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According to Service Canada, accounting jobs are growing in all industries, thanks to computerization and de-compartmentalization.

A booming industry needs people with the sort of top notch training accounting courses in Toronto give you. Accounting professionals of all kinds are at the core of a business’s administration staff, which makes accounting jobs some of the very few that do not depend on the overall health of the economy. Accounting, after all, is the ability to tell your employer where her resources are currently standing or will stand in the future, a crucial business administration skill to support businesses and help them thrive.

On the other hand, while in the past, you could expect that your classes would only lead to specific titles like Accounts Payable Clerk or Bookkeeper, these days, de-compartmentalization leads employers to look for people who have a variety of skills. This means that you’re very likely to use your accounting training in a multitude of roles, carrying your skills into other departments at a company, like marketing or sales.

De-compartmentalization is not the only major shift that has happened recently. The field of accounting has also been through quite a few changes with the rise of computers. Computerized accounting revolves around a number of industry standard software programs like QuickBooks, as well as more general IT skills.  The computerization of accounting has also sent a lot of people back to school for a skills tune up. In spite of these important shifts, wherever employees are, there will be a need for an Accounting and Payroll Administrator. Where there is inventory, someone will have to tabulate it. And, as long as a company wishes to be solvent, it will hire people to watch and count its money.

Where would you like your accounting training to take you?

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The fourth episode of our industry employment outlook series looks at Healthcare. Healthcare careers are, hands down, some of the most in-demand careers in Canada at the moment, and private and government forecasts repeatedly point to projected shortages of skilled workers.

Healthcare training in Toronto prepares you to take part in an employment boom. The baby boomer generation is reaching retirement age and, with medical technology continuously improving, they are expected to live longer than previous generations. Indeed, the boomers remain the single largest block of people in Canada, and are entering the age category that makes them most in need of medical services, from assisted living facilities to community care workers and regular medical testing at hospitals and clinics.

While some baby-boomers choose to retire, freeing up jobs in every industry, others are taking advantage of the healthcare improvements available to them to start a second or third career. Regardless, an aging population means more patients in Canada’s healthcare system. All these changes mean more people are needed to fill the new roles that are created.

This shift doesn’t just mean more jobs, but more money. Healthcare administrative professionals, in particular, are projected to exceed the 3% average salary increase Canadians are expected to get in 2013. Wondering how to get started in hospital administration? The Health Unit Coordinator program trains you in the skills to run hospital and out-patient wards.

If you’d rather capitalize on employment trends with a role that lets you work more directly with patients, you might try PSW courses. PSWs (Personal Support Workers) assist the elderly and disabled in their homes and care facilities. These, alongside many other healthcare specializations, are part of the high-demand employment boom and are structured to give you the skills that employers are looking for.

Would you like to work hands-on with patients, or work in an administrative role to help keep a busy clinic or hospital running?

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For the third episode on industry trends, we’re looking at where IT courses in Toronto can take you. This essential training is one of the most in demand in Canada.

IT stands for Information Technology, and this means computers and computer hardware. At the Academy of Learning College Toronto, our programs are designed with hardware and software skills in mind. This can include diploma programs like PC Support Specialist or Network Administrator.

However, IT has a high focus on accreditation and lifelong learning. Over the past decade, computers have become significantly more powerful and they require continuous training. For that reason, employers are looking for workers with flexible specializations. Shorter programs like CompTIA A+, Network+, and MCP Certification Preparation helps you achieve industry recognized certification.

For IT schools, it’s particularly important to keep an eye on emerging IT trends like cloud computing, the rise of the mobile web, business analytics and social computing. There has also been a shift towards new ways of using computers as more and more people must use them as a part of everyday life. If you take IT courses, you must also be sure to take classes that are relevant to the skills you need.

As computers become more common, not every user is an expert anymore. In the earliest days of PC ownership, access generally correlated with strong knowledge of how computers and the web worked. Now, the average consumer, whether a personal user or a business, has access to a pocket-sized phone with the capacity of computers of a decade ago. And, while the general user can count on essential computer literacy from things like business courses, for more specialized work companies turn to an elite cadre with an in depth understanding of IT systems.

All sorts of Information Technology specialists are currently in high demand. Economists, planners and researchers have been worrying about a strong labour shortage for these highly skilled professionals. The Globe and Mail lists IT among the 13 Hottest Jobs in Canada, while the IBM 2012 Technology Trends Report predicts shortages up to 100,000 workers over the next three years. This sort of forecasting is based on the projected demands of employers against the number of people known to have the needed training and abilities.

What IT trends would you like to train for to meet that high demand?

This is the second episode in our series about employment trends in Canada, looking at all the programs available at

Sometimes, making your way in the work force isn’t about picking one field, it’s about getting a skill that’s needed by virtually every work place. Office administration courses in Toronto give graduates skills that are both up to date with the latest advances in office technology, while offering graduates a solid foundation in business skills.

Any employer with more than a handful of people on staff is likely to have a huge amount of administrative work necessary to run their business. This means that virtually every sector in Canada has a job for someone with office administration training. Taking office administration-based business courses means you are qualified to work in a number of roles, from being the first point of contact for the company at the reception desk, to serving as an executive assistant.

Also, many of the tasks that were previously carried out only by office administration staff are now expected to be performed by all kinds of staff. This means two things: office administrators of all kinds are increasingly selling themselves on their skill mastery, and office administration training is also helpful to workers who don’t intend to go into that speciality. In fact, many entry level roles ask for candidates who have mastered programs like spreadsheet software or group presentation utilities.

This is especially true in some industries such as healthcare. Thanks to an aging population, healthcare is predicted to become one of the fastest growing parts of the Canadian economy. In addition to healthcare training, strong office administration skills are essential to run healthcare facilities efficiently and to get appropriate care to all patients at all times. Growing investments in clinics, care facilities and hospitals also means more roles for medical office administrators.

It looks like a bloom in any sector of the economy will from now on translate into more guaranteed roles for office administrators.

If you’re considering a career in office administration, where do you see yourself working?

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This is the first episode of our multi-part introduction to industry trends and employment forecasts for each program at Academy of Learning College Toronto. This week, we’ll take a peek at a great career for computer-savvy, creative people, and examine the in-demand role of the Web Designer.

Web design skills have never been more essential. Not only does Canada have today’s highest rate of web users in the world, we are also the leading adopters of smart phones on the planet. As a consequence, e-commerce and e-payments are becoming a more standard way to shop and pay bills, and companies are rushing to get on board with web trends. Statistics Canada has been following Canadian web use as early as 1997. By 2007, Canadians were spending $12.8 billion annually online, and that sum has only increased. Meanwhile, government services, product support information, and even reference libraries and archives are all moving increasingly online.

How does this matter, as far as employment? Websites are now created by a team of skilled professionals, most of whom have taken IT courses, and specialized in everything from creative writing to graphic design. Every day, job boards across Canada have thousands of openings for people with specialized web skills, at all levels, from entry level to expert.

Some of the biggest recent web trends have been in the mobile web, or in other words, pages designed to display on smart phones and tablets. These intersect with the rise of “apps”, simple programs that usually have a strong web component. From ad banners on free productivity software, to social media based online games, today’s web designers are expanding the possibilities of the internet.

In Toronto, we have a high concentration of web design firms, catering to national and international businesses in every industry, and of every size. Most companies integrate online media into their marketing and customer care strategies, and today’s web designers constantly study the user experience to develop the results their employer needs. Additionally, many businesses in Canada also employ in-house designers and web analysts.  And the job doesn’t stop with making new pages! In addition to working as a web designer, you can also use your skills for new jobs in social media; as a webmaster for existing sites; and in tracking web trends to help companies stay relevant. Endless opportunities for graduates of Web design courses in Toronto!

Need more information? Check out this infographic for the quick scoop on the web in Canada:

What do you think are going to be the biggest web trends in the next five years?

Over the next few weeks, we’ll help you with your career choice by taking a look at every faculty and program at Academy of Learning College Toronto and showing how it fits with employment opportunities in Canada. We’ll look at everything, from the trends for 2013 to long-term predictions for the coming years, with tips on how you can use this knowledge to grow your career!

Of course, many sorts of training lead to universally portable careers.  For example, whether the industry is oil and gas extraction or insurance, every company needs administrative and managerial staff. Your business courses in Toronto are going to help you find a job, regardless of whether your employer makes widgets or pies. Knowing where the hot industries are is also about knowing where best to take the skills that you have earned.

You also need to keep up with trends and changes within a particular field. For example in your accounting courses, make sure you know how to use the latest business software and are up to date with financial regulations for things like payroll. In all our courses, we balance our curriculum based on both long standing, industry essential fundamentals and upcoming trends.

You will also want to know where the growth potential is in each field. For example, healthcare is booming, but training that prepares you to assist the elderly, as a personal support worker (psw) for instance, is in particularly high demand and only expected to grow as the Canadian population ages. People who take psw courses now will be investing in a career with great long-term prospects.

What do you think the big trends in employment are going to be? Did you consider industry forecasts when you chose your program?

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By the time you finish at Academy of Learning College Toronto, whether you are taking IT courses or healthcare training in Toronto, we know you’re going to graduate as an expert computer user. These skills will help you for the rest of your life, not just in school but with your future work.

Save Frequently

Working on an assignment in a Word program for school? Periodically clicking the save button will save you a lot of frustration. No computer is a hundred percent reliable and sometimes it happens that windows close out fo nowhere. Saving your work constantly is an easy way to protect yourself from random your computer’s random shut downs.

Back Up

As well as being able to put your data on removable media (like CDs or a USB drive) the latest innovation is in cloud storage, which essentially allows you to save, back-up and access your files through an online portal. While USBs, external hard drives, and other traditional back-up systems are still reliable, a cloud storage method may be more convenient because you can access it from almost anywhere.

As a student you can decide how you want to safe keep everything, but as an employee, check what the security based back-up policy is in your company. If your employer has not back-up plan in place, supervising one is a great way to stand out.

Save Your Eyes

Anyone can enjoy long hours at a computer with the ability to increase and decrease brightness and font size. While many text and image editors let you adjust everything with easy to find “zoom” sliders, did you know that web browsers can also be adjusted. Just press Ctrl and + to increase and Ctrl and – to decrease the browser view! People in PSW courses take note: if you’re working with an older or disabled client, helping them access a computer is likely to be part of your duties.

Update

Computers have a lot of important utilities, from anti-virus systems to regular patches to software. Keeping up with all those little fixes keeps everything on your computer fresh and healthy. Updating regularly, on schedule also saves time later, with no bugs to bother you!

Those are just some of our tips, but what’s your best advice for getting the most out of your computer?

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As winter finally comes to a close, the longer days have been giving everyone a fresh burst of energy and the urge to get outside. We figure there is no better way to channel all that extra energy than by signing up as a volunteer with a charity or organization right in your neighbourhood.

Why Volunteer?

There are many advantages to becoming a volunteer.  For one, you will dedicate some of your time and skills to a group of people that need a helping hand. Secondly, volunteering is a great way to get hands-on experience with the skills you learn in school. Also, volunteering will put you in direct contact with different types of people from various communities. Being able to work one-on-one with organizations and community members that all strive towards the same goal is an experience like no other. While you’re giving back to the community through volunteering, the community gives back to you through experience, relationships, and fulfillment.

There are tons of organizations to choose from, so it can be difficult to decide where or with who you should volunteer. The trick is to zone in on your qualities.

Share your skills

The first thing that pops up in your mind when you think about volunteering is probably a type of hands-on involvement, like serving at a soup kitchen or sorting clothes at a donation centre.  While these are very important ways that you can help out, volunteering can happen in almost any setting. Charities and non-profit organizations also need help with the administration side of things. To figure out how you can help, think about the skills you have, and how you can transfer these over in a volunteer setting. Here are a few examples:

1. You can put your IT courses to use by offering to help your favourite organization get their office computers set up.

2. All of you Microsoft Office wizards can help organizations prepare spreadsheets or other logistical tools that you learned about in your accounting courses.

3. Let’s say if you’re part of a community outreach program.  That’s a great platform to share your healthcare training in Toronto and give a class on healthy habits.

If you’re already a volunteer, you probably have a set of designated tasks within an organization. However, thanks to what you’re studying, you’ve learned some great new skills and it may be time to do more. Have a chat with a supervisor or someone in charge and let them know about the different ways you can help by applying the skills and knowledge you have.

Keep in mind that you’ll meet all sorts of people while volunteering. Networking is a snap when your dedication and personality show people how passionate you are about helping out. Most companies have a favourite charity, and what starts as a way to reach out to others could also be your path to a new career!

Here’s a question for students and alumni: How has volunteering made a difference in your life?