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 support workers, healthcare aides, and continuing care professionals in palliative care.

Tiara brings a remarkable personal history — from special education to legal work to directing administration at one of North America's largest correctional facilities — all leading to her current mission: ensuring that the men and women entering Canada's long-term care and hospice sector leave their training not just with technical competence, but with the emotional intelligence, resilience, and palliative approach that defines truly excellent care.

This is a conversation about the value of skills-based training, the very real funding pressures facing Canada's career college sector, and why the stakes have never been higher for getting palliative care education right.

[00:02:00] — From special education to law to running one of North America's largest correctional facilities — the unlikely path that led to palliative care.

[00:06:00] — Government funding cuts, visa caps, and what the current climate really means for career colleges and their partners.

[00:07:00] — Why module nine is the most powerful moment in PSW training — and what a palliative lens actually changes for students.

[00:09:00] — The single most important skill in long-term care, and why it has nothing to do with clinical technique.

[00:11:00] — The emotional reality of losing patients — and why the best programs build caregiver resilience into the curriculum from day one.

[00:12:00] — What managing 10,000 inmates teaches you about showing up for people on their hardest days.

[00:16:00] — The one question that has guided every major career decision: "What do I need to do to create the future I want?"

[00:20:00] — A closing call to stay informed — because when it comes to palliative care, it's going to happen to all of us.

Read the full transcript here: https://share.descript.com/view/0pKfXPozxpA

Listen to past episodes here: https://www.edupcanada.ca/

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 the state of Canada's education system — where it broke, what it's costing us, and what it will take to rebuild.

Larissa doesn't pull punches. She explains why Canada's next decade must be defined by trust rather than growth, reveals that a startling 3% of Canadian post-secondary students study abroad (compared to far higher rates in Europe), and makes the case that every part of Canada's education ecosystem — from career colleges training personal support workers to research-intensive universities — has a unique and vital role to play.

She also shares the story of the mentor who helped build Medicare under Tommy Douglas, and how his belief in thinking decades ahead rather than in election cycles shaped her own approach to public service.

What to Expect: Episode Timestamps

[00:03] — International Education at a Genuine Inflection Point

[00:07] — The Brand Damage Report: 16 Policy Changes in 2 Years

[00:09] — "Countries That Treat Students Transactionally Will Lose Them Relationally"

[00:12] — The 7-to-2 Warning: Canada's Workforce Cliff

[00:13] — A Career College Training Personal Support Workers in Kenya

[00:18] — The Mentor Who Helped Build Medicare

[00:27] — The 3% Wake-Up Call

[00:29] — What Policy Stability Would Actually Unlock

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 coffee bar), what it means to watch a first-generation graduate walk across a stage surrounded by 15 proud family members, and how Cambria trained 250 mental health support workers in a single year — not because the government asked, but because the community needed it.

Together, Dylan and Michael dig into the layers of regulation most people never see, why the location of a career college in a strip mall or above a restaurant is a deliberate strategy — not a compromise — and what it really means when a school’s survival depends entirely on whether its graduates find jobs. This is an honest, grounded conversation about what skills training looks like from the inside.

[00:02:00] — From lattes to leadership Dylan’s unlikely origin story — how a Starbucks regular changed the direction of his career.

[00:04:00] — 15 guests at graduation What it really means when a first-generation family fills the seats — and why it hits differently than a university convocation.

[00:08:00] — 250 students, 15 cohorts, one year The mental health support worker program that grew with unexpected momentum and what it reveals about community-driven skills demand.

[00:11:00] — “Our survival is based on your success” The outcomes-first accountability model at the heart of career college education — in Dylan’s own words.

[00:12:00] — More regulated than you think The layers of oversight behind a single program: provincial approval, industry accreditation, practicum agreements with health authorities.

[00:16:00] — Why being above a Cactus Club is a strategy The case for accessible, community-embedded campuses — and why the ‘impulse visit’ student is exactly who they’re designed to serve.

[00:20:00] — “Make people your cheerleaders” The graduation speech advice Dylan has given for 15 years — and the story of how his last three jobs all came through referral.

[00:26:00] — The receptionist is the heart Who really holds a career college together — and why the front desk may be the most important role in the building.

Read the full transcript here: https://share.descript.com/view/eRxaNez2XnB

Listen to past episodes here: www.edupcanada.ca

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 worker, and found his footing through a small private career college. That experience never left him — and it's driven a career built on fighting for students who need fast, flexible, affordable pathways into the workforce. From healthcare programs with $25,000 signing bonuses to a college that lets students pay 100% of their tuition through community volunteering, Tim makes the case — with data and hard-won stories — that career colleges aren't an alternative path. They're often the best one.

[00:03:00] — The Best Man He Met at Career College

[00:07:00] — When a Family Sends Its First Graduate Across the Stage

[00:09:00] — What Happens When You Cut Education Funding

[00:15:00] — The Healthcare Support Layer Nobody Talks About

[00:18:00] — Four Hours a Day Is the Whole Point

[00:21:00] — The Cadillac of Programs (And a $25,000 Signing Bonus)

[00:28:00] — The College Where Volunteering Pays the Tuition

[00:31:00] — From Career College to Film School: Stories Worth Telling

Read the full transcript here: https://share.descript.com/view/xKNLSobrfNa

Listen to past episodes here: www.edupcanada.ca

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 exceptionally well.

In this episode, Michael pulls back the curtain on what makes career college training fundamentally different from a traditional academic path — and why that difference matters for students, for the industry, and for the broader Canadian economy. From a student who landed a role in a Christoph Waltz feature, to a graduate who became a fan favourite on a globally streamed series, Michael's stories illuminate what happens when practical training meets real industry opportunity.

Whether you're weighing your options for skills training, leading an institution, or thinking about how career colleges contribute to local economies, this conversation will shift the way you think about what education can look like.

[00:02:00] — Why Michael Left Traditional Academia (And What He Built Instead)

[00:03:30] — Its Not Show Friendship, Its Show Business

[00:05:00] — Quality Over Quantity: Why Fewer Students Means More Working Graduates

[00:08:30] — The Multi-Billion Dollar Ecosystem Nobody Talks About

[00:12:00] — Falling in Love With a TV Character (Who Turned Out to Be His Student)

[00:13:30] — The Student Who Booked a Hollywood Feature Film

[00:17:00] — Even Your Worst Day Is Better Than Most Peoples Best Day

[00:21:00] — We Teach People How to Be Doctors

Read the full transcript here: https://share.descript.com/view/MgOdT1Vkark

Listen to past episodes here: https://www.edupcanada.ca/

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: university systems are more financially fragile than colleges, student debt is set for a sharp rebound, and Canada may be sleep-walking into a workforce crisis driven by demographic decline and misguided immigration policy. But there's optimism here too — for the institutions nimble enough to move fast, build strong outcomes, and demonstrate clear value for students and society.

This episode weaves through student debt trends, OSAP reform, the international student caps, global talent flows, career college perceptions, and the remarkable resilience of skills-first education — all filtered through Usher's signature blend of data rigour and straight talk. Whether you're setting education policy, leading a career college, or deciding where to invest your tuition dollars, this conversation gives you the unvarnished picture.

[00:03:00]: When the best friend in the room doesn't know what he bought

[00:07:30]: Student debt is coming back — and it will make people scream

[00:09:00]: Universities are more brittle — and they know it

[00:13:00]: The cautious optimist: what good looks like right now

[00:16:00]: Career colleges going global — and solving the brain drain problem

[00:17:00]: "Typical Canadian mediocrity" — the international students warning

[00:20:30]: The bullshit detector: the skill that built a career

[00:22:30]: The sector's real warts — and why they're shrinking

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 Lidster — a former nursing professor at the University of New Brunswick turned career college founder and president of the New Brunswick Association of Private Colleges and Universities. Cindy saw two things coming in 2014 that nobody wanted to believe: that the future of frontline nursing would be delivered primarily by personal support workers and healthcare aides, and that the future of education delivery was going online. She built her college around both predictions before most institutions had even started the conversation. When the pandemic hit, she was ready.

In this episode, you'll hear what it actually looks like to run a high-standards career college in a province that's quietly building one of the most collaborative relationships between private colleges and government in the country. You'll hear about two women in their early twenties who gave up their home in Scarborough, quit their jobs, and moved to New Brunswick — all to enroll in a PSW program they hoped would lead to permanent residency and a career in care. Their placement partners want to hire them full-time. Cindy is quietly waiting to see how it ends.

You'll also hear about a sector working hard to clean its own house: the site visits that revealed "colleges" operating out of care homes, the association standards being built to mean something beyond a government checkbox, and the LPN training waitlists that are already so long Cindy is drafting a proposal for a third provider in the province.

If you've ever wondered whether skills-based training can genuinely change someone's life — or what it looks like when a province actually gets career college policy right — this episode is a masterclass.

[00:02:00] — Cindy saw the future of nursing and online education coming in 2014, built her college around both predictions, and was fully ready when the pandemic proved her right.

[00:05:00] — She can teach the science, the skills, and the math — but the one thing she can't teach, and keeps trying hardest to, is how to genuinely care for another person.

[00:06:00] — Cindy has done the site visits, and some of the institutions calling themselves career colleges in New Brunswick are, in her words, nursing homes with a logo.

[00:09:00] — Two best friends left Scarborough, gave up their jobs and their home, and moved to New Brunswick to enroll in a PSW program — and their practicum partners want to hire them full-time.

[00:11:00] — ACAHS has no fixed cohorts, pre-recorded lectures, online testing, and instructors who hand out their cell numbers — because education should fit around life, not the other way around.

[00:13:00] — New Brunswick's LPN waitlists are already too long to clear, one province solved its ECE shortage simply by never restricting career college training, and Cindy is already writing the proposal for a third LPN provider.

[00:15:00] — The skill Cindy credits most for everything she's built is the one she spent decades talking herself out of: trusting what she sees when nobody else is asking the question.

[00:21:00] — Cindy's closing message on why career college graduates belong in care settings is really about one thing: the people they'll be caring for are the most vulnerable, and they deserve someone who is genuinely prepared.

Read the full transcript here: https://share.descript.com/view/x4ojFaNbRoV

Listen to past episodes here: https://www.edupcanada.ca/

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, and Tara Fitzpatrick, CEO of the Ontario Dental Assistants Association (ODAA).

Together, they unpack what it actually takes to become a dental assistant through a career college, why over 3,000 dental assistant positions sit vacant in Ontario alone, and why recent changes to federal and provincial training grant funding could make things dramatically worse. You'll hear real stories from the chair — from a dentist in Cornwall who couldn't open his office for three days because his assistant was sick, to students who walked out of career college programs feeling genuinely prepared, career-ready, and connected to a profession for life.

If you've ever wondered whether a short, focused training program can truly launch a meaningful career — or what happens when healthcare workforce pipelines start to crack — this episode is your answer.

1. The workforce numbers are alarming — and close to home. Over 3,000 dental assistant positions are currently unfilled in Ontario, and two-thirds of dental offices need at least one assistant to operate. This episode breaks down exactly what's driving that shortage and what's at stake for oral health access across Canada.

2. You'll hear what the real standards are — and why they matter. Cheryl Russell-Julien walks through the rigorous approval, accreditation, and inspection process that career college dental programs must pass before a single student sets foot in a clinic. It's a compelling case for why program quality and funding go hand in hand.

3. Career college graduates are driving this profession. The majority of dental assistants in Ontario graduate from career colleges. Tara Fitzpatrick explains why the ODAA has built formal partnerships with career college networks — and what makes career-college-trained graduates stand out when they walk into a dental office.

4. The funding changes in Ottawa and Queen's Park have real consequences for real patients. Cheryl and Tara connect the dots between cuts to training grants, an increase in untrained dental 'helpers,' and the growing risk to public safety — including a national dental care plan that can't be delivered without the assistants to support it.

5. This episode shows what a career — not just a job — actually looks like. Tara worked chairside for 13 years, still counts former patients as close friends, and now leads a provincial association. Cheryl wanted to be a mechanic and ended up building a 45-year career that grew from every skill dental assisting taught her. Their stories are a masterclass in what skills-based training can unlock.

Read the full transcript here: https://share.descript.com/view/rKJaJ6QS6Eu

Listen to past episodes here: https://www.edupcanada.ca/