NEW LISKEARD, ON: Northern College is helping local high school students picture their future at a fun and exciting event on October 17th.
Students at Timiskaming District Secondary School (TDSS) will have an opportunity to have their photos inserted into a variety of career settings as part of the province-wide Picture Your Future tour. The tour, organized by Colleges Ontario and the Ontario College Application Service, uses green-screen technology to create images of students working in a variety of careers, including paramedicine, firefighting, broadcasting, business, game development and nursing.
"This is a fun way to get students thinking about the future and the many careers available with a college education,” said Fred Gibbons, President of Northern College. “This is a great opportunity for attendees to learn about the career-focused programs available at Ontario’s colleges.”
Colleges Ontario is the advocacy organization for the province’s 24 public colleges. The tour is part of an ongoing effort to encourage young people to learn about the full range of post-secondary programs available to students today, and to help students choose the path that best suits their aptitudes and goals
The tour will be visiting high schools across the province. Attending students will be able to download the green-screen pictures to a mobile device for sharing through Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. Attendees will also be able to enter a draw to win a tablet computer.
“TDSS is proud to be selected to host the Picture Your Future tour,” said Bev Gordon, Guidance Counsellor at TDSS. “It’s very timely, as last week students met with representatives at the College Information Program tour, and heard about college programs that might interest them. Now, students get to create personalized photos performing those careers! That’s awesome! We hope that students keep these photos and use them as inspiration to aim high and achieve their college diploma of choice.”
"It is important that we make high school students aware of how college programs can lead to fruitful careers and workforce growth,” said Gibbons. “Our programming is created in partnership with industry, which results in graduates that have the skills and experience that employers want.”
Ontario’s colleges offer more than 600 programs province-wide, preparing students to work in a variety of industries. Even in the current economic climate, more than 83 per cent of college graduates find work within six months of graduation.
“We need to encourage more students to pursue college education,” said Gibbons. “It’s important that students learn about the exciting and leading-edge career opportunities available to college graduates.”
