Ontario Creating More Opportunities for College Students
New Policy Helps Colleges Grow to Meet Student Demand
The Voice of Canada
The Ontario Government is making it easier for the province’s publicly assisted colleges to offer their high-quality programs to more students in more locations to help meet international student demand and fill in-demand labour needs.
David Piccini, Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Colleges and Universities, was at the Lambton in Toronto campus today, with Vincent Ke, MPP for Don Valley North, to talk about how Ontario is supporting expanded public college-private education provider partnerships. These partnerships will help more students access Ontario’s college programs, preparing them with the skills and training they need for a rewarding career and meet the job demands in Ontario today and tomorrow.
“International students are an important part of Ontario’s postsecondary sector. They enrich the academic, social and cultural life of our communities, and are a key way to increase Ontario’s competitiveness,” said Parliamentary Assistant Piccini. “Ideas and innovation are critical to Ontario’s success and go hand in hand with job creation. Through this new policy, colleges are able to offer high-quality postsecondary education to more students.”
New guidelines will allow colleges to be more financially competitive by creating more choices for students to gain the skills they need to join Ontario’s growing workforce. In return, colleges can reinvest directly back into their campuses and local communities to ensure a high-quality student experience for all students in more locations.
Lambton College has two existing partnerships, one with Cestar College known as Lambton in Toronto, and one with Queen’s College in Mississauga.
“Knowledge and skillful labour supply is key to economic growth. As we are committed to being open for business and open for jobs, we are removing barriers for the people of Ontario and abroad to access quality education and well-paying jobs,” said Vincent Ke, MPP for Don Valley North. “This new policy in support of public college-private partnerships will allow public colleges to be more financially competitive and in turn, invest back to their campuses and local communities.”
“The Ontario government’s new policy to expand partnership agreements between Ontario’s public and private colleges will bolster the province’s efforts to produce a more highly qualified workforce,” said Judith Morris, President and CEO, Lambton College.
“Cestar’s partnership with Lambton College allows students to benefit from a high-quality education and the curriculum of a public college without leaving Toronto. Thousands of students have completed programs and have gone on to successful careers across Canada and around the world,” said Adrian Sharma, Cestar’s Director. “The Ontario government’s new policy to expand these Public-Private Partnerships will give more international students the opportunity to study in the GTA and help close the skills gap.”
The new policy on college partnerships will give colleges more flexibility to meet strong demand from international students for Ontario’s high-quality postsecondary education.
Quick Facts
International students directly contributed approximately $7.8 billion to the provincial economy in 2016.
The government provides operations grant funding for domestic student enrolment; international students are required to pay the full cost of their education.
Six publicly assisted Ontario colleges (Cambrian, Canadore, Lambton, Northern, St. Clair and St. Lawrence) currently have private partnership agreements for the delivery of programs leading to an Ontario college credential in Canada.
International students with a credential from an Ontario public college may apply for a work permit for up to three years under the federal Post-Graduation Work Permit Program, issued by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.
These partnerships will help strengthen communities across the province by encouraging international students to study at campuses outside the Greater Toronto Area and to potentially remain there after their studies.
This new policy supports colleges in being financially competitive so that they can invest that economic benefit into their main campuses and in their local communities.
