Professional development fair allows students ease their thoughts about their future

Mar 15, 2023 | News

Rashmi Sriketheeswaran admits that she’s “terrified” for what the future holds in terms of her career.

Sriketheeswaran, a third year Early Childhood Care Education student at the University of Guelph-Humber, attended the professional development fair on March 14 and was drawn towards the representatives that were hosting and promoting their association.

Sriketheeswaran said she did the math for her occupation and said it was “not really well paying,” which is the reason she is scared for her future when she calculates the cost of living in Toronto.

She attended the Professional Development Fair which had tables for representatives from professional associations and postgraduate certificate programs to network with students and recent graduates.

Students like Tanju Bhadreenaught said that the pandemic “messed” with her hands on work experience, it disrupted the four dates she had to attend in her third year for her placement requirements. To this date, she only has two dates out of the four.

Tanju Bhadreenaught said that the pandemic tampered with her hands on work experience.

Tanju Bhadreenaught said that the pandemic tampered with her hands on work experience. Photo credit: Khiana Gutierrez

Bhadreenaught, a third-year Early Childhood Care educator student from the University of Guelph-Humber, told Humber News she is uncertain about her career because of the disruption.

“Since our fourth year placement is supposed to be at the same location for the entire year,” Bhadreenaught said.

“That’s supposed to be what you would like to go into as a career. It’s a little hard because we haven’t had much placement experience. So to determine what we want to do as a career placement is difficult,” she said.

She said the professional development fair was beneficial for her because the tables that were hosting their associations had available placement for students. It opened doors for her to speak with the representatives regarding different avenues that she is willing to consider.

Some of the associations include Advanced Digital and Professional Training, (ADaPT), Humber College, Canadian Marketing Association and more.

In an article written for the Humber Et Cetera newspaper, Fernandez highlighted the decline of Early Childhood Care educators in Canada.

“According to the Early Childhood Education Workforce report, of the 58,867 ECEs registered with Ontario’s College of Early Childhood Educators, 44 per cent do not work in licensed child care,” Fernandez wrote in Lack of funding for ECC programs put tomorrow’s children at risk.

“The median hourly wage for staff working in licensed childcare in Canada is $20, and one-third of the licensed childcare workforce receives no health benefits. The report said 41 per cent receive no paid personal leave,” Fernandez wrote.

“I’m not going to lie, I was attracted by the pens,” Sriketheeswaran told Humber News.

“But it also had a lot of really cool information that was packed in with it. Obviously, the (coolest) one so far was teaching English as a second language,” she said.

“We work with children and I mean you’re basically teaching English for the most part,” she said.

Elisa Warner, a Program Co-ordinator at Humber College for Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) and English for Academic Purposes (EAP), hosted a table representing Humber College, specifically, Teaching English as a Second Language.

Elisa Warner, a Program Co-ordinator at Humber College for Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) and English for Academic Purposes (EAP), hosted a table representing Humber College.

Elisa Warner, a Program Co-ordinator at Humber College for Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) and English for Academic Purposes (EAP), hosted a table representing Humber College. Photo credit: Khiana Gutierrez

“It’s a great opportunity for others to develop. So it’s nice that we are able to provide a program that allows students to broaden their expertise,” said Warner, an Alumni of Humber College.

She said that continuing to work in an environment that she was learning in is a “wonderful experience” and she is happy to promote this program to the students at Guelph-Humber University and Humber College.

Another table that promoted their association was Advanced Digital and Professional Training, (ADaPT) headquarters at Toronto Metropolitan University which is a federally funded program from coast to coast.

Jazz Dev told Humber News that ADaPT is a work-integrated learning program that addresses the gap between employer needs and graduate skills through intensive training.

Jazz Dev told Humber News that ADaPT is a work-integrated learning program that addresses the gap between employer needs and graduate skills through intensive training.

Jazz Dev told Humber News that ADaPT is a work-integrated learning program that addresses the gap between employer needs and graduate skills through intensive training. Photo credit: Khiana Gutierrez

“We’re here to find semester students or graduates,” Dev said.

“They can come from any educational background and from any university or college and we are here to promote our ADaPT program which is 80 weeks long, completely cost free, and during the training or after the training we also help the participants with a full time paid job,” Dev said.