Art is all around us. It isn’t just sitting on display in museums and hanging on the walls of trendy Soho galleries. We’re dressed in art, and even paint our faces or mould our hair artistically. We work and shop in gigantic artistic structures which turn our commercial downtown streets into a giant exhibit. In our very homes, we sit on art, we dine on art, and we sleep on art.

It is true that some of the greatest artists have understood their calling since childhood: Mozart began composing at five years old; Picasso began his training as a painter at the age of seven. But because today art is no longer restricted to the pure forms of pictorial and musical compositions, to name a few, one doesn’t need to be committed their entire lives to realize their creative aspirations. One of the biggest deterrents that most people believe keeps them from an artistic career is that art does not lead to a guaranteed career. This simply is not true. No matter how old you are, and no matter how important it is to have a steady career, it is never too late to get formal creative training that can be applied to steady and useful work.

There are plenty of university programs that specialize in creative and visual arts that are what are known as ‘applied arts’ as opposed to pure or ‘fine arts’ Applied arts simply refers to the creative production of objects that also serve some everyday use, like designing a table, a nightgown or a building. Continuing education is a great way to integrate an education in these creative applied arts while still managing your day-to-day life. Here are some examples of programs:

·         Make-up and cosmetics: combining the visual arts on the human canvas. Careers range from make-up artist for television and film, designer of new cosmetic products, or working at a beauty salon.

·         Fashion: also working with the human figure. Exciting careers can lead to dressmaking, wardrobe for television and film, or even take you the runways of Paris and Milan.

·         Decorating: whether specializing in upholstery or interior design, these careers let you turn our everyday surroundings into an artistically satisfying environment.

·         Culinary arts: even cooking is an art, which any gourmet will tell you. It goes beyond taste and smell to even the visual presentation on your plate. Aside from chef, other careers are sommelier, caterer, or restaurant and menu manager.

These are just a few examples of creative careers one can pursue at any point in life. With the popularity of online learning, getting a good formal training does not require you to give up your current life and take a major risk to get creative.

Visit Mohawk College for information on distance education programs.

So, what is Human Services? Without knowing exactly, many people would assume it is a collection of professionals who work in some way to service people and the community. But almost every job in some way services people: waiters serve you food, doctor's serve your medical needs, movie stars serve your desire for entertainment and escapism, etc.

Today, however, many schools and universities offer programs and courses in human services, and they don't teach waitering, medicine or drama 101. Human service professionals work in a wide range of industries, like social services, education, and healthcare. Whether working with socially displaced persons, young children, or persons with special needs, human service professionals have the common goal to encourage independence and autonomy, create positive home and work environments, and build better lines of communication within communities through social engagement and advocacy. Here are three examples:

 

Community

As fair as any society can try to be, people will for various reasons have trouble adjusting or finding themselves able to be independent. No advanced society has been able to solve once and for all the problem of homelessness, for example. Human service professionals seek to ameliorate, and hopefully eliminate much of the troubles of homelessness in a variety of direct and indirect ways. At an everyday level, they can work and manage soup kitchens, shelters, and employment and community outreach programs. At the societal level, they can petition and advocate for better funding and resources.

Family

The definition of the modern, nuclear family has certainly shifted quite a lot. Nevertheless, groups of people related by blood, love or necessity still form the basis of community, as well as the first training ground and schooling for children. Because we recognize the importance of a childhood's environment in the early stages of life, many human service professionals get training at an early childhood education college. In this example, a human service worker can focus on many levels of psychological, physical and emotional development of the child and working with the family to create the best possible home atmosphere. 

Health

Human service workers recognize that everyone is susceptible to needing the help of others, not just young children or adults unable to find or afford adequate housing. Physical or mental ailments can affect anyone causing them to require assistance taking care of themselves. Personal support worker programs prepare human service professionals to work with the chronically ill, disabled, or mentally ill people both in their homes as well as in institutions.

Human service professionals are everywhere, and although most people do not normally see them at work, or appreciate their efforts on an everyday basis, we should all be grateful that they are there for us if and when we do need them.

Visit Mohawk College for more information on community courses.

Some jobs are more hazardous than others. A professional Formula One driver puts himself at far more risk every time he gets behind the wheel than someone who puts on their headset at a call centre. But it isn't always so black and white.

Regarding skilled technician work in construction and similar industries, one would easily assume the roofer's job is far more dangerous than the plumber's. A roofer spends most of his time working high up while the plumber is safely on the ground. But proper workplace safety is is just as important for the plumber as the roofer, even if in less obvious ways. What the plumber and the roofer have in common regarding workplace safety is attention and diligence regarding their surroundings, their equipment, and  themselves. Though this intuition is learned during one's career, it is important to get the proper education and training beforehand regarding workplace safety.

Roofing Safety

Falling off the roof is the most obvious danger, and this can happen because of a loss of balance, careless equipment or material handling, or even the roof caving in. The basic tips for maintaining balance include: never rush or hurry, stay cool and well-hydrated, and always keep a stable visual point of reference to avoid dizziness. In most cases the roofer can make use of a temporary guard rail, but this option is not always available.

Other aspects of roofing safety include the proper procedure for handling propane cylinders used to heat the tar. Keep propane tanks upright and away from other materials that may need to be moved around a lot. When moving a propane tank, always lift it properly from both ends of the collar, never drag or slide the tank. Another hazard is the presence of electrical lines which are often present near roofs. Know in advance the electrical voltage and keep the appropriate distance, which is approximately 1 metre for up to 750 volts. These and other useful guidelines are standard material taught in any roofer apprenticeship program.

Plumbing Safety

For plumbers, perhaps the biggest hazard is the exposure to noxious chemicals, like asbestos, lead or mold. Proper inspection of the work area for such chemicals is vital before beginning a job. Also be sure to wear the necessary protective gear while working and then wash your hands and equipment properly after each job.

Plumbers also have to negotiate some tricky spots to work. If working in a confined space, make sure that it is properly ventilated using some an air monitor device. Also pay attention to your own body for being at risk of muscle pains. Taking short breaks for fresh air and stretching goes a long way for physical safety and health. Regarding excessively wet spaces, be extra cautious to avoid electric shock by employing a grounding device. Doing a plumber apprenticeship will train you with grounding and air monitoring devices.

These are just a few examples of the hazards and safety precautions for roofer and plumbers. Both must always practice proper equipment handling at all times, must have done a good inspection of their work areas, and must pay attention to their physical conditions during their long hours of work.

Visit Mohawk College and learn more about opportunities doing general apprenticeships.

Have you ever wandered through your local pharmacy, having a vague idea of what ails you and what you need to get better, only to be bogged down by the immense range of similar products with only slightly varying descriptions? It's much easier when you have a doctor's prescription: you take the scribbled handwriting to the pharmacist's desk and he or she gets you exactly what you need, along with a comprehensive description of how you need to take it. But for things like headaches, stomach pains, allergies, and other everyday health issues, you might think you're on your own. You could waste precious time standing in the aisles debating the different packaging, or worse, you could waste your hard-earned money on the wrong product.

The truth is your pharmacist is not necessarily limited to serving those only with official prescriptions. Anyone who has had a formal education as a pharmacy technician will be able to assist you in selecting the appropriate non-prescription drug. There are in fact several categories of these drugs that a pharmaceutical specialist is trained to know about and to help you choose the right one, while making sure other non-prescription drugs stay out of the wrong hands.

The main difference can be said to be between your regular commercial drugs and what is sometimes referred to as 'over-the-counter' drugs, although the latter term often gets used in a generic way to mean all non-prescription drugs. Regular non-prescription drugs can be anything from simple pain-relievers, cold and flu drugs, and antacids, to name a few. Often you don't even need to go into a pharmacy to get these, but can find them in supermarkets and gas stations, where no pharmacist is there to help. What makes these so easily obtainable is that there is relatively low risk of danger from misuse.

Over-the-counter drugs should normally refer to exactly what they mean: drugs that are literally kept behind the counter, or at least away from the average consumer to simply pick up themselves and toss it in their shopping baskets. These can include stronger pain relievers, as in those with mild doses of codeine, as well as muscle relaxants and strong antihistamines. Knowing when to serve a customer these types of drugs is exactly the specialized knowledge one gets in a pharmacy technician program or as part of a more general nursing school. The pharmacist in this case must know how to listen and assess a patient's needs before deciding whether the patient needs these stronger drugs.

Whether having to make the critical decisions of giving out literal over-the-counter drugs, or being able to assist anyone who is in need of guidance with regularly shelved commercial drugs, we rely on our pharmacists to have the knowledge, experience and judgment to help us make the right decisions. This is why pharmacists are more than mere clerks in a drugstore, but  require an education as comparatively thorough as other healthcare professionals, like for example, a nursing degree.

Visit Mohawk College for more information on pharmacy technician programs or nursing courses.

When most people think of information technology (IT) specialists they think of the stereotypical image of  bespectacled video-game fanatics working in the basements of large corporations, hard to get a hold of and nearly impossible to have a normal conversation with. But in today's technologically-advancing world, having IT training can give almost any kind of professional specialist an edge in their careers. IT can come in handy in some areas of industry that are less likely to come to mind than web design companies, telecommunications businesses and software engineering.

The health sciences is one industry where any ability to improve the functioning of its specialists is critically useful When it comes to saving lives, curing illness and healing physical injury, we should be sparing no expense and reserving no new technology from helping out our doctors, nurses and healthcare specialists. This is why many schools are putting more and more of an emphasis on computer training and information technology.

The internet is an excellent resource not only for people, but for hospitals researching new equipment and medicines, doctors sharing the results of their studies, and nurses looking to widen the scope of their skills. It is a living encyclopedia subjected only to the critical improvement of the peer-review system, where new findings and discoveries are constantly updated and disseminated.

Hospital information systems and database management systems are great ways to improve the efficiency of a hospital, which only serves to give the patients the best treatments and care. These integrated systems are used to manage not only the medical records, but also the administrative, financial, legal and inventory aspects of a hospital's day-to-day operations.

Telemedicine, as a form of mobile computing, has improved the way we can administer health care over distances. Not only can it help save lives when there is no immediate proximity to certain facilities or clinics in times of emergency, but it is also a wonderful tool for the transmission of patient information such as medical records, x-ray imaging, and case studies used for comparative treatments.

There have been many software programs created just for the sake of the healthcare industries which have become integral parts of nursing programs. Two such programs are:

- PointClickCare, which uses an integrated approach to electronic health records to help manage the long-term health care, in their words, for “the complete lifecycle if resident care. From pre-admission to discharge.” This helps the flow of clinical, billing and administrative information.

- Meditech, which uses a system of having a patient's electronic health record follow them “from the physician's office, to the hospital, to her home-base care, and to any other place she receives health services.” This allows for quick and easy access used by doctors with a smartphone or computer.

If you are considering attending a school of nursing, make sure to get the best education by ensuring your program uses technology to its fullest capacity. Just as if you were considering getting any medical help, you'd want one with the technological edge.

Visit Mohawk College for more information on nursing school and other health science programs.

The planet earth is the primal construction site. All of our first building materials are supplied by the earth's resources, and even today's synthetic materials derive in some way from the earth's natural elements. As our cities continue to grow and industrial projects expand, we no longer believe we can proceed with unbridled carelessness in terms of changing the natural environment. Resources are limited. Excessive use of electricity is wasteful. Continuous production of toxic and other waste materials is harmful. In order to continue society's growth, we have come to understand the importance of environmentally-responsible construction, in terms of architecture, engineering, and urban development.

Today, there are many considerations and systems in place that did not previously exist to design and construct buildings while protecting the environment. These should not be viewed as hindrances to development; only in such a short-sighted attitude is development seen as opposed to the protection of the environment. In fact, the opposite is much truer: that a long-term view of development needs to sustain a clean environment, both in terms of managing resources as well as promoting a healthier standard of living.

Environmental Technology

Buildings house people: whether residential or commercial, people live, breathe, eat and perform bodily functions inside of buildings way more often than outside. Architectural technology today must integrate as optimally as possible the management of a building's water supply, wastewater and solid waste management. Environmental technology, or envirotech, is concerned with the design and construction of devices that synthesize recycling, water purification, air purification, sewage treatment and energy conservation. As populations grow and cities expand, clean living will depend on these technologies more and more.

Green Building

Similar to envirotech, green building (sometimes greentech), is more concerned not only with the individual building’s efficiency and waste reduction in-itself, but also for the impact of the building with its surrounding environment. The reduction of greenhouse gas emissions is an important part of green building. Green building is therefore concerned with both the quality of life (air, clean water) inside, and the community outside. Formal systems have been set up to grant certification for meeting green building standards, like the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system.

Sustainable Design

While envirotech deals mostly with the devices and processes by which buildings remain efficient and reduce waste, and greentech is concerned with how buildings function regularly within their environment, sustainable construction incorporates both of these elements by evaluating and optimizing efficiency and waste-reduction over the entire life-cycle of a building. This cradle-to-the-grave approach begins with the initial designs and remains environmentally-responsible at every stage of construction, day-to-day functioning, as well as considering the building's future. Architectural technicians practicing sustainable design utilize the Life Cycle Assessment technique to integrate every aspect of environmental effects.

From the devices used internally, to the relationship with the communication, to the long-term considerations of our planet, environmentally-responsible construction is the right way to building a better future.

For information on architecture and engineering technology college, visit Mohawk College.

Crime is everywhere. Whenever a new medium is created to help along business, crime will soon invade that new medium. With the advent of the internet, fraudulent criminals have found a whole new breeding ground for their dubious activities. Combining anonymity, home-security, and manipulating complex computer language in which the average person has no proficiency, criminals now have new, unchartered avenues to commit theft, identity theft, and fraud..

                                                                                                  

Because of this new phenomenon, an entire educational program within the field of investigation has become available in the online world. That is, these programs don’t merely train investigators to deal with online crime, but much of that very training is done online itself. This combination of medium and content is the most superior form of learning, because the future investigator is learning directly from experience, and is immediately placed in control of the tools that will be the tools of the trade.

There are many ways to apply investigative techniques with the use of computers and the internet. Two examples of these are computer crime and corporate crime.

Computer Crime

Computer crime, or cybercrime, has been in existence as long as computers have been the primary method of storing and transmitting sensitive data and information. Since the internet’s prevalence in communication, internet crime, or netcrime, has become a major problem for both individuals and businesses. Ranging in severity from mail spam and harassment to identity theft, illegal pornography and cyber warfare, the need for highly skilled cybercrime investigators is always growing. These professionals learn the technology and legal procedures surrounding the seizure and organization of digital evidence to help with criminal prosecutions. If one is investigating crime committed on computers and online, what better way to train for a job than by an online learning program?

Corporate Crime

Corporations have always been a difficult case regarding criminal liability, because depending on jurisdiction, corporations sometimes have and sometimes do not have the legal status of natural persons. Sometimes referred to as white-collar crime, this can also include organized crime and state crime. The need for specialists in this field is great because the victims are often not only individuals or other businesses, but society as a whole. One can easily see that because many corporations are multi-national with their information, business and assets spread over the globe, and the web, that a distance education program for professional investigators will put them squarely within the arena of these corporate criminals.

Because the days of criminals having to hide behind facemasks and braving real world law enforcement officers are somewhat a thing of the past, we need a new breed of investigators who meet criminals right in their own home turf. While they may sit at home and scour the web for victims, it is comforting to know that society’s investigators are able to learn from their own homes how to stop them.

Visit Mohawk College for information on continuing education.

If you consider the metaphor that the business is like an organism, then each department acts like an organ of the greater whole. The important lesson from this metaphor is that the departmental divisions should not be considered isolated areas of work, disconnected from each other and only coming into contact through summarizing reports and meetings. Rather, each department should always be considered as having a reciprocal relationship with the rest of the company's departments, sharing information through feedback, helping make projections and analyses, and most importantly, acknowledging the joint responsibilities of short-comings and the mutual recognition for success.

Two such departments which have a special relationship are the accounting and marketing departments, though this might not seem completely obvious at first. One might sooner connect marketing with sales, as they both involve the attempt to garner new business for a company, whereas accounting normally concerns itself with present and past company performance. In other words, while marketing focuses on image and possibilities, accounting focuses on the numbers and the bottom line. So how exactly are accounting and marketing connected?

Consulting

Marketing is about analyzing, projecting and strategizing. Based on a variety of research methods, for example focus groups or case studies, marketing departments will come up with advertising campaigns, promotional campaigns, sales techniques and pricing. But before a company can go ahead and implement marketing's latest product, service or campaign, accounting needs to be consulted to estimate the cost, taking into account it's potential for earnings or loss. While marketers might get overly excited with their campaign, accountants will be there to keep their plans in check with the company budget.  

Feedback

Perhaps one of the most valuable sources of information for marketing is the financial records of their own past performances. This is an informational feedback loop: marketing implements a strategy, and accounting tracks its results, which marketing then uses again to modify, tweak or abandon the next strategic marketing move.

Accounting courses should all include several classes in marketing. Understanding consumer behavior is a great way to exact more sense of the data farmed from pure numbers, and to give the accountant a broader perspective of why a business succeeds or fails, and not just how.

Some of the important marketing considerations that the accountant can benefit from knowing are how a product or service fares according to the main principles of marketing. How much does the product cost in relation to how much it costs to manufacture, and whether the price is reasonable for the target consumer? Is the product made available in the right place and the right time for the target consumer? Are the expenses given to promoting the product succeeding? While these questions are the main focus of marketing programs, they should be included in accounting training as well.

A winning business plan is built on great communication and team work, and this includes the accountants, marketers and every other employee sharing the common goal of success.

Visit Mohawk College for more information on accounting school.

“I use steel to organize space.” Although these may sound like the words of an architect or engineer, they were spoken by an artist named Richard Serra.

Although welding is responsible for some of our most practical tools and structural materials, the art of shaping and bonding metals has also attracted more creative minds. Metal sculpture, made with welding, sheet metal and other techniques, represents some of the largest and most permanent pieces of art in the world. Perhaps it was the first large-scale world war that inspired artists to take up metal as their medium. Artists are known to react to global catastrophes in their work, and the technological destruction of WWI made possible by the industrial revolution influenced the artistic choice to employ welding and metalwork as an appropriate response.

Unlike painting or other forms of visual art, not just anybody can begin sculpting with metal by welding or sheet metal formation on their own. Working with metal requires a respect for the dangers that are involved, like fire, fumes, and even ultraviolet light. Because of the technical skill and hazard involved in this craft, it is highly recommended to get formal training. One does not need to even necessarily attend a formal art school to do so, but any technical program or welding apprenticeship will provide the right education and practice. It doesn’t matter if the apprentice plans on going into business or the arts, so long as the craft is used appropriately and responsibly.

Here are three examples of artists who work with metal, but in very different ways:

·         One of the first large-scale metal sculptures is called Worker and Kolkhoz Woman by the soviet artist Vera Mukhina. Her 1937 work is an attempt to capture the optimism of communism’s monumental ideologies about work, technology, and progress. Since welding is primarily a medium of practical work and construction and not pure art, it was perfectly suited to Mukhina’s artistic vision.

·         A modern big name is the American Richard Serra, who specialized in sheet metal art in the 1970s. Perhaps his most famous is his 1987 piece, Fulcrum, a tall sheet metal sculpture that lets the view enter its space, taking its influence from sheet metal as a form of building construction. The modern city which finds its inhabitants spending more time indoors is therefore reflected by the “indoor” viewing experience of Fulcrum.

·         Another famous postmodern artist is David Smith. He combines abstract expressionism with stainless steel to create surreal pieces of industrial ambiguity, like his Cubi works. The practicality of stainless steel is juxtaposed by pure abstraction of his visually-stunning work.  

                                   

These are just a few examples of artists working with metal sculpture. While their background and influences vary according to the times, they all share a love for metal as a form of creative expression. If you are interested in experimenting with metal work as an artist, consider a welding or sheet metal worker apprenticeship through a university to get familiar with the medium and to give yourself the time, energy and safe environment to practice it.

Visit Mohawk College for more information on welding, sheet metal, or steamfitter apprenticeship programs.