Newest Laurier School Board Competency Development Centre offers programs and career choices for ages 16 to 89

This much-needed and long-awaited adult education centre is already providing vocational education to a diversified clientele of about 100, ranging from 16-year-old high school students to the marketable 89-year-old who's there to improve his working and technical skills, says director Joanne Brabant.

The Pont-Viau district of Laval was specifically chosen for the centre for several reasons, says Laval-des-Rapides MNA Alain Paquet, in whose riding the institution is located.

"The Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board and its partners, whether at the business or government level, definitely have specific objectives for the community-at-large and the benefits that will be reaped in the years to come, particularly for the revamping of the economically neglected and under-privileged Pont-Viau neighbourhood," Mr. Paquet told Courrier Laval.

In this new state-of-the-art educational facility which is built for 200, students will be provided with the tools they will need to compete and succeed in the 21st Century. Programs include Computing Support, Secretarial Studies, Hotel reception, Starting a Business, Accounting, and Exploration Labs, an area which is of particular interest to the Laurier Board.

"We've just opened the first centre of excellence of professional education for the English community of Laval," said Board Chairman Steve Bletas, adding that the Exploration Labs, which are a first for the Laurier Board, will give students the opportunity to decide what they really want.

"We want to offer Laval residents the opportunity to educate, train, and equip themselves with marketable skills and we want to do it right here in Laval, close to home where it will be most convenient for them," Mr. Bletas stated at the ceremony which officially launched the Pont-Viau CDC Centre.

Quizzed on the motivation behind these CDC Centres (the Laurier Board also has one in Vimont), several board officials echoed the view that changing patterns of employment and employability pointed to the growing importance of vocation education.

Unskilled jobs are either fast disappearing or provide little satisfaction compounded by low wages, so it is not surprising that more people are drawn to the essential sectors of the job market which require skills – plumbing, welding, electrical work, the service industries (and many more) where the level of satisfaction and wages are much higher, and where, most significantly, there is a shortage of workers because these sectors have been poorly promoted by the education system for several decades.

As a response to the changing needs of the job market, high schools must raise the status of vocational education and put out the message that pre-university Cegep academic programs are not for everyone, said several board officials, emphasizing that there's lots of work ahead for career education teachers and guidance counselors who have the responsibility of directing students towards programs that will make them more employable.

Board officials also expressed concern that vocational formation is still considered inferior to liberal arts, science, and professional education, despite the most recent resurgence of this type of preparation for the work force.

“The urgent and growing need for trained individuals in business and industry emphasizes the contributions of vocational education, and the Laurier Board’s CDCs will be a major force in delivering these human resources to the city-region of Laval and its surrounding communities.

As more and more professional and technical jobs require three or more years of training, the CDCs can play a major role in the decision-making process, both creating relevant programs of job training and in helping individuals make appropriate choices towards the needs of the job market, says the literature that provides the framework for these CDCs.

‘The CDC and the Exploration Labs are offered to help with these decisions, specified Steve Bletas, adding that one of the major tasks is to help students plan appropriate and satisfying careers, and to reduce the number of years needed to achieve these career objectives.