At Conestoga College, we are "striving to educate our students to promote a safer, more productive workforce", says instructor John Yemen. Safety and productivity are key to a successful workforce; however an added dimension in today’s difficult job market is recognition that safety training also increases one’s employability.
Case in point is student David Wry, who sought to make himself more employable by taking a Lift Truck Continuing Education course at Conestoga College. David took his training in June 2009 while job hunting. Having added the Lift Truck training certification with Conestoga to his qualifications, David was fortunate enough to land a job in September 2009 with an employer who was requiring this very certification.
David commented that the training was “very thorough and well explained”. Other students have echoed this positive praise for Conestoga’s lift truck training, further adding that the training was “very educational for someone who has never operated a lift truck” and that the “safety involved was an eye opener”.
Students have commented on how approachable instructors are, and that when practical evaluations are performed with the vehicle, they are “made to feel relaxed and not pressured”. Instructor Mike Nowakowski states that “most of the students that take our Lift Truck course are trying to upgrade their skills in order to compete for a job in tough economic times. Conestoga courses provide ‘options’ for the job market for these students.”
Following on this theme of increasing one’s employability, Conestoga College has provided lift truck training to a number of ‘job action centres’ in the region, which are set up to seek not only jobs but also skills training for their members. From the first waves of significant layoffs early in 2008, to the present, Conestoga has been a community resource for skills training for those seeking reentry to the workforce.
Rounding out the offerings of Continuing Education courses for the public and job skills training, Conestoga has offered both on-site and off-site training for corporate clients, from regular recertification of employees to more extensive train-the-trainer courses.
Conestoga College is well supported by the community, and in particular for the lift truck training courses, we have received excellent service and support from Provincial Lift Truck. This fall, Provincial showed outstanding support to our lift truck training with the donation of a reconditioned Nissan lift truck (pictured on the cover). We would very much like to thank Provincial for this substantial and generous support for community training.
If you would like further information, or to arrange for customized, scheduled, on-site or off-site lift truck (or other safety) training for your business, please contact Daniel Styrpe at 519-748-5220 extension 3722.