About the Centre
News/Media

For Immediate Release

July 15, 2004

The Centre Gets Refocused

Burlington, ON - The Centre for Skills Development &Training (The Centre) announced today that it is refocusing its business to specialize in providing Career and Workforce Development programs, products and services to individuals and organizations in and around the Region of Halton.

For over 10 years, The Centre, an affiliate of the Halton District School Board, has been offering a wide range of programs and services to residents of the Halton and area community. For the most part, these programs and services have been employment related however, in recent years, The Centre’s offering has expanded to include a wide array of personal interest/leisure courses.

With changes to consumer demand and given The Centre’s recent creation of, and move to, the Bay Area Learning Centre, a modern, fully equipped 93,000 square foot facility in Burlington, it was felt that the time had come to revise the organization’s strategic focus.

“It was very clear to us that we needed to adjust our strategy and positioning,” says Kathy Mills, Chief Administrative Officer of The Centre. “We’ve seen a lot of changes over this past year and as an organization that prides itself on being responsive to change, we were definitely ready to take on the challenge.”

The Centre’s new positioning, as specialists in Career and Workforce Development, was chosen because it best reflects the organization’s roots, its core strengths and its greatest opportunity for future growth.

“Our core strength has always been our employment and career related programs,” says Mills. “We’ve developed a track record of success in producing a breadth of very successful programs, including our skilled trades pre-apprenticeship programs. Given the emphasis being placed on training as a means of attracting and supporting all types of businesses by the Local and Regional Governments and given the importance of the trades to the economy of this region, we see this positioning as a natural fit. Ultimately, we believe that it will allow us to more effectively differentiate ourselves from the competition and send a clearer message to potential clients and partners about the value that we offer.”

In keeping with its new positioning, The Centre will discontinue its offering of “Personal Interest” courses. However, some courses previously offered as Personal Interest, such as the popular software training and foreign language courses, will remain as part of the new “Continuing Education Courses offering.”

For more information about The Centre for Skills Development & Training and its new strategic focus, please contact Kathy Mills, Chief Administrative Officer at 905-333-3499, Ext. 117 or via e-mail at millsk@thecentre.on.ca

The Centre for Skills Development & Training is a leading provider of quality career and workforce development programs, products and services specializing in Pre-Apprenticeship Trades and Technology, Career Planning and Development and Language Skills and Academic Upgrading.