Career-focused College Celebrates
50th Anniversary
February 28, 2015
Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2015, Herzing College has long lived up to its slogan: "Career-focused, Convenient, and Caring." As a vocational college, Herzing offers practical courses such as international trade, design, business, and technology. A focus on hands-on training combined with robust ties to local industry – including regular business guest speakers – has led to the school’s rock-solid job placement rates.
Director of International Student Recruitment, Lina Perrotta said, “We are the school to go to if you want professional vocational training that will get you into the job market in the least amount of time.”
With campuses in Montreal, Toronto, and Ottawa, the college is strategically located in economic hotspots. All students are guaranteed an internship while at Herzing, and Ms. Perrotta believes this is a top priority for student success.
“We see the results every year when we look at our placement stats of 96%,” affirmed Ms. Perrotta. “We have advisory committees that meet on a yearly basis. We always try to keep ahead of new trends. We go to our focus groups and ask about the latest trends. This is how we keep ourselves up-to-date at all times. That is reflected in our placement statistics.”
With approximately one-fifth of Herzing College students hailing from abroad, the school offers a diverse learning environment coupled with critical training to prepare students for a career in Canada or their home country.
“We prepare students for the work force. This is what we are all about. We do not offer Humanities or those types of courses. We offer hands-on training. Since we have been doing this for 50 years, former students come to us and hire our students, because they know the quality of education that they receive here,” explained Ms. Perrotta.
This type of career-focused education draws foreign students to internationally-relevant programs at Herzing such as the International Commerce Import and Export program, one of a few of its kind in Canada.
Herzing also provides continuous support to its students. “We work on their files and find them jobs even after five or ten years. It is a continued service. It is not something that ends once the students have left the school and not many schools do that.’’
Herzing’s recent Brazilian students have reported positive experiences, and are currently employed in their fields in Canada. Ms. Perrotta, who has been with the college for fifteen years, is passionate about Herzing’s international community and looks forward to enrolling 200 Brazilian students over the next few years. Partnerships with Brazilian organizations are in the works and Ms. Perrotta hopes this will be the start of a long-term relationship with Brazil.
