that help students and graduates find employment. If you need help with your cover letters and resume, preparing for an interview, advice as to where you might look for a job, a refresher about how to look for a job or if you just want someone to bounce job ideas off CES is the place to go. We encourage all students and graduates to use this service. We want to see you successfully working at a job in your field of choice! Who are you going to call?