Diploma in Public Relations

at Algonquin College - Ottawa Campus Canada

This Ontario College Graduate Certificate program, delivered in a 42-week consecutive format, prepares you for a career in the field of recreation therapy. Recreation Therapists work with individuals facing key health issues and cognitive, physical and/or mental health challenges across the lifespan from children, youth, adults to seniors. In this program, you develop a strong foundation of skills and knowledge to use the tools of recreation and leisure to ensure people of all ages and abilities have a healthy social, physical, emotional and cognitive lifestyle.

Develop advanced knowledge of how to complete client assessments, create individualized and group programs and document client outcomes. Apply a variety of facilitative techniques to promote meaningful recreation and leisure participation, improve functional ability, and enhance quality of life and wellness. Through collaboration, teamwork, research and professional involvement, you learn to adapt, implement and evaluate recreation activities to meet the needs of people in a wide range of settings including hospitals, long-term care facilities, rehabilitation centres, municipal community programs and mental health agencies. Through a combination of theory and industry-based work terms, you gain theoretical and practical knowledge and experience.

As a current institutional member of Therapeutic Recreation Ontario (TRO), students enrolled in the Therapeutic Recreation program receive a Therapeutic Recreation Ontario Student membership for the duration of the program. Graduates may apply to become registered members of TRO and/or other professional associations. As well, Algonquin College is working closely with TRO in seeking recognition of this program, thus allowing graduates to apply to become a Registered Therapeutic Recreation Ontario member.

Learning Outcomes
The graduate has reliably demonstrated the ability to:

• Provide for the safety of clients, self and others in compliance with applicable legislation, regulations, standards and ethical practices.
• Assess individual needs, strengths, challenges and interests of people experiencing barriers to healthy leisure lifestyle in order to assist them in meeting their goals.
• Maintain accurate documentation in accordance with ministry guidelines, professional standards of practice and organizational policies and procedures.
• Plan, implement and evaluate holistic individual and group recreation therapy programs which respond to identified needs, align with assessment results and adhere to current best practices.
• Provide individual and family therapeutic functional intervention, leisure education support, and opportunity for recreation participation.
• Research, analyze and evaluate recreation therapy activities and programs using evidence based practices.
• Plan, implement and evaluate community, private and institutional programs and/or services and processes to enhance quality of life for clients.
• Collaborate with individuals, caregivers, interprofessional teams, volunteers and community service providers using a person-centered approach to promote personal, social, economic and the health-related benefits of recreation therapy services.
• Develop and plan for ongoing personal and professional growth and development.
• Identify and apply discipline-specific practices that contribute to the local and global community through social responsibility, economic commitment and environmental stewardship.

The language skills you need for the life you want

The General Arts and Science - English for Academic Purposes (EAP) Ontario College Certificate program is an academically-oriented English as a Second Language (ESL) Program designed for International and Domestic students whose first language is not English.

Improve your academic English language skills for college and job success in a dynamic multicultural setting. Upon successful completion of the program, you obtain an Ontario College Certificate, which provides a pathway into post-secondary studies by satisfying the language requirements for entry into most programs offered at Algonquin College.

The EAP Placement Test determines your starting point in the program, ranging from low-intermediate to low-advanced language skills. As you move through the program, you actively participate in a variety of large and small group activities that provide engaging opportunities to practice the four language skills of:

• Reading
• Writing
• Listening
• Speaking

The Bookkeeping and Accounting Practices Ontario College Certificate program gives you the knowledge and skills to work effectively in a variety of accounting and bookkeeping roles.

This one-year program balances theory and practical training, to ensure that you are ready for your career. Faculty members include experts dedicated to ensuring that you gain a solid foundation of skills.

Explore the full accounting cycle, including:

• Identifying and recording business transactions
• Preparing financial statements
• Developing essential bookkeeping skills by practising working with data such as purchases, payments, sales, collections and payroll.
• Effectively identifying and applying business processes by maintaining paper and computerized financial records.

Develop communication and math skills as well as an understanding of business practices. Work with popular accounting software and spreadsheet tools to ensure that your technical skills are up-to-date.

With an Ontario College Certificate from Algonquin College, you may find employment in entry-level roles such as:

• Payroll clerk
• Accounts payable clerk
• Accounts receivable clerk
• Billing clerk debt collections
• Accounting clerk
• Bookkeeper
• Accounting assistant

The one-year Mechanical Techniques - Plumbing Ontario College Certificate program equips you with the knowledge and skills needed to pursue a career in plumbing or other construction fields.

This program gives you entry-level skills that you can use to seek a recognized plumbing apprenticeship. You may also discover a career in a construction-related field.

Throughout the program, you learn a broad overview of the plumbing trade. Using both theory and hands-on practice, you learn:

• Principles of design
• Health and safety requirements
• Soldering techniques
• Inter-professional communications
• Practical installation practices

If you are new to design, plumbing, and construction, this program will help develop your skills. You learn the skills and knowledge needed for a career in the trade.

Graduates of this program may find employment in fields related to plumbing. These can include:

• Construction labour
• Retail and wholesale sales
• Marketing of plumbing-related products

If you are looking for advancement in the field of plumbing, this program gives you the credentials to pursue a certified apprenticeship and become a licensed plumbing journeyman.

The two-year Business - Marketing Ontario College Diploma program provides learners with a strong theoretical marketing foundation and the opportunity to apply it through hands-on industry projects, assignments and simulation tools. You develop the knowledge and applied skills to succeed in a wide range of marketing and business roles. Additionally, you use computing technology in a collaborative learning environment to learn, develop and apply the technical skills that employers desire.

Learn about how marketing affects the operations of a business - from product conception to launch and delivery.

Explore concepts such as:

• Marketing to the consumer and business marketplace
• Product and pricing strategies
• Marketing planning and decision-making
• Global marketing
• Marketing communications and promotions
• Marketing research
• Professional selling
• Sales management
• Digital marketing and distribution

Complete hands-on assignments that involve case studies, simulation platforms, research assessments and role-playing. You also have the opportunity to work with industry clients in the program, including developing a full marketing plan for a local client.

The two-year Office Administration - Executive Ontario College Diploma program prepares you for a rewarding career as an administrative professional in the public or private sector.

Develop essential skills through extensive applied practice in a simulated office in the areas of human resources, social media, office management, domestic and international travel, event planning and finance. Enhance your MS Office suite abilities through document production, transcription, desktop publishing, accounting practices, and database and project management.

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.
• Coordinate the collection, analysis, distribution and response to communications in the workplace to facilitate the flow of information.
• Operate and provide support related to the use, maintenance and procurement of office equipment and technologies.
• Evaluate, establish and administer a variety of records management systems* to ensure confidential, secure, accessible and organized electronic and paper records.
• Produce financial documents and reports by identifying and compiling relevant information and using accounting software.
• Prepare and produce a variety of business documents using available technologies and applying industry standards.
• Use interpersonal, leadership and client service skills to respond to diversity and to support the vision and mission of the organization.
• Research, analyze and summarize information on resources and services and prepare summary reports with recommendations.
• Select and use information technologies to support communication with internal and external stakeholders and to promote the organization.
• Organize and coordinate meetings, conferences, special events and make travel arrangements, including the preparation of related documentation.
• Support the implementation of projects by applying basic principles of project management.
• Identify and apply discipline-specific practices that contribute to the local and global community through social responsibility, economic commitment and environmental stewardship.

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).

The two-year Motive Power Technician Ontario College Diploma program, delivered in a compressed format over 42 weeks, provides you with the skill-set to find an entry-level position in the transportation service industry.

Through a series of classroom-based courses and extensive practical labs, you acquire skills specific to becoming an Automotive Service Technician. Learn to maintain and repair electrical and mechanical systems within a vehicle, including:

• chassis and drivelines
• fuel systems  
• electrical systems
• internal combustion engines

Begin by learning the operational principles of systems used on vehicles, with hands-on projects to reinforce your knowledge. As you progress in the program, you focus on the advancement of technical fundamentals, advanced diagnostics, and troubleshooting procedures. You also study mathematics and related sciences, ethics, communications and marketing.

The three-year Applied Museum Studies Ontario College Advanced Diploma prepares you with the knowledge and skills to support curatorial and conservation activities in the museum, heritage and cultural sectors.

• Gain skills and knowledge in:
  • Collections management
  • Educational programming
  • Exhibit preparation
  • Museum management
  • Conservation and preservation

Develop capabilities related to cultural resource management, focusing on collections care, research and interpretation. Areas of study include:

• Classifying, cataloguing and interpreting collections of artifacts and works of art
• Constructing and installing exhibits and displays
• Assessing, preserving and treating material culture

Put theory into practice in our well-appointed conservation and exhibition preparation labs. Working with our teaching collection and in collaboration with local cultural institutions, you complete a variety of hands-on projects and group assignments that will enhance your knowledge and skills and make valuable contributions in museums, galleries and the cultural sector.

This program includes a full-semester field placement. The field experience combines your theory and lab skills with professional practice in the cultural industry. At the end of your placement, highlight your work in a showcase event. The showcase event also gives you the chance to network with industry professionals for future employment.

Build your career potential with an in-depth understanding of building and construction

Architectural Technology is the third year of an Ontario College Advanced Diploma program that prepares you for a career in the architectural profession and the construction industry. The program gives you the credentials, the knowledge and the skills necessary to further define your career. Graduates of the two-year Architectural Technician Ontario College Diploma program may consider taking the third year, Architectural Technology program to build on their previous studies.

In the Architectural Technology program, you focus on commercial construction and large buildings, as defined in the Ontario Building Code. You participate in a team project that brings together all facets of building construction, including:

• Design and technical resolution with the integration of building and material detailing
• Structural and mechanical layout design for a commercial building assembly
• Revit Architecture is used to execute the design and technical resolution for the 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.

Graduates of this program may find work with:

• Architects` offices
• Contractors in multiple sectors
• Engineering offices
• Building materials sales representatives
• Municipal offices such as the City of Ottawa
• Federal and provincial agencies dealing with construction
• Drafting service offices using AutoCAD and Revit
• Real estate and facilities management companies
• Companies that provide construction, maintenance, and planning services 

The two-year Illustration and Concept Art Ontario College Diploma program, delivered in a compressed format over 42 weeks, prepares you for the field of illustration and the emerging discipline of concept art.
As a student, you develop skills in digital and traditional media. While developing your drawing skills, you learn about:

• Print periodical illustration
• Children`s books
• Graphic novel illustration
• Concept art for animation
• Interactive media
• Film

In this program, you work individually as an artist, but learn as a team member when contributing to concept art projects. You develop problem-solving methods, drawing techniques and production methods for the magazine, graphic novel or entertainment industry.

The faculty, many of whom are award-winning published artists widely respected in the industry, share their abundance of knowledge and experience. Learning opportunities with industry partners allow you to apply the knowledge and skills you have developed and also offer networking opportunities. With in-class discussions and hands-on learning activities, you develop your style and expand your portfolio.

Learning Outcomes

• The graduate has reliably demonstrated the ability to:
  • Review genres of entertainment art, documents, and project requirements and propose visual solutions.
  • Prepare artwork that meets the needs of identified target audiences, clients, and formats.
  • Contribute to the solution of pre-production design problems to produce industry-accepted quality art work within project constraints.
  • Identify and address technical components to produce portfolio-quality conceptual artwork.
  • Use a variety of traditional and digital tools to create industry-accepted solutions and concept art work.
  • Develop concept art work in different styles and in different applications.
  • Prepare industry-accepted art work for the printing process and for various digital media.
  • Apply business practices and time management skills to the profession of independent and/or company illustrator and concept artist.
  • Contribute to multi-disciplinary project teams in order to complete concept art work flow.
  • Analyze their professional skill-set and plan and prepare effective marketing and self-promotional material.
  • Identify and apply discipline-specific practices that contribute to the local and global community through social responsibility, economic commitment and environmental stewardship.