Students need an education that will prepare them for the competitive job market, and employers need workers with the skills to succeed in today’s ever-changing landscape.
Durham College (DC) is meeting the needs of both by producing job-ready graduates year in and year out. Thanks to that reputation, employers from across multiple sectors have come to recognize a credential from DC as a mark of quality.
“We consistently hire DC graduates who are ready to fill positions right away. They deliver with excellence, which is a testament to the strategic leadership planning, faculty adaptivity to the changing market needs and types of learning provided at the college,” said Rick Menassa, CEO of Health Espresso and ICARE Home Health, who has hired students from the Faculty of Business and the Faculty of Science, Engineering and Information Technology. “DC graduates are equipped with the hands-on skills they need in the workforce, which is why at Health Espresso, two of our three team leaders and 25 per cent of our development team are DC graduates. They go out there and make things better.”
In addition to their skills, Menassa is impressed by the preparedness he sees in the DC graduates he hires.
“They generally land on their feet running within a couple of weeks, and they also have the right chemistry to blend with the rest of the team.”
DC’s ability to produce job-ready graduates is no surprise to Brandon Bird, chief executive officer of Bird Mechanical. He completed his Level 3 Plumber Apprentice Certificate here in 2012.
“DC gave me a solid foundation,” he said. “The instructors were professionals from the industry that spent the time to guide and teach, whether it was a hands-on shop class or a theory class.”
Since becoming the company’s CEO in 2016, he has hired a number of DC graduates from various programs, always with confidence.
“We’ve found DC grads to always be well prepared for their careers, and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them to other business owners looking to hire,” he said.
Zaheer Molu’s experience with DC graduates has also been top-notch. The owner of two Massage Addict locations in Whitby and Oshawa has found DC’s Massage Therapy program to be a veritable goldmine of talent. A number of students preparing to become registered massage therapists (RMTs) have completed their clinical placements at his locations, with some going on to join his team as professionals after graduation.
“We can see the potential of these students becoming great therapists and having great careers. They had a really good foundation to start off with,” he said. “The program has gotten better and better and the students coming out of it are just phenomenal.”
DC’s programs produce career-ready graduates every year. Meet some of our recent grads.
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