Talk to me about TECH COURSES!

equilibrium · Oct 3, 2010

Hi!

I have been wanting to take the tech course for some time for my own personal knowledge and also would love to help other parents learn to keep their kids safe in properly installed seats. I never seem to be close to an offering of the tech course and really want to take it

Now, I have a zillion questions that I hope you can help me with!

1. I see that in BC, there is the National course (SJA) and also an offering of a two day program at a place like JIBC.
http://learning.jibc.ca/TPOnline/TPOnline.dll/Public%20Course/COURSENO=COUR2008082109493404350178

Can you tell me about the differences in the two different courses? (content, certification, etc.
Has anyone taken the JIBC course one? Is this the same certification as the National one but perhaps not as in depth? Then if one was offered closer to me (jibc)....would it be worth going to go, hoping I would get certified so I could at least start there to help increase knowledge and safety among carseat users, etc?

2.The National course questions:

How much does it normally cost?
Is there a manual that I can read in the meantime to help me with my own installs, or to learn more in an organized manner?
I am trying to see if the course will ever be offered on Vancouver Island although it doesn't quite look like it. Do you know if there are more people looking for it to be offered here?
What is involved in getting certified? Who certifies? Who oversees the certification ie/Transport Canada?

Please feel free to expand on your experiences with both types of tech courses. I would like to learn as much as possible about them

Thanks!

melissainbc · Oct 4, 2010

Funny you ask this now! I did the JIBC course, which is sponsored by BCAA/ICBC, back in June and then just completed the SJA one in over the weekend. I can tell you that the JIBC course is no where NEAR in depth as the SJA one and if you don't already have a fair amount of knowledge, you will leave with a lot of unanswered questions. It also only certifies you as a tech in BC. With this course you are sent a course manual before the course and study beforehand and then you will have a day where you spend about 6 hours in the classroom and then have a clinic at the end (ours lasted 2 hours). I would say if there class running in your area, take it if you want to get certified ASAP. I don't regret taking it, but if I had known that the opportunity to do the SJA course was coming up for me, I might not have done it. Well, I probably still would have

I'll leave the questions about the SJA course up to the instructors who will be able to answer your questions better than me. I will say that I looooved the course and am so happy I took it

Melissa

snowbird25ca · Oct 4, 2010

equilibrium said:
2.The National course questions:

How much does it normally cost?

Is there a manual that I can read in the meantime to help me with my own installs, or to learn more in an organized manner?

I am trying to see if the course will ever be offered on Vancouver Island although it doesn't quite look like it. Do you know if there are more people looking for it to be offered here?

What is involved in getting certified? Who certifies? Who oversees the certification ie/Transport Canada?

Please feel free to expand on your experiences with both types of tech courses. I would like to learn as much as possible about them Thanks!

Cost is up to the instructor to decide on. The cost of the course I just ran was $150. I will say that the number of students enrolled and cost of the facility the instructor uses will all factor in to the cost to students, as will travel expenses etc.

The manual is provided at the course and wouldn't be available ahead of time. It is currently being revised for one thing and isn't in production. But above and beyond that, there is a large amount of information in it that really needs to be gone over with an instructor in class. Part of the class fee is a fee for the manual.

I am not sure if there are more people looking to be certified on the island. In the end instructors are certified to teach Canada wide, but there is the issue of travel expenses and increased difficulty in organizing a class away from home. I'm not aware of any courses being organized on the island, but know that there is discussion of a course in Kamloops happening this winter.

The course is 2 days in class with a written exam at the end of the 2nd day. Students must get a minimum 80% on the exam in order to pass the course. There is a clinic on the 3rd day where you get hands on practice with parents and have your skills evaluated. Students have to successfully demonstrate the new skills in order to complete the course.

Once the course is done, the certificate is sent through St John Ambulance. They are the national certifying body for Canada. There is a person within Transport Canada who is very actively involved with St John Ambulance nationally, but TC does not oversee the certification process - all certificates are issued through SJA based on the information submitted by instructors.

I think that answers all your questions. :thumbsup: