EdUp Canada

Computek College turns 35 this year. If you speak to virtually any member of Canada's 500,000-strong Tamil Canadian diaspora, someone in their circle studied there. Elected officials, business owners, healthcare workers — the college's roots run so deep in the GTA's immigrant communities that its reach is measured less in enrollment numbers and more in families. Kumaran Nadesan, CEO of...

Most people who've watched Schitt's Creek, Son of a Critch, Kids in the Hall, or Jann don't know they were watching a career college story unfold. Andrew Barnsley — executive producer of all four, president of the Toronto Film School, and one of the most respected television producers in Canada — has spent the last several years running both a production company and an institution purp...

Most career colleges operate inside an office park or a downtown tower. Mississauga Career College operates inside a building that also houses a private school, a museum, a family service center, a food bank — and two churches, one of them so striking it stopped host Michael Sangster mid-sentence when he walked through the door. Dr. Sherif William, a medical doctor by training who arrived in Canad...

Most people picture a career college student as someone fresh out of high school looking for a fast path to a job. Jason Chu wants you to think again. As Director of Operations at AAPS College of Health Sciences and Technology — formerly the Academy of Applied Pharmaceutical Sciences, founded in Toronto in 2003 — Jason works with students who already hold bachelor's degrees, master's degre...

Everyone agrees Canada has a healthcare workforce crisis. Almost no one is looking at it correctly. Raelynn Douglas — CEO of Rae Soleil Consulting, MBA in health and life sciences, and author of The Billion Dollar Blind Spot — spent years watching the same conversation repeat itself: not enough workers, recruiting from the Philippines, signing bonuses, and a vague commitment to improving staff wel...

Most people think of a career college as a stepping stone. Mina Tadrous, Director of Campus Operations and Student Affairs at the Ontario Institute of Health and Innovation (OHII) in Toronto, sees it differently — he sees it as a turning point. Mina is a career college graduate himself. He completed a paralegal program at Herzing College during a difficult stretch of his own life, went on to pract...

Canada is in the middle of what its Prime Minister calls a "hinge moment" — a decade of building that demands billions in federal investment across construction, defense, energy, and housing. There's just one problem: every one of those sectors is operating with a fraction of its available talent. Only 5% of women work on construction sites. Only 4% serve in the army. And despite decades of initia...

What happens when a 35-year career in beauty education meets a country that still doesn't fully understand what skilled trades look like? Cheryl Harrison, Chief Operating Officer and Vice President of MC College, has spent over three decades answering that question — one student at a time. In this episode of the EdUp Canada Podcast, host Michael Sangster sits down with Cheryl for a wide-rangin...

What happens when Canada doesn't have enough trained workers to care for its aging population — and what role do career colleges play in closing that gap? In this episode of the EdUp Canada podcast, host Michael Sangster sits down with Tiara Sisson, President of Life and Death Matters, an organization that has partnered with career colleges across Canada for over 15 years to train personal sup...

What happens when the country with one of the world's strongest education brands spends two years changing the rules — 16, 17, 18 times? You get instability. Perception damage. And students looking elsewhere. In this episode, Michael Sangster sits down with Larissa Bezo, President & CEO of the Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE), for a candid, wide-ranging conversation about...

What does it actually take to change a family’s trajectory? In this episode of EdUp Canada, host Michael Sangster sits down with Dylan Matter, Chief Operating Officer of Cambria College in British Columbia — a leader with 18 years in the career college sector who has quietly become one of its most respected voices. Dylan opens up about his unlikely entry into education (hint: it started behind a c...

What happens when the healthcare system is so desperate for trained workers that employers are sponsoring students before they've even been accepted into a program? That's just one of the realities Tim Ogilvie — VP and Dean of MCG Career College and Chair of the Alberta Association of Career Colleges — unpacks in this conversation. Tim grew up in rural Nova Scotia, the son of a factory wor...

What does it actually take to build a lasting career in one of Canada's most dynamic industries — film and television? Michael Coleman, President and CEO of Vancouver's Story Institute, has spent over 35 years answering that question from every angle: as a working actor, a prolific writer, a voice artist, and now as the founder of a provincially regulated career college that does one thing...

What does Canada's post-secondary system actually deliver — and for whom? In this candid, wide-ranging conversation, Michael Sangster sits down with Alex Usher, one of Canada's most respected higher education analysts and president of Higher Education Strategy Associates (HESA), to take an honest look at the pressures reshaping post-secondary education in Canada. Usher pulls no punches: un...

Canada's healthcare workforce isn't just stretched — it's cracking. And the institutions best positioned to fix it are being overlooked, undersupported, and in some cases, actively undercut by operators running so-called "colleges" that are little more than nursing homes with a logo. In this episode of the EdUp Canada podcast, host Michael Sangster sits down with Cindy Lidste...

Canada is in the middle of a dental assisting crisis — and most people have no idea. In this special Dental Assistants Recognition Week edition of the EdUp Canada podcast, host Michael Sangster sits down with two of the sector's most respected voices: Cheryl Russell-Julien, Director of Academics and Quality Assurance at a regulated career college and a leader within NACC member institutions, a...

On the EdUp Canada podcast, host Michael Sangster speaks with Natalie Marsh, President of the Canadian Dental Assistants Association, to mark Dental Assistant Recognition Week and discuss the essential role dental assistants play in Canada’s oral healthcare system amid growing attention on dental care and the CDCP. Marsh describes significant demand across provinces, growing student interest with...

MP Garnett Genuis, Conservative Shadow Minister for Employment, joins host Michael Sangster to tackle Canada's youth unemployment crisis and reveal why career colleges are essential to closing the nation's skills gap. This conversation goes beyond politics to explore how training systems can—and must—evolve to meet labour market demands, the hidden costs of "profession prejudice,&quot...

On this special episode of the EdUp Canada podcast, Sea of Opportunities, host Michael Sangster sits down with Lieutenant Jordan Monroe, a 16-year Royal Canadian Navy veteran and Naval Warfare Officer aboard HMCS St. John's. Currently deployed on a six-month mission to Europe, Lt. Monroe shares candid insights into what naval careers actually look like—from the educational opportunities that d...

On this special episode of the EdUp Canada Podcast, Sea of Opportunities, host Michael Sangster sits down with Petty Officer First Class Anthony Hickey aboard HMCS St. John's Halifax in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. With 21 years of service in the Royal Canadian Navy, Hickey shares his journey from basic training to becoming an Above Water Warfare Director—the pinnacle of his specialized t...

On this special episode of the EdUp Canada Podcast, Sea of Opportunities, host Michael Sangster sits down with Lieutenant (Navy) Buxton, Weapons Officer aboard HMCS St. Johns, as the ship crosses the Atlantic on deployment. With 18 years of service and nearly seven more to go on his current contract, Lt(N) Buxton shares his journey from a 19-year-old recruit to a senior operations room officer com...

On this special episode of the EdUp Canada podcast, Sea of Opportunities, host Michael Sangster sits down with Sailor First Class Langsford aboard the HMCS St. John's Halifax while sailing in the North Atlantic. In this compelling conversation, Langsford shares his remarkable journey from healthcare worker during COVID-19 to making a 21-year commitment to the Royal Canadian Navy—a decision mad...

On this special episode of the EdUp Canada podcast, Sea of Opportunities, host Michael Sangster sits down with Sailor First Class Scott, a Marine Technician (MarTech) aboard HMCS St. John's, to explore an inspiring career journey that challenges everything we think we know about skilled trades training. Scott's story is proof that you don't need prior experience to build a rewarding te...

On this special episode of the EdUp Canada podcast, Sea of Opportunities, host Michael Sangster sits down with Petty Officer 2nd Class Foulon aboard HMCS St. John's during their six-month Atlantic deployment. With 17 years of service and plans for 13 more, Petty Officer 2nd Class Foulon opens up about the realities of Navy life, from managing complex communication systems to maintaining family...

On this special episode of the EdUp Canada podcast, Sea of Opportunities, host Michael Sangster sits down with Sailor First Class Mack, a Martech Electrical with eight years of Royal Canadian Navy experience. Broadcasting from the HMCS St. John's Halifax during their five-month deployment, Mack shares an honest, unfiltered perspective on what it's really like to maintain the complex electr...