Certificate in Human Services Foundations

at Algonquin College - Ottawa Campus Canada

This one-year General Arts and Science - Environmental Studies Ontario College Certificate program allows you to research and debate environmental issues on the global, national and local level. Topics include environmental citizenship, environmental ethics, sustainable development and ecology. Expand your knowledge about the environment and the impacts made by humans.

This program prepares you for further study, rather than moving directly into the chosen industry. You receive an Ontario College Certificate in General Arts and Science - One Year, with a concentration in Environmental Studies.

Upon completion, you are eligible to apply to other specific Algonquin College programs if you desire. These programs include:

• Forestry Technician
• Environmental Technician
• Water and Waste Water Technician
• Biotechnology - Advanced
• Outdoor Adventure Naturalist

You may also choose to continue your education in Year II of the General Arts and Science Ontario College Diploma program. After completion of Year II with an overall GPA of 3.0 or higher, you can apply for advanced standing at Carleton University or the University of Ottawa.

This program helps you expand your knowledge and choose your career path. You can enter the workforce and show that you have well-developed skills and a general understanding in a variety of topics. Completion of this certificate confirms to potential employers that you have the ability to learn at a post-secondary level.

Learning Outcomes
The graduate has reliably demonstrated the ability to:

• Develop, through general knowledge gained in a wide range of subjects, insight into both self and society.
• Develop flexibility and clarity of both thought and expression in order to develop communications competence to a level required by business
• and industry.
• Understand and utilize critical thinking processes and problem-solving techniques.
• Examine and evaluate various aspects of our changing society to assist in developing a sense of personal and social responsibility as a citizen in society.
• Employ basic vocational skills drawn from the areas of the Humanities, Social and Behavioral Sciences of Vocational Studies (Business, Technology).

The one-year Sommelier Ontario College Certificate program gives you the skills and knowledge to enter or advance a career in the wine profession.

Wine and beverage expertise has become an essential tool in the hospitality industry, creating a high demand for qualified professionals. In our sommelier lab, you acquire the specialized skills and extensive knowledge to meet this demand.

Gain knowledge of the viticulture and viniculture of primary grape growing areas around the world. Through tastings of a variety of wines, expand your ability to recognize distinctive aromas and flavours associated with various wine regions. Learn food and wine pairing skills, cellaring tips, marketing techniques, grape varieties, wine list development and the proper service of wine, beer and whiskeys.

Take your skills into the real world with a 40-hour field placement at a restaurant, wine shop, winery, wine retail outlet or wine show. This industry experience helps you build valuable connections and become career-ready. These connections have led some of our graduates to launch successful freelance writing or teaching-careers.

Pursue a career in the evolving world of web software application creation.

The two-year Internet Applications and Web Development Ontario College Diploma program prepares you to pursue a variety of different careers in the internet applications and web development industry.

This program is designed to teach you:

• Internet technologies
• Full stack Web development
• The analysis, design and implementation of internet applications

Use modern computing facilities with a variety of software offered to help you during the program. The department is sponsored by Microsoft Developer`s Network Academic Alliance and through other vendor agreements, which gives you access to the most up-to-date technology.

During the program, you study a number of topics relevant to the field. You learn full stack web development, database programming and internetworking in a TCP/IP environment.

Additional topics include:

• Client-side and server-side scripting
• Programming languages
• Systems and network security

In your last semester, you apply what you have learned throughout the program as a member of a team working on a multi-tiered internet application.

Students also have the option to gain real-world experience through a paid co-operative education (co-op) work term (see Additional Information for more details). Please note that places in the co-op version of the program are subject to availability. Students who elect to apply to the non co-op version of the program may not have the opportunity to transfer to the co-op version at a later date.

This program is designed to help you begin your career as:

• A full stack web developer
• A web administrator
• An internet application developer
• A web application architect
• A web programmer
   

Approved by the College of Respiratory Therapists of Ontario and accredited by the Council on Accreditation for Respiratory Therapy Education, Respiratory Therapy is a three-year Ontario College Advanced Diploma program offered by Algonquin College. The program is well suited for all the students who have strong observational and analytical skills, possess an applied technical aptitude, are able to work effectively under stressful situations and have excellent communication and interpersonal skills while interacting with patients, their families and other members of the healthcare team. 

During the course, the students participate in multiple clinical simulations, learning to apply their theoretical knowledge to clinical practice and promoting critical thinking. Besides, the students also learn how to adapt themselves to situations and concepts to meet the needs of the patients and work in a professional tea, structure in a private or a public setting. 

The graduates of the course of the program can find jobs as staff therapists in hospitals in the pediatric and neonatal intensive care units, emergency departments and cardiopulmonary diagnostic units, etc., or in medical sales, dental offices, research, physicians’ offices and community care. The graduates may also pursue post-graduate studies in areas like cardiopulmonary perfusion, polysomnography and anesthesia assistant. 

Registered respiratory therapists and the graduates who are working in regulated provinces need to be members of their Regulatory College, the College of Respiratory Therapists of Ontario (CRTO). The successful completion of the National Alliance of Respiratory Therapy Regulatory Bodies credential exam, conducted by the Canadian Board of Respiratory Care (CBRC), allows the graduates to work in Canada.

Learning Outcomes
The graduate has reliably demonstrated the ability to:

• Practice in a professional manner.
• Practice competently, safely and effectively in diverse practice settings.
• Communicate effectively with clients and health care team members.
• Participate as a team member to support clients` achievement of their health outcomes.
• Assess clients in a comprehensive manner.
• Collect and interpret information to plan, implement and evaluate outcomes based practice.
• Select and use a variety of respiratory modalities to support clients’ achievement of their health outcomes.
• Collaborate with clients and health care team members to develop,
• Implement and evaluate clients` learning plans.
• Integrate theory principles and concepts into respiratory practice.
• Incorporate research theory into practice.
• Identify and apply discipline-specific practices that contribute to the local and global community through social responsibility, economic commitment and environmental stewardship.

Get the technical skills required to repair and modify automated equipment

The two-year Electromechanical Engineering Technician Ontario College Diploma program prepares you for many different career pathways. Industry professionals teach you the skills to repair and modify automated equipment in many different sectors.

In this program, you experience both classroom and lab-based hands-on learning. You develop team building skills and collaborate on class projects.

As a student in this program, you learn about:

• Electronic circuits
• Industrial pneumatics
• Computer-aided design
• Microcontrollers
• Digital logic
• Programmable logic controllers (PLCs)
• Motor controls and machine tool operations
• Industrial robots
• Mechatronics  

In the one-year Marketing Research and Analysis Ontario College Graduate Certificate program you master the current and emerging techniques in marketing research. This program prepares you for a data-driven career in the marketing research discipline.

You learn to investigate how and why people purchase products and services. In this program, you develop the employable skills to conduct marketing and opinion research in the public, not-for-profit and private sectors. The curriculum emphasizes the marketing research process including:

• Research design
• Questionnaire construction
• Moderator`s guide construction
• Data collection
• Basic and intermediate statistical analysis and interpretation, and
• Report writing and presentation skills

In addition, you become familiar with the scientific method of hypotheses testing and reaching conclusions to solve business problems.

Graduates may have opportunities to work in a wide variety of research settings in government, not-for-profit organizations, research providers and private businesses that use marketing research.

The Social Service Worker (Intensive) program, comprised of three terms, is an accelerated model of the two-year Social Service Worker program. This program is available for students who have completed prior post-secondary education in a related field (six courses in psychology, anthropology, and/or sociology).

Through theory and practical experiences, the program prepares you to support a wide range of client groups and communities who are in the process of change or growth, including those impacted by issues such as:

• loss and separation
• family crisis
• poverty
• violence
• homelessness
• addiction
• disability
• unemployment
• oppression
• resettlement issues

As a student, you complete one field placement experience totaling more than 350 hours. You identify, practice and incorporate theoretical knowledge at a level that provides top client service. As well, you strengthen the bond between yourself and the community by participating in various applied research projects and direct practice opportunities. With these opportunities, you are ready to work on the front line of social services.

Graduates may secure employment as Social Service Workers in provincial, municipal and private social service agencies including:

• drop-in centres
• employment services
• addiction and mental health services
• schools and youth services
• community health and resource centres
• shelters
• residential treatment programs

In the two-year Horticultural Industries Ontario College Diploma program you learn how to create landscapes from design to implementation. By offering a condensed format over 16 months, the Horticultural Industries program allows you to fast track your career.

Learn the key aspects of this dynamic industry, including:

• Urban and rural landscape design, installation and maintenance
• Nursery production and management
• Sustainable urban agriculture
• Green roof and living wall technology

The program offers a hands-on learning experience during the industry`s prime production period in the spring/summer/fall. Practice skills in Algonquin College`s extensive campus gardens surrounding the Horticulture Centre and within the attached greenhouse complex.

The various plant collections and the vegetable garden provide you with the perfect opportunity to study plant identification, plant selection and ideal growing conditions. You take active part in further developing and maintaining the grounds in smaller work-groups, simulating the industry.

To further your skills and make connections in the industry, you complete a 12-week co-op placement as part of the program. The landscape industry is fast-paced and constantly evolving, with a high-demand for skilled horticultural specialists and landscape designers.

Graduates may find work, either as employees or self-employed, in:

• Construction and maintenance firms
• Landscape design
• Nurseries and garden centres
• Urban food production
• Tree care industry
• Park systems
• Consulting or teaching

The two-year Office Administration - Legal Ontario College Diploma program prepares you for a rewarding career in a variety of legal office environments.
Develop essential legal theoretical and applied skills by engaging in extensive learning in a simulated office in the areas of:

• Wills and estates
• Real estate
• Corporate law
• Litigation and family law

Apply your knowledge by preparing client files, producing documents using specialized legal software and Microsoft Office applications, transcribing, citing, applying accounting practices, and learning how to manage a legal office. You also have the opportunity to participate in a legal environment work placement allowing you to practice your skills.

Learning Outcomes
The graduate has reliably demonstrated the ability to:

• Conduct oneself professionally and adhere to relevant legislation, standards and codes of ethics.
• Manage the scheduling, coordination and organization of administrative tasks and workflow within specific deadlines and according to set priorities and procedures.
• Coordinate the collection, analysis, distribution and response to communications in the workplace to facilitate the flow of information.
• Operate and provide support to others related to the use of office equipment and technologies.
• Evaluate, establish and administer legal records management systems* to ensure confidential, secure, accessible and organized electronic and paper records*.
• Produce client account and billing records for legal services by compiling relevant information and using accounting software.
• Produce legal documentation for corporate, civil, family, real estate and wills and estates law using available technologies and applying industry standards.
• Use interpersonal and client service skills to respond to diversity and to support the goals of the organization.
• Identify and apply discipline-specific practices that contribute to the local and global community through social responsibility, economic commitment and environmental stewardship.

In the two-year Social Service Worker Ontario College Diploma program, you gain the skills and knowledge to work effectively with individuals, groups and communities dealing with personal and social problems.
Through theory and practical experiences, the program prepares you to support a wide range of client groups and communities who are in the process of change or growth, including those impacted by issues such as:

• Loss and separation
• Family crisis
• Poverty
• Violence
• Homelessness
• Addiction
• Disability
• Unemployment
• Oppression
• Resettlement issues

As a student, you complete three semesters in field placement experiences totaling almost 700 hours. You identify, practice and incorporate theoretical knowledge at a level that provides top client service. As well, you strengthen the bond between yourself and the community by participating in various applied research projects and direct practice opportunities. With these opportunities, you are ready to work on the front line of social services.

Graduates may secure employment as Social Service Workers in provincial, municipal and private social service agencies including:

• Social service departments
• Long-term care facilities
• Addiction and mental health services
• Schools and youth services
• Community health and resource centres
• Shelters
• Residential treatment programs