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There may be plenty of jobs out there these days, but if you're not equipped with the right qualifications it's still as tough as ever trying to find a good paying job that also offers a challenge.

Luckily there's Grace Community College right here in Abbotsford, a post-secondary training institute that offers students certified qualifications in a host of disciplines, which puts them firmly in the driver's seat when it comes to job hunting. The brainchild of Sean Welch, someone who's spent almost two decades in the adult education industry acquiring instructor's certificates, Grace Community College Employment programs offer dozens of training opportunities in a wide variety of industries — everything from first aid, safety, construction and security to food service and tourism.

" We've just received our PCTIA (Private Career Training Institutions Agency of BC) registration so this is going to be a big boost for us because it opens up a whole realm of possibilities," says Sean. “We've now got seven great employment training programs that enable people to get the certifications they need to find the job that they want."

The goal, he says, is to not only provide skills, but also proof of those skills through certification. That means when a student finishes one of the courses, he or she will not only have a variety of skills, but also the provincially authorized certificates to prove it.

For instance, the 12-week training program provides certification in more then 40 areas, including first aid, safety, security, tourism, mobile equipment operator, the movie industry, service and restaurant field, and more. There are also four-week and six-week programs, which are shortened versions of the 12 week program.

“We want people to have a well rounded set of skills that they then can take out to the market place, thereby giving them the best possible chance of finding decent paying jobs," says Sean. “For instance, put yourself through our nine-week CSO (Construction Safety Officer) program and you will be looking at jobs that pay anywhere from $20 to $30 per hour. We have calls everyday from employers looking for our graduates."

There's a seven-week Security Worker Program with more than 20 certifications, and also a five-week Restaurant/Tourism/Service program that offers about 20 certifications suitable to those industries.

“We also have a seven-month program that we're working on right now, which would give a student roughly 70 certificates, plus the training to become instructors themselves."

It's a pretty exciting opportunity when in only half a year a graduate will already have an impressive portfolio. Think about it, it would take five to 10 years to be able to achieve this at about 20 different locations.

Sean says the program is unique in British Columbia, and possibly in Canada. The beauty of Grace Community College, he adds, is that students get a well-rounded opportunity to explore options and graduate with job transferable skills in a variety of fields. And by going through Grace Community college, he says you can actually save money (almost 15 per cent for a 12-week program) from what you'd pay if you did each course separately. You also save a lot of time because you're not subject to cancelled classes, waiting for the next one to come around, and the many other delays common in this type of training.

Most of the courses are offered individually, but the programs are the best way to go, especially for young people who are trying to figure out what kind of career they want. The instructors at Grace Community College put in the extra effort to help you pass all your courses so that you can make your dreams come true.