Lighthouse Labs

Dear friends of Lighthouse Labs,

Late last week, the federal government announced a $9 billion package of new measures aimed at helping students and new graduates. This includes the Canada Emergency Student Benefit (CESB), a much-needed initiative that coupled with student-focused job creation, pledges to assist students as they navigate the uncertainty caused by COVID-19.

We applaud the approach and commend the government for taking action to ensure that students feel secure in continuing to build their skills for now and for the future.

This follows a general trend where PCCs and their students are excluded from critical funding and job programs.

The government has yet to release its specific guidelines around how the funding and new student jobs will be dispersed, however, some of the job programs with which they have already partnered are not accessible to students of Private Career Colleges.

This follows a general trend where PCCs and their students are excluded from critical funding and job programs.

As a result, Heather Payne of Juno College of Technology and I have penned an open letter to the government to ensure that ALL students are properly supported during this time. We feel it is imperative that our collective voices are heard at a time while the details of eligibility are still being written and decided.

Students who graduate from Private Career Colleges (PCCs), like ours, are often excluded from federal benefits of this sort. Groups like Juno and Lighthouse Labs have incredibly high job placement rates, and provide crucial and timely technical and soft skills within flexible and relevant formats. This way, more Canadians can gain these skills in a highly-accessible manner.

Now more than ever, technology skills are a very important investment, and we want to protect our students who are making the decision to pursue them.

In moments like this, the benefits of agile programs like ours are clear. Excluding students from this program would further an unreasonable, two-tiered system and may dissuade students from taking advantage of career-focused programs.

Now, during this crisis, is a crucial time in delivering our message, to make absolutely sure that students of some education institutions aren’t penalized for making strong, practical choices for advancing their careers.

This is not about our business. It’s about the benefits that go toward our students, graduates and those that are considering taking these programs.

Heather and I would like our messages to be shared and supported within our communities, as this format of education is seen as a major contributor to the talent pools of our Canadian economy.

Now more than ever, technology skills are a very important investment, and we want to protect our students who are making the decision to pursue them.

We are very grateful for all that the Canadian government is doing to support Canada during these trying times, and only ask that we all use this time to dismantle unreasonable structures and divides so as to ensure ALL Canadians feel good about their investments into their futures.

Yours Truly,

Jeremy Shaki

CEO, Lighthouse Labs