Success Stories
Through our Career Centres, Employment Services and Academic Upgrading programs we touch thousands of lives each year and are making a difference. And while global success statistics show the overal dimensions of our impact on the community, it is the individual success stories that really drive home how people succeed and how their lives can be changed.
CAA Success Story - Shawn
Shawn came to the Stratford Conestoga Career Centre in 2009 when he had been downsized from a job that he had held for many years. Shawn was looking for assistance in planning his future. Staff guided him through the Second Career program application process and he was able to complete the Culinary Management Program at the Waterloo Campus in the spring of 2011 with government sponsorship.
A happy customer with the help he received the first time, Shawn returned to the Career Centre for assistance in finding a job related to his education. This time, staff connected him to the Ritz Villa in Mitchell where they were looking for someone with exactly Shawn’s qualifications. Due to new government regulations, Ritz Villa needed either a chef or dietary aid for the nursing home with a diploma in culinary management. The Career Centre staff supported Shawn through his training period and he secured employment there as a dietary chef in July, 2011.
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CAA Success Story - Brian
Brian had previously been employed for many years in another field. When that ended, he decided to change his career and went back to school completing an IT program. Shortly afterwards, Brian came to Stratford’s Conestoga Career Centre for assistance in obtaining employment related to his education.
Jobs in IT are not always advertised and can be difficult to locate, but with the staff’s assistance, Brian was given a job lead to a local communications company in the area hiring for Brian’s qualifications. After an interview he was hired and given two weeks of intense training. He is now employed and operating the Help Desk at Mornington Communications in Stratford. Appreciating the successful referral from Conestoga, Mornington Communications now refers job seekers to the Career Centre for further assistance in their search!
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CAA Success Story with the GAS Program!
As a single mother of two, I had recently been laid off from my position in Human Resources. I had little hope for gainful employment in my field as many others in this field had also been laid off and a great many were competing for a few jobs. The economy had taken a downturn and I needed to re-evaluate my options.
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CAA Success Story with the ELT Program!
I found myself sitting in an ELT training session, joined by engineers from over fourteen countries. The training was excellent and we had fun learning, communicating and networking. Sabby Bains, the Employment Training Consultant, would visit us and discuss our career goals, review our résumés and send us for interviews with potential employers.
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