The Field of Intellectual Disability continues to be an area of varied and stable employment. A report released by the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities shows that Ontario's developmental services worker graduate employment rate is 87 per cent with an employer satisfaction rate of 92 per cent. Centennial College's Developmental Services Worker program graduates have been hired by many well-known organizations in the past, recognizing the critical skills and knowledge the program has given them.

Developmental Services Workers (DSWs) in Ontario have the satisfying work of providing support to people who have an intellectual or developmental disability. Centennial College's rewarding four semester Developmental Services Worker program which takes place over the course of two years, offers its students a strong foundation in the field and reflects best practices, current and relevant knowledge and addresses current issues. It also emphasizes a deep understanding of the life experiences of people who have intellectual disabilities, values clarification, analysis, critical thinking, problem solving, affecting positive change, and communication skills.

The program contains supervised field placements for two days per week in semester three and three days per week in semester four which enables the students to gain hands-on experience with people who have intellectual disabilities and gives them a deep understanding of the real-life practices of Ontario's development service workers. Graduates of Centennial's Developmental Services Worker program fill a variety of work roles including educational assistant, family support worker, job coach, employment support worker, integration facilitator and residential support worker.

Organizations hiring Centennial's program graduates include Bloorview School, Common Ground Co-operative Inc., Community Living Toronto, Deohaeko Support Network , Durham Association for Family Respite Services, Nabors, Durham District School Board, Frontier College, Kerry's Place, L'Arche Toronto, L'Arche Daybreak, Richmond Hill, New Visions, Toronto Catholic District School Board, Toronto District School Board, York Region School Board and Provincial Program Learning Outcomes.

SOURCE Centennial College