Train for a new career
Are you missing the prerequisites you need to apply to a professional program? Are you unsure if you have the skills you need to succeed? Pathways is for you!
Pathways is a free program that helps you get the support you need to succeed. You’ll enter your post-secondary program with a strong foundation that includes:
- career-specific language
- skills directly relevant to the field
- personal connections to people who will help you succeed
Who can apply for Pathways?
Pathways is ideal for students who need to take Adult Basic Education (ABE) or English as a Second Language (ESL) courses to meet the entry requirements for these programs.
- Nursing (LPN)
- Health Care Assistant
- Dental Hygiene
- Dental Assistant
- Early Childhood Education and Care
- Engineering
- Computer Science
- Application and Web Design
I can’t tell you how thankful I am for you and Pathways! Never in my academic pursuit have I ever felt this supported! You have no idea how grateful I am!!! Thank you soooooo much!!! I’m understanding things that were totally foreign and confusing to me before. Thanks for your support and encouragement! It gave me the extra nudge I needed to hear this morning. “I can do this!”
Valene Grovum
Pathways may help prepare you for other professional programs as well. If you have another career in mind, talk to us!
Students who are already enrolled in ABE or ESL classes are also welcome to take part in Pathways.
How Pathways works
Pathways prepares you for success with relevant class work, academic support and community.
Relevant course work
Specialized course work connected to each field of study is embedded in prerequisite classes. For example, a student working on math prerequisites for the Nursing program will work on math problems that are used in the field of nursing.
Academic support
A Pathways coordinator will help you:
- set goals
- work with a Student Success Advisor to plan an efficient course schedule
- access additional supports
Community
You will join a learning pod with other students who are planning to take the same program as you. Learning pods will:
- help you build connections with fellow students
- give you opportunities to connect with career-specific people within and outside VIU
- give you exposure to career specific information and resources
Sign Up for Pathways
Learn more about Pathways or sign up by emailing the Program Coordinator Roberta Jenkins at Roberta.Jenkins@viu.ca.
In a lot of ways university can be overwhelming and feel daunting. And there isn't just one person or one place that you can go for help. Every service or department has a different person you have to connect in order to get the help that you need. And having to do this over and over again can really become really stressful. Pathways and Roberta has given me a place to go where I can get some support in all of those areas. Roberta has also helped me to break down really large tasks into smaller easy to do steps. Roberta’s office has been the place I know I can go to get help in connecting with whomever and whatever is needed in getting my academic requirements accomplished.
Pathways has also helped me to stay on track and keep to the best path in reaching my academic goal of nursing. It's made my goals feel a lot more straight forward and obtainable.
Kylie Fraser