La Formation continue du Cégep de Valleyfield has unveiled its much-anticipated program of $5-per-hour training courses, made possible thanks to the financial participation of the Ministère de l'Emploi et de la Solidarité sociale.

Employed individuals and self-employed workers wishing to improve their skills can now register for one of the courses offered entirely online. Course start dates vary from one course to another, from September to November.

Training in several fields

The courses on offer are designed to enable registrants to deepen their knowledge in a specific field, so that they can diversify their work tasks or offer a wider range of services. Seven training sectors are affected by the Fall 2023 offering.

1) In the Office automation sector, registrants will be able to explore in depth certain programs in the Office 365 suite, namely Excel, Word, PowerPoint, TEAMS or Outlook. For some courses, beginner, intermediate and advanced levels are offered.

2) For aspiring graphic designers, 30-hour training courses will be given on specialized software InDesign and Photoshop. Designed for novices, these courses aim to provide a solid grounding in each of these programs.

3) Those wishing to raise the profile of their company may be interested in the marketing training courses being offered this fall: Creating and animating your brand image with Canva, Technological tools for entrepreneurs and Digital strategy for positioning yourself on the Web.

4) For business leaders, discover the best management practices in various spheres. Emotional Intelligence and Management, Managing Difficult Personalities and Conflicts, and Slowing Down to Gain Efficiency, each lasting 15 hours, are available.

5) In the field of accounting, self-employed workers or employees of SMEs can register for the Sage 50 (Simply Accounting) 30-hour training course. An introductory course in QuickBooks is also available.

6) Those wishing to broaden their horizons and perfect their foreign language skills can enroll in the Business Spanish course, Level I or II. As for English, two 30-hour courses are available: Business English Writing - Intermediate Level, and Business English - Level I.

7) Individuals working in an intervention profession will be able to develop their knowledge of autism spectrum disorder and effective intervention strategies during a 15-hour training course. The course runs from October 3 to November 1.

For those interested, there are also Business English Writing - Intermediate and Business English - Level I courses to be given in the language of Shakespeare. The above courses will be given in French only. 

Participants will receive certification at the end of the course.

Eligibility criteria

To qualify for the $5/hour rate, participants must be employed by a private for-profit company, a non-profit organization, a cooperative or be self-employed, and reside or work in the Montérégie region. Up to three people from the same company can register for the same training program.

People who don't meet the eligibility criteria can still register for the unfunded fee.

For more information on the training and development programs offered by the Cégep de Valleyfield's Continuing Education Department, and to register, please visit https://cegepvalleyfield.ca/perfectionnement-professionnel, call 450 373-9441, ext. 436, or send an e-mail to [email protected].