Certificate in Disability Support Worker

at Saskatchewan Polytechnic - Saskatoon Campus Canada

Maximize your career opportunities with the Heavy Equipment and Truck and Transport applied certificate program – you’ll get training in two high-demand trades at once.

The 21-week program is all about practical learning. In addition to classroom learning, you’ll get hands-on learning by working on different types of equipment. On the heavy duty equipment side, you could work on bulldozers, cranes, graders, loaders or earthmovers. On the truck and transport side, you could work on trucks, buses or highway transport vehicles.

Heavy Equipment and Truck and Transport grads are in high demand, with opportunities in urban, rural and remote areas. Boost your earning power and job opportunities even more by pursuing journeyperson’s certification.

The Heavy Equipment and Truck and Transport applied certificate program is also delivered off-campus at regional colleges and through Skills Training programming.

People today are hungry for authentic experiences. They want to live large and connect with a community, both at home and on their travels. Sask Polytech's revamped and reimagined Recreation and Tourism Management (RTM) diploma program gives you the knowledge and skills you need to create, deliver and manage these experiences.

What sets the RTM program apart is that we develop managers and leaders--energetic, passionate people who want to make a difference in the industry. Our grads are community leaders, industry innovators, social entrepreneurs and change-makers.

The RTM program prepares you to join their ranks with applied learning in:

• Basic business and computer skills
• Cultural and community-based learning
• Environmental sustainability
• Leadership and management skills
• 195 hours applied, practical learning
• Fund development and partnerships
• Group tours, guiding and local capital
• Municipal tourism management
• Outdoor programming
• Program and event planning
• Sport management

Parts management technicians make sure the right parts are available in the right place at the right time. You have to like variety, be good at organizing things, be able to handle large volumes of information, and have good people and computer skills.

The Parts Management Technician program at Saskatchewan Polytechnic provides the skills you need to work in wholesale distribution centres and in automotive, truck, agricultural, industrial equipment and recreational equipment dealerships.

Saskatchewan Polytechnic's one-year Parts Management Technician certificate program is offered on campus in Saskatoon. The entire program is also offered online through distance learning. Combining classroom theory with practical assignments and labs, you’ll learn how to serve different customers, dispense parts and sell related goods. You’ll get practical training in:

• All types of parts
• Maintaining a clean, orderly display and storage area
• Maintaining pre-determined inventory levels
• Parts applications and locations
• Parts purchasing and storage
• Using a computerized inventory control system
• Using parts manuals, catalogues, and electronic catalogues

Metal fabricator-welders are in high demand—in the oil patch, mining, manufacturing and construction. It’s a trade that requires a high level of skill and a comprehensive knowledge of industrial welding and joining processes. The payoff is high wages and good career mobility.

It's a great way to jump into the workforce … in either the welding or steel fabrication trade.

Fabricator-Welder is a one-year, dual certificate program offered at Regina and Saskatoon campuses. You’ll learn from experienced instructors how to interpret drawings and use different welding processes and metal forming machinery. Working in Saskatchewan Polytechnic’s well-equipped shops, you’ll be trained in:

• Benchwork and trade safety
• Communications, trade math and print reading
• Layout, template development and fitting
• Gas metal arc and gas tungsten arc welding
• Oxy-fuel processes and plasma arc cutting
• Rigging and electric overhead crane operation
• Shielded metal arc welding
• Shop management

You’ll also fabricate several projects, complete your Canadian Welding Bureau (CWB) welder qualification tests and participate in a one-week work experience.

Demand for health-care workers is high, and that includes demand for continuing care assistants. If you enjoy caring for others, and if you want to get into the workforce quickly, Saskatchewan Polytechnic’s Continuing Care Assistant program might be just what you’re looking for.

As a continuing care assistant, you’ll work directly with clients in long-term care, home care, assisted living, some areas in acute care, and even special needs classrooms. You’ll help them with mobility, personal care, assisting them to eat their meals, and medication monitoring. It’s a face-to-face, people-focused job.

The program combines hands-on classroom learning with practical clinical experience. You’ll build knowledge and skills in

• Addressing individual psychosocial needs;
• Administering personal care;
• Dementia management strategies;
• Gerontology (a major area of study);
• Long-term care philosophy in different settings;
• Promoting independence in a safe environment;
• Working with individuals with different physical and cognitive impairments; and/or
• Working with people of different cultures.

Your clinical work experiences will give you a taste of different work settings. Under the supervision of a buddy or staff member, you’ll work directly with clients in home care, long-term care and acute care settings. It’s a great way to build your skills and your confidence.

Computer systems technologists solve computer-related issues for businesses, government agencies, utilities, law enforcement agencies, health services providers, educational institutions and more. It’s a career that demands a unique blend of skills—computer literacy, technical know-how and communications savvy—but also lets you specialize in areas that interest you the most, including programming, software design, mobile application programming, data communications and web design.

The two-year Computer Systems Technology diploma is available full time at Saskatchewan Polytechnic Saskatoon campus, with a number of courses also available through distance and/or continuing education. Comprehensive technical training gives you a solid foundation of theory and hands-on lab practice in:

• designing, installing and managing local area networks
• developing computer programs in various programming languages
• developing interactive web pages with multimedia components
• developing proficiency in several common computer application packages
• installing and configuring computer hardware and software
• performing systems analysis and design
• programming apps for mobile devices (smart phones, tablets, etc.)
• providing end-user technical support services
• troubleshooting and repairing hardware problems

You’ll also learn business principles, project management and communication skills—attributes potential employers look for when hiring for IT personnel.

Bioscience technologists use applied science to research problems and develop solutions to some of life's many important questions, ranging from food safety to new medicines. Saskatchewan Polytechnic's BioScience Technology program (formerly Biotechnology) is a two-year diploma program that emphasizes a hands-on style of learning. Your classroom time includes theory, practical exercises and labs. A four-week practicum gives you on-the-ground experience working in a laboratory, so at the end of your program you're ready for the workplace.

The program is designed to give you a strong foundation in both scientific principles and analytic practices. The emphasis is on developing your lab skills to prepare you for work in the biosciences, biomedical research and applied research fields.

You'll develop the skills you need to:

• Analyse DNA, RNA and protein samples
• Follow good laboratory practices (GLP) guidelines
• Handle and prepare laboratory chemicals
• Organize and supervise laboratory activities
• Record, process and report data
• Use analytical instruments
• Work with plants and animals in a research setting
• Work with microorganisms

Employers across the country, from natural resource companies to hospitals and schools, to manufacturers and office-based businesses, to retailers - all must conform to occupational health and safety legislation. As legislation and standards become multifaceted, demand for qualified Occupational Health and Safety professionals grows.

This program is a great fit if you're looking to enter the Occupational Health and Safety profession, are already working in occupational health and safety and want to expand your career opportunities, considering or preparing to write the Canadian Registered Safety Professional (CRSP) exam or Canadian Registered Safety Technician (CRST) exam or are looking to expand your knowledge.

Explore the career possibilities of Saskatchewan Polytechnic's Occupational Health and Safety certificate program. Our graduates work in a wide variety of industries, advising employers on occupational health and safety issues.

The program provides knowledge relevant to all workplaces in:

• Auditing safety management
• Contractor safety management
• Disability management
• Emergency management
• Ergonomics
• Law and ethics
• Incident investigation
• Industrial hygiene
• Risk management
• Safety management systems

Do you like working on cars? Want to get into the workforce quickly? Saskatchewan Polytechnic’s Auto Body Technician program could be a great fit for you. The program prepares you for work in auto body shops, auto dealerships and private garages.

The job involves bending, standing and lifting heavy equipment. But it’s also creative work—a good eye for colour and detail will ensure your skills are in demand.

Auto Body Technician is a one-year certificate program offered on campus in Saskatoon and in Regina.

Note: The Regina (January) delivery of this program is marketed almost exclusively to international students with a study permit, although it may be available to domestic students as well. 

The program gives you a solid foundation in the knowledge and skills you’ll need to work in motor vehicle body repair and refinishing. You’ll get practical training in:

• Basic and advanced metal work;
• Basic and advanced painting;
• Benchwork and safe working procedures;
• Door servicing, glass installation and electrical systems;
• Front sheet metal and plastic material repair;
• Industry communications and math;
• Welding.

Electronic systems are in everything - computers, robotics, medical electronics, fibre optics, automotive electronics, mobile communications, automation, aerospace and surveillance systems and more.  That means your potential job market as an electronic systems engineering technologist is huge.  It’s diverse, dynamic and growing. Saskatchewan Polytechnic offers the well-rounded education you need to start a career designing, servicing and troubleshooting systems.

Electronic Systems Engineering Technology is a two-year diploma program offered full time at Saskatchewan Polytechnic, Saskatoon Campus, Idylwyld Dr. You’ll gain knowledge and skills in:

• analog and digital circuits
• automation systems
• data and radio communications
• electronic prototyping
• microprocessors and microcontrollers
• printed circuit board design
• programmable logic controllers
• technical reporting and project management

You’ll develop troubleshooting skills through practical labs, build project management skills and carry out an applied research project. Your studies culminate in hands-on projects that challenge you to design, test and construct your own electronic prototype.