Algonquin College

Algonquin College recognizes the importance of preparing its graduates for their careers and ensuring that they are well situated to meet the expectations of their future employers. Essential Employability Skills (EES), as integrated components of post-secondary programs of study, are a tangible sign of Algonquin’s academic commitment to relevant, practical and career-oriented education. While it is the case that the inclusion of Essential Employability Skills outcomes is a mandatory requirement for the granting of Ontario College credentials, Algonquin’s decision to level the outcomes in a manner consistent with the credential being granted further augments the knowledge, skills and attitudes that students will be required to demonstrate reliably prior to graduation.

To support our commitment to relevant, practical and career-oriented education, three documents have been prepared to outline and support Algonquin's implementation of the EES learning outcomes.

Algonquin's Academic Directive E44 – Essential Employability Skills (Adobe Acrobat File):  This directive outlines the policies, procedures, roles and responsibilities as they pertain to the inclusion of EES learning outcomes in all programs of study that lead to an Ontario College Certificate, an Ontario College Diploma, or an Ontario College Advanced Diploma.

Algonquin's Levelled EES learning outcomes: In order to address the expected performance level of graduates of each of the applicable Ontario College credentials more directly, a set of levelled EES learning outcomes has been prepared for each credential:

Levelled EES learning outcomes for an Ontario College Certificate (Adobe Acrobat File)
Levelled EES learning outcomes for an Ontario College Diploma (Adobe Acrobat File)
Levelled EES learning outcomes for an Ontario College Advanced Diploma (Adobe Acrobat File)

Complete set of levelled EES learning outcomes: Ontario College Certificate, Ontario College Diploma, and Ontario College Advanced Diploma (Adobe Acrobat File)

The purpose of the levelled outcomes is to clarify the expectations of students demonstrating the outcomes at a graduate level. The EES learning outcomes to be met remain the same. The additional descriptors provided in the levelled EES learning outcomes may also enable a wider sense of opportunities for teaching and assessing the foundational skills that are consistent with the complexity, breadth, and depth the credentials listed above.

Guidelines for Essential Employability Skills—Lifesaver #9 (Adobe Acrobat File): In addition to providing a complete version of the EES learning outcomes along with the Defining Skills, this Lifesaver provides additional information about Essential Employability Skills. As a support tool, it also provides some recommendations for including EES learning outcomes in a course.