Diploma in Community and Justice Services

at Algonquin College - Ottawa Campus Canada

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.

The Regulatory Affairs - Sciences Ontario College Graduate Certificate program provides you with the skills and knowledge to pursue an entry-level career in industry and government regulatory agencies in Canada.

The regulation of products in industries such as healthcare, biotechnology, food, industrial chemical and agrochemical is of international concern. The resulting increase in regulation has driven the demand for qualified individuals in regulatory affairs.

With a focus on protecting the safety of people and the environment, professionals in this field have a positive impact on the public good.

Understand the regulatory environment in Canada, including the socioeconomic aspects of:

• Regulations across industries
• How to interpret and apply regulations
• How to develop and manage regulatory submissions

Develop your awareness of sustainable building operation expertise for a career in the rapidly advancing field.

The Building Automation System Operations Ontario College Graduate Certificate program builds on your industry and educational experience and deepens your understanding of technologies that support the sustainable operation of buildings and ongoing building optimization.

By working with data analysis, you gain the ability to monitor and adjust energy usage and gauge system parameters, alarms and activities within a building. The program is designed to equip you with the knowledge and skills to advance in the building technology field.

With increased awareness of sustainable measures and growing energy costs, professionals in this field are moving towards high-performance automated buildings. These Smart buildings are reducing consumption and ensuring comfort, health and safety.

In this program, you use case studies, hands-on learning, and field work to give you the knowledge to understand and apply skills in relation to building automation systems.

Graduates who are looking to work in the building technology field may find employment in many different positions, including:

• Building automation system operator
• Building automation technician
• HVAC automation and controls technician
• Building automation process leader

Launch your legal career

In the two-year Law Clerk Ontario College Diploma program, you study a broad range of legal topics and processes to prepare you for a career as a legal assistant or law clerk.

This program prepares you for administrative work in an office environment where you work independently under the general direction of a lawyer, or as part of a legal services team. Learn from dedicated faculty who ensure that your skills surpass industry standards.

As a student, you develop and practise the skills that are essential for a successful career, including:

• paying attention to details and independently following instructions
• organizing client files and managing deadlines
• interviewing clients
• performing general office procedures
• working with legal software to compile information and prepare documents
• compiling evidence and documentation
• maintaining corporate documents and filings
• entering data in legal forms and drafting routine correspondence
• preparing briefs
• learning about family, estates, civil litigation, corporate, administrative and real estate law practices
• engaging in civil litigation and research

Benefit from the ability to participate in an off-site field placement or in an in-class workplace simulation. These experiences give you real-world experience and an opportunity to practise your skills.

The Practical Nursing Ontario College Diploma program prepares you for work in the healthcare system. You learn the necessary skills and techniques for the workforce - the assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation tools required to provide nursing care to those of all ages. Throughout the program, your education includes theory, lab techniques, applied experiences and independent study.

As a student, you have the opportunity to gain hands-on skills in a variety of healthcare facilities, as well as to participate in clinical placements. An added benefit of this program is the Simulation Lab and other Nursing labs on campus, where you experience realistic simulation scenarios. These help you to build confidence in your skills and techniques before working with patients in clinical placements in the community. Placements are in real-world settings such as retirement homes, long-term care homes and hospitals.

In order for you to practice in Ontario, you are required to be licensed by the College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO). This program gives you the necessary knowledge and skills to write the Canadian Practical Nurse Registration Examination in Ontario.

Registered Practical Nurses work in close collaboration with healthcare teams. You may find employment on a team in a variety of

• Community clinics
• Private homes
• Nursing homes
• Homes for the aged/geriatric
• Rehabilitative, medical, surgical, and obstetrical units

The two-year Electrical Engineering Technician Ontario College Diploma program provides you with the essential knowledge and skills sought by employers in the industry. Develop skills in the design, installation, maintenance and repair of electrical systems from cable loops, phone and fire suppression systems to robotics and machinery.

Through a series of theory courses and extensive practical labs, you learn to use scientific and engineering principles, including:

• The foundation of electrical principles, codes and regulations
• How to design, install and troubleshoot electromagnetic controls, electrical machinery and programmable controllers
• The different instrumentation options available and the applicable use for them
• An understanding of robotics and controls as well as industrial telecommunications
• Critical thinking skills and an understanding of the environmental impact of technology
• AutoCAD and applications
• The different infrastructure requirements of distributed electrical systems or fire alarm system codes and standards, installation and maintenance
• Fundamentals of mathematics, calculus, technical communications for engineers, programming and computer applications
• Project management and leadership skills

Baking and Pastry Arts Management is a two-year Ontario College Diploma program that offers the pâtissiers and the aspiring bakers an entry into the baking and pastry industry. During the course, the students spend the majority of their time in receiving hands-on experience in the labs and the college facilities, with current industry technologies and equipment and regard to sanitation and safety. Besides baking and decoration, the students also gain entrepreneurial experience related to sales and cost forecasting, marketing and capital costs, business planning, and labor distribution with respect to the daily operation of a professional bakery.

Trained industry professionals guide the students via a balance of traditional and contemporary baking techniques to make chocolate specialties, gum paste, almond paste figurines, blown, pulled and cast sugar pieces, plated desserts and specialty products, artisan breads, specialty and wedding cakes, emphasizing on nutrition throughout. 

During the duration of the program, the students participate in various industry-based field placements, perfecting their knowledge and skills with real-world experiences. Interested students may also have the option to travel to an international location for practice and instruction to further develop their knowledge and skills in the fine art of baking and pastry. The students can seek employment in patisseries, resorts and catering companies, in-store bakeries, wholesale production facilities, restaurants, hotels, artisan bakeries and commercial bakeries. 

The two-year Architectural Technician Ontario College Diploma program teaches you the skills and techniques to enter a career in the architecture and construction fields.

Your professors are industry professionals who provide you with a learning experience from the construction industry and the architectural profession, enabling you to be successful in your academic and professional ventures.

Begin the program with a focus on residential construction, and progress to studying commercial construction. Develop skills related to all facets of building construction, including design and technical resolution with the integration of building and material detailing.

As a student in this program, you have the opportunity to study a variety of practical topics, using both applied and theoretical learning, and a project-based, integrated studies approach. Courses include:

• Working Drawings
• Methods and Materials of Construction
• Codes and Standards
• AutoCAD
• Revit
• Visual Communications
• Design
• Environmental Systems

To prepare for further post-secondary study, the General Arts and Science - Community Studies Ontario College Certificate program helps you explore your interests, aptitudes and skills, with a focus on social sciences.

Discover new educational pathways and find your potential. You receive an Ontario College Certificate in General Arts and Science - One Year, with a concentration in Community Studies. This certificate helps prepare you for success in a variety of Algonquin College programs, including:

• Child and Youth Care
• Developmental Services Worker
• Early Childhood Education
• Community and Justice Service
• Social Service Worker

You can enter the workforce and demonstrate that you have well-developed skills and general knowledge 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.

With this certificate, you may also choose to continue your education in Year II of the General Arts and Science 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.

Learn engineering design, and offer solutions as a mechanical engineering technologist

The three-year Mechanical Engineering Technology Ontario College Advanced Diploma program teaches you to apply scientific and engineering principles to solve mechanical engineering problems in a variety of industries.

Through a series of classroom-based courses and extensive practical labs, you acquire skills specific to mechanical engineering technologists, including:

• Modifying and improving engineering designs using conventional and computer-based methods
• Performing engineering tests
• Supporting product development
• Using engineering software and systems to conduct engineering design and analysis
• Designing specialized jogs and fixtures
• Analyzing problems involving machine design, fluid dynamics, thermodynamics and heat transfer
• Understandingand applying design standards (i.e. ASHRAE and ASM International)
• Using design software such as SolidWorks, AutoCAD and MasterCAM

During your third year in the program, you complete a capstone project under the guidance of your faculty members. You work with external stakeholders in the industry during the project to analyze, plan and execute your project.

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.

Graduates may find work in the research, design and testing of mechanical systems, or with:

• Manufacturing processes
• Electro-mechanical control systems
• Automation
• Green-energy and building systems