Study, Work, Immigrate... That’s what most people in Thrivve’s community are looking for. This is because not everyone can come to Canada directly to immigrate or work. Still, everybody is more than welcome to study! And that could lead to people eventually getting a work permit and the PR after that. That’s why it is so important to properly choose an institution. One that allows you to reach these goals, prepares you for the local market, and offers you the support you need at every step of the journey. That’s what SELC College can do for you!
SELC is a career preparation college for international students. It was founded over 35 years ago and has continued evolving ever since to provide the best service possible to whoever decides to call this college their home. We, the Thrivve team, had the chance to get to know SELC college a little bit better, as they invited us to chat and get to know their new campus! (Which is quite stunning, to be honest!😍)
We had the opportunity to meet with Marina, the Director of International Marketing at this college. She was kind enough to show us around and tell us more about what they do. Marina has over 6 years of experience in the international education industry, so we learned a lot from her... Here’s what we learned:
Let’s start with hearing a little bit more about Marina:
My name is Marina Monaco, I am originally from Brazil and I arrived here in Vancouver as an international student 7 years ago. Since then, I have been working in the International Education industry in different positions. I worked as a student advisor (salesperson) in an exchange agency to advise people on how they could come to Canada, I then started working at SELC in 2017 focusing on the Latin American and European markets and that took me to where I am today; Director of International Marketing for SELC College.
Please tell us about SELC, how long have you guys been around? What’s your take on education and what kind of programs do you offer?
SELC was founded in 1985 in Sidney, Australia. In 2012 we opened our College in Gastown Vancouver. Since then, SELC Vancouver has developed its own brand, unique culture and warm atmosphere. This is what separates us from the larger and less personal institutions. Students arriving at SELC for the first time arealways pleasantly surprised at the range and quality of facilities including the excellent student support that SELC has to offer. In fact, SELC students immediately gain a sense of a personal and nurturing environment that ensures all students can settle comfortably into their studies. This calming atmosphere that SELC has created is an intrinsic value in SELC’s student culture. SELC staff go out of their way to make the college a place where everybody knows your name, and where you as a student can feel at ease and welcome no matter what continent you are from.
For International Students SELC offers all the tools they need to succeed in Canada: starting from English classes to make sure students have the proper level to thrive in their vocational programs at SELC College. While students are taking their academic part of the program, our Career Department is already working with them to prepare them for the Canadian job market, so when the Co-op comes, they have all the support and preparation to start an amazing career in Canada.
Once students graduate, they can have the opportunity to start an immigration process, as all our programs are in high demand in the market and prepare them for the industries.
For those students looking to continue their academic life, SELC offers a high-level Pathway with Public Colleges and Universities in Canada, such as BCIT, Acsenda School of Management, FDU and more.
What’s the thing you like the most about this college?
SELC offers all support and tools international students need to achieve their goals in Canada. Some students will come looking to improve their knowledge and background, go back to their country to start a great career with a Canadian education diploma, or possibly immigrate to Canada. Plus, the fact that most of SELC’s team were themselves international students is something crucial, in my opinion! Most of us have basically been in your shoes, so we know what they need to thrive in Canada.
We heard you have a new campus coming. Can you tell us a little bit about it? Why are you opening this new space, and what can we expect from it?
Yes, we are and we are super excited about it! We were located at Gastown, where we’ll remain to have a campus for our ESL students. Currently, we have more than 200 students taking English programs with us, from the morning to the evening, suited for all levels.
Our brand-new Campus is located on W. Pender 1155. It’s a 14,000+ sq/ft state of the art of learning space to train a new generation of skilled workers in BC and abroad! This new location was opened to offer an amazing infrastructure to our student body that is growing a lot. We also needed more space and specialized labs for our new programs: Digital Marketing, Supply Chain, Live-in caregiver childcare, Postgraduate nursing, health care assistant and much more!
Could you please tell us the profile your students have? Like where do they come from, and what expectations do they have when they come here?
We have students from more than 30 different countries, and all of them with different backgrounds and experiences, which makes our community extremely rich in culture. As mentioned before, we have students that want to gain an excellent Canadian education to go back home and start a career, students that will immigrate to Canada through their work and students who willcontinue their education with our pathway partners after they are used and immersed in the Canadian culture and more adapted to the Canadian education system.
Is there any program you offer that is the most popular amongst your students?
All our programs are extremely popular as they offer a high demand in the market. Hospitality Management and Digital Marketing are super popular programs due to the high market demand. Supply Chain is also a super-fast growing industry and SELC is the only college in BC that is a center of excellence in logistics learning, credited by CITT (Canadian Logistics’ association).
Not to mention our programs in the healthcare industry, which are extremely necessary for Canada right now.
One of the most challenging decisions students must make is choosing the right school. Could you tell us some of the benefits for people who select SELC as their college of choice?
All our programs have high demand in the job market, so students can find jobs easily. Our students will count on full-time support from our Career department even before the co-op starts, they will be prepared and trained to join the Canadian job market. We offer lifetime job placement support, even when our students graduate, as well as lifetime refresher training, so they are always up to date in their industry. Not to mention the free academic English support we offer to all students😉
Plenty of our international students are concerned they might have fewer opportunities than local Canadian students. What are your thoughts on this? Opportunities such as employment, government grants, scholarships, and so on.
We are sure our students will be able to compete with Canadian students as we offer excellent academic education that is very focused on the current industry trends, we offer exclusive career preparation and support and ongoing English preparation.
We offer scholarships as well as payment plans so students can pay for their education while working in Canada.
Finally, is there a message you would like to give to international students? Any important announcements?
As a former international student myself, I can assure our students that we will offer all the tools and support they need to succeed and achieve their goals in Canada. We understand their needs and challenges and have an amazing team. The main priority is to transform dreams into reality.
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