Under an agreement signed between Georgian and the Tianjin Maritime College (TMC) in Tianjin, China, a new joint marine training program is being created.

Georgian’s Bob Emptage, Dean of Engineering and Technology and Ben Yang, Executive Director of International Education and Training, travelled to China to sign the agreement earlier this month.

Georgian’s renowned Marine diploma programs will be offered at both institutions. Students studying at TMC will receive a diploma from both colleges. In addition, some students will have the opportunity to travel to the Owen Sound Campus to complete the final one or two years of the three-year programs.

“This is an exciting moment for a number of reasons,” said Colin MacNeil, co-ordinator of Georgian’s marine programs. “It further validates the international reputation our Marine cadet programs enjoy, it’s another example of Canada participating in the globalization of the marine industry, and having Chinese students living and studying in Owen Sound will enrich our campus and our community.”

This agreement has been four years in the making and was advanced by the visit of TMC’s President Ma to Owen Sound and his attendance at the grand opening of the new marine training center in 2008. The Owen Sound-based Great Lakes International Marine Training and Research Centre is a world leader in marine training, with state-of-the-art simulators.

For background on the programs and facilities, visit the Great Lakes International Marine Training and Research Centre website at http://marinetraining.ca/ .

Each year, the Women Centre of Grey & Bruce Inc., has displays set up in schools around the Owen Sound area. This display has been to the Owen Sound and Orillia campuses and has received a great response from the students there. The displays are a tribute to the women who have lost their lives due to domestic violence at the hands of their intimate partner. For every woman and child who has died since 1995 in Ontario, a pair of shoes is dedicated, along with a brief description of how their lives were ended. 

The exhibition is intended to improve the awareness of violence toward women. Every year, the list grows with several new names of women, and often their children, who are caught in the crossfire of an abusive relationship. This display raises awareness to more people to try and create change.

This program will be offered at the Owen Sound Campus and utilize a variety of program delivery methodologies to ensure that this training is available to students in the geographical area served by Georgian College.  The Bridging Program will use a combination of established Georgian College courses and Mohawk College courses on-site at the Owen Sound Campus and also on-line through Ontario Learn.  Courses will be face to face and on-line.

This unique program will capitalize on the strengths of both institutions and will deliver a program in a collaborative, cost effective, efficient manner in a geographical location where the need is great.

 Program of study:

•  12 courses (in addition to the required E.A. Apprenticeship Certificate of Completion), in order to meet Educational Program Learning Outcomes. (Two courses for six semesters over a two-year period)

 Once a student has completed the 12 courses, Mohawk College will award the student with a Mohawk College, Ontario College Diploma in the field of Educational Assistant.

For further information, call (519) 376-0840, ext. 2003.

One of Georgian’s industry partners, Seaway Marine Transport, invited Georgian to take part in a reception for this year’s Ontario Marine Transportation Forum.

This reception provided Georgian representatives a unique opportunity to discuss what they do with several key players at the provincial level, including the Minister of Transportation, Kathleen Wynne. Georgian marine cadets Sarah Needham, Ian D’Mello and Mitchell Tobin attended, along with co-op education consultant Lise Mollon and program co-ordinator Colin MacNeil.

The main issue discussed with the minister and MPPs was the environmental and economic health of the St. Lawrence Seaway. Shipping is the most environmentally friendly, efficient and cost-effective method of shipping goods. Georgian plays an important role in the shipping industry in Ontario through providing trained officers for the fleet, training existing officers, and taking part in initiatives such as Green Marine.

Co-op education consultant Lise Mollon said, “It was a tremendous opportunity to be able to inform provincial representatives about what we do here at the College. Minister Wynne was particularly impressed with our Georgian College marine cadets and acknowledged the important work the College is doing for the industry in her keynote speech.”

Visit www.marinetraining.ca for more information on marine-related programs at Georgian College.

Increasingly, women are entering fields of study and employment that have been traditionally dominated by men, including policing, marine and the skilled trades.

At Georgian, there are a growing number of female students in the Police Foundations program. This was primarily considered a career option for men 20 years ago, but that’s no longer the case as women are contributing to law enforcement both in the field and in the classroom.

Each year more and more female students are enrolling in the Marine Engineering Technology and Marine Technology – Navigation programs too. The marine industry pays new graduates well and has proven to be a satisfying career for both genders.

Carpentry is growing its female enrolment as well. Women who have graduated from the Carpentry Techniques and Carpentry Apprenticeship programs have pursued a number of interesting career opportunities, including building inspection. Welding is also becoming a popular choice for female applicants.

“Although women still continue to be a minority in our Police Foundations and Marine programs, we’d like to see more of them consider a career in one of our trades programs,” says Donna Jansen, Associate Dean, Owen Sound Campus.

“It’s interesting to note that men are also considering careers in fields that have historically been dominated by women. This trend is most evident in the last intake of the Practical Nursing program which had eight male students.”

Archie Dickson

The award was presented at a ceremony held in Ottawa at the biannual meeting of the Canadian Marine Advisory Council.

Before retiring from Georgian in 2009, Archie advocated for the development of high-quality training for seafarers through GLIMTC at the College’s Owen Sound Campus, where he consistently provided students with the best possible tools for their careers.

In response to the challenges of changing technology, Archie led an ambitious and unprecedented move to state-of-the-art marine simulator training.

As a result, the College now has the most technologically advanced marine simulator training centre in North America. Graduates are equipped to meet the demand for seafarers with the highest qualifications, which contributes to the safety of marine operations in the Great Lakes shipping industry, and beyond.

The Centre also provides training to professional seafarers.

The Canadian Marine Advisory Council, Transport Canada’s national consultative body, represents individuals and parties with a recognized interest in boating and shipping concerning safety, navigation, recreational matters, marine pollution and response, and marine security.

The Transport Canada Marine Safety Award was established in 1997 to promote awareness of marine safety in Canada and to recognize people, groups, companies, organizations, agencies or departments that have contributed to this objective an exceptional way.

PHOTO: Donald Roussel, Director General, Transport Canada Marine Safety (r), presents Archie Dickson, former Director, Great Lakes International Marine Training Centre, with Transport Canada’s Marine Safety Award.

Students learned orienteering methods using both compass and GPS devices, which are applicable in search and rescue operations.

They were also able to put their theoretical learning in the Police Powers I and II courses into practice by conducting mock searches on a residence, a vehicle and a barn.

OPP dog handler Const. Frank Lauzon demonstrated how quickly a search could be concluded using a drug-sniffing police dog to locate hidden contraband.

In the final activity of the day, several students donned OPP body armour, weighing about 27 pounds and raced after the dog handler as he searched a rural property for a “missing” person.

The day concluded with a barbecue at which students had the opportunity to thank the OPP Emergency Response Team instructors for the informative and fun dynamic sessions. Seeing the application of what they learned in the classroom translate in the field was a wonderful way to cap off the two-year program.

The Police Foundations program looks forward to continued collaborative activities with the OPP and hopes to recreate this exercise next year.

Police Foundations prepares students for employment at all levels of policing and related jurisdictions and justice professions.

Pathways to Employment, a FREE eight-week employment program, will help participants discover their strengths and give them the opportunity to explore their educational and/or employment options.

Participants will learn how to return to the workplace with confidence. Topics cover:

• Discovering your career/education options
• Learning the skills you need to find employment
• Improving your workplace communication and math skills
• Developing and enhancing your computer skills
• Writing and preparing effective workplace documentation

For more information, contact Heather Renshaw, Pathways to Employment Manager, at (519) 376-0840, ext. 2056 or hrenshaw@georgiancollege.ca.

More than 500 area residents, local high school and Georgian students attended the career fair, which featured more than 30 employers and community employment resource agencies.

Gwen Gilbert

Pictured: Gilbert, Police Foundations student Andrew Hopkins and “Wiarton Willy.”