In the past few decades, automation has rapidly disrupted and changed industries by redefining responsibilities of existing jobs, and introduced new fields and roles. For example, consider the evolution of Amazon’s warehouses—self-organizing robotic shelves now work with workers to fulfil a high volume of orders quickly and efficiently for rapid delivery, which would not have been possible decades ago!

You’re thinking about upgrading your technical skills, but still have reservations about going back to school as an adult learner. It’s completely normal to have these feelings. We now live in a world where going back to school as an adult has not only become more common, but increasingly vital, as workers across all industries try to stay relevant in the face of technological and societal change.

Two commonly misunderstood types of training are certificates and certifications. Both provide important value, but are quite different in terms of purpose, content, oversight and commitment required to complete them. Selecting the right training will ultimately increase your hire ability and/or value to your employer.

With technological developments happening all around us, newly graduated engineers or those who have been in the workforce for quite some time may find it difficult to stay competitive and on-trend within the current field. According to a recent survey conducted by PEW Research Centre, a majority of American employees’ state that they will need continuous learning and training to stay up-to-date with all the changes occurring.

Colin Simpson is the Dean of GBC’s Centre for Continuous Learning. He has worked at George Brown College for the past 25 years in a variety of positions, including roles in faculty and administration with the most recent 15 years as Dean. Throughout his tenure he has grown continuing education enrolment from 35,000 to 65,000 registrants per year.

It goes without saying that with no Canadian work experience, it can be very difficult for new immigrants to find a job in Canada`s technical labour market. And with no first job related to your original foreign training, it can be next to impossible to acquire that coveted Canadian experience that builds the foundation for a successful working career in Canada.

Probably the most common question that we get from potential PLC students is “what’s the difference between our PLC and PLC II Technician Certificate programs?”

The answer is a bit technical but we’ll try to keep it short and simple. Both programs provide a thorough introduction to PLCs but with one very important difference. The difference is defined by which generation of PLC technology is covered in the program and emulated, in the accompanying simulation tool.