OACC Supports Ontario Auditor General’s Recommendations

For more information about the Ontario Association of Career Colleges and its members, please visit www.oacc.ca .

Support for Ontario Auditor General’s Recommendations

The Ontario Association of Career Colleges (OACC) was approached by the Auditor General of Ontario to provide comment on the value-for-money audit of the Private Career College Branch of the Ministry of Training, Colleges and universities (MTCU). As a stakeholder in the sector, representing over 270 registered private career colleges, OACC commented on the issues many of its members face.

The OACC and its members are supportive of the Private Career Colleges Branch of the MTCU, as well as the regulations outlined in the Private Career Colleges Act, 2005 which governs the sector. Any analysis by a third party that can improve the value for taxpayers money and improve sector quality is fully supported by the association.

Ensuring MTCU uses the full scope of the legislation to stop illegal private trainers from offering vocational programs is important to OACC and its members, all of which are registered with the Ministry.

"We like the idea of an informed consumer; we support the idea of making well-informed choices about postsecondary education,” said Paul Kitchin, OACC Executive Director.

There’s a clear divide between registered private career colleges and unregistered private trainers.  OACC supports the recommendations made by the Auditor General in terms of more regulation and enforcing the act with illegal trainers.

“We will continue to work with the MTCU to deliver the highest of quality communications to current and prospective students of Private career colleges about their rights and options,” Kitchin said.

OACC and its members support the recommendations of the Auditor General of Ontario and are committed to providing high quality education to students.

The registered private career college sector is comprised of over 600 registered campuses serving large, medium and small communities across Ontario. Over 62,000 graduates annually choose Ontario’s career colleges. Small class sizes, hands-on training, shorter duration diploma programs and convenient locations are just some of the many reasons students choose career college education.

 With a history of over 140 years, Ontario’s registered private career colleges continue to offer training to fit the needs of the changing employment landscape.