Status:
Graduated in 2016 and is now working
Living in Marmora, a small, rural community 47 kilometres north of Belleville, Dickie Campbell was grateful to have the Contact North | Contact Nord online learning centre close by in Madoc. Contact North | Contact Nord was a critical component to his participation in the Ontario Government’s Second Career program. Through this initiative, he graduated from Algonquin College’s online Business – Accounting Diploma program in 2016.
After getting laid off from Sears Canada, Dickie needed to retrain and find a new career path. “I started with META Employment Services in Marmora and they suggested I could do studies online,” Dickie explained. A requirement of the Second Career program was to check in daily. He was able to work from the Contact North | Contact Nord online learning centre in Madoc, which allowed staff to confirm his attendance.
Initially he was unsure about his comfort with online learning, but quickly discovered he liked the convenience of remaining in his community while retraining and learning at his own pace. If for some reason he was not able to attend his class, he could listen to the recording.
“When I was young I had two to three jobs. I never worried because I always found work. But now at my age, can’t do that anymore,” he admitted. At 52 years of age, Dickie wanted to focus on his school work and the new way of learning. He completed five courses each semester and remained focused with all of the reading, regular assignments and quizzes.
Dickie not only acquired a new career path, but a comfort with online learning. After graduating, he remains connected to the staff at the Contact North | Contact Nord online learning centre in Madoc and receives information about upcoming online learning opportunities.
