Enhanced job-readiness and leadership at Cambrian

Sudbury -

From more placement opportunities to the development of a leadership academy, students at Cambrian College have the ability to add more to their resumes before hitting the workforce.

On Wednesday, RBC announced $330,000 in funding in the next three years for some new placement opportunities and small business entrepreneurial training.

“Our collective prosperity will depend on today’s young people and their ability to take on a future that brings with it unprecedented technological and economic change,” said Scott Simon, RBC regional vice-president.

“That’s why through RBC Future Launch, we’re working together with educators, community leaders, industry experts and employers to encourage new ways of thinking and approaches to drive long-term, sustainable solutions and ventures in the world of work for future generations.

"We’re excited to partner with Cambrian College to help pave the path to ensure workforce security and stability, today and into the future,” Simon added.

One of the things the money will allow Cambrian to do is expand its Work-Integrated Learning Education Program, which allows students to have a placement should they so choose.

“Not every student wants to go and work in a shop, some of them want to start their own business, some of them need to have different skills for the path that they are going in because not everybody wants to work on the bench as a mechanic,” said Larry Richardson, Professor, Heavy Equipment Technician Program.

"Some people want to be in sales, some people it just opened up to many more opportunities that perhaps they didn't even think about when they started down their career path."

The creation of the Cambrian Leadership Academy is something recent graduate Lynn Courville said she’s excited to see.

“People often think that you have to be in a leadership position to be a leader, but that is not true at all," Courville said.

"This leadership academy can help students that may have never felt like a leader, to be able to step outside of their comfort zones and become the leaders of tomorrow.”

The funding will also help the development of a stackable credential course in Small Business Entrepreneurism, where students in a variety of programs will be provided with the opportunity to investigate the world of being their own boss.

Overall, those involved said this is something that will benefit both students and employers now, and in the future.

“At HARD-LINE, we develop technology that makes the mining process much safer and more productive,” said spokesperson Claude Sharma.

“We already recruit directly from Cambrian College and with our global operation, this funded program is a perfect fit for us as an industry partner already utilizing tomorrow’s technology ideas to advance mining far into the future.”