MBiz

36 MBiz | november 2016 T here is no room for guesswork when your mission is to provide training that creates job opportunities for high school, post-secondary and adult learners in Manitoba. It starts with knowing what's in demand. Step one at the Manitoba Institute of Trades and Technology (MITT) – Manitoba's newest public college – is to work directly with business and industry partners to identify skills gaps in the workforce, and then develop programs to fulfill those needs. Through these close partnerships, MITT creates training for the workforce of today, and tomorrow. One such example is the Cyber Defence and Cloud Administration Diploma program that launched this fall. Students in this two-year program learn the theory of network security threats and then develop the specific software skills and expertise in cloud-based solutions necessary to counter them. Graduates of the program will bring significant benefits to organizations, protecting them from threats, and boosting their productivity and their bottom lines. To maximize the effectiveness of its industry-driven courses, MITT follows a learn-by-doing philosophy and its classrooms and labs are outfitted with all the latest tools of the trade. Take its Graphic and Print Technician (GPTech) program for example. In 10 months, GPTech students get hands-on learning in every process of printing production. Design and pre-press are done on Macs; printing and post- press finishing on the same state-of- the-art equipment graduates will use in the workplace. MITT models the professional world in the classroom as much as possible, but nothing is more effective in creating a bridge from campus to careers than the practicums and co-ops it offers. For these, MITT depends on its partners in business and industry. Getting exposure to the workplace, under real deadline and performance pressure, is a vital step on the career pathways of MITT students. It is crucial as well for MITT's industry partners – who will go on to hire MITT graduates – to see first-hand how MITT students' skills and professionalism match their organizations. Most of MITT's programs offer co-op or practicum opportunities. But MITT President and CEO Paul Holden says more industry partners need to capitalize on these opportunities. "Practicums and co-ops are the bridge from MITT to the workforce," says Holden. "We can focus all we want on getting students career-ready with top-notch skills and a high degree of professionalism, which we do. But it's when industry engages our students with on-the-job experience that they really see what our students have to offer. Our students, in turn, head into a career with better knowledge of what it actually involves. It's a win-win situation." ■ EXPERIENCE IS EVERYTHING Co-ops and practicums create bridges between students, industry MANITOBA INSTITUTE OF TRADES AND TECHNOLOGY Graphic and Print Technician student Laura Studney works at the Heidelberg press. Right: Cyber Defence and Cloud Administration student Colin Honeybunn checks wiring connections.

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