Pre-Apprenticeship Training Institute YASC Scam, lies, deception Toronto, Ontario

I have recently finished the course 'Construction and Maintenance Electrician'. After reading the rebuttal to the bad review I decided that I would take the chance and sign up for this course.

During the interview process, I was swayed by the confirmed 80-100% placement rate. Although Pat Instite does not guarantee placement they stated 80-100% of there graduates get work in their field of study. After following up with my peers, none of us has gotten work in our field of study. This could be due to a slow down.

If you are thinking of taking this course I would suggest contacting potential employers first to see if anyone is hiring. At this point I am unsure if this course is worth the $7500.00.

The bottom line was you COULD NOT find an apprenticeship without PATI and that's why you went there in the first place.  Good luck trying to find an employer who will take you with no experience considering most of the journey men I talked to about employment suggested I take the PATI course.

The cost is a little steep but for the amount of hands on experience I learned and everything I received made me ready for the work place.  The YASC found jobs for my class mates and I two weeks after graduation, only 1 did not have a high enough average to get on the job board (you have to be pretty d**n incompetent to not get on there) - they told us while we applied that there is "no guarantee but a high success rate" - obviously they can't guarantee the job because we have to sell out own skills but I liked how they told us that information straight up.

They are not hear to scam you but are hear to help with that trade industry,  I have been graduated from there for over a year but still have contact with their office.  I was laid off the first job they found me, once I let them know, they had another job interview for me in less than a month.  From my experience in this place and my class mates, we would not have gone any where else but PATI, Ive never heard of another college that will help find a job for graduates and that's why PATI is a better choice then the rest. 

For the negative comments or people who received a negative experience, without PATI you would still be trying to find an employer to take you as an apprentice so be thankful for the opportunity that PATI gave you.

Well tell your b/f to go ask any licensed journeypersons he works with if they paid $7000 for a  pre apprenticeship course.  And trust me 95 percent of the industry does not hire here!!  Sure 95% of the scab contractors who are looking for cheap labour hire here.  I was a student there a few years ago when the yasc didn't exist and it was only PAT.  Luckily (or unluckily) they did get me a job where I worked for 1 yr as a labourer.  The b***h at PAT told me sometimes it takes time to get registered.  Well I was new and stupid then and now I know that only registered apprentices and licensed electricians are legally allowed to perform electrical work in Ontario.  Thank god I was accepted into the Unions apprenticeship program (although it took forever) and I'm doing a real apprenticeship where you actually get proper training and also make twice as much.  Union electricians earn a base rate of $38.00/hr and the total package (benefits, pension, all trade school covered, double overtime, etc) is worth approximately $58.00/hr.  The rate goes up yearly.  Look it up if you don't believe me.  The averege non-union electrician earns $25.00 (if you are good) and may not even get any benefits.

By the way after your b/f gets a bit more time under his belt and goes to do trade school to do his level II and III he'll also realize how much PAT institute sucks too.  Tell him to sign a union car. LOL

The bottom line is that if we were able to find our own apprenticeships we wouldn't have gone there.

I am writing a rebuttal in favor of Pre-Apprenticeship Training Institute, not only because I believe that this complaint is simply wrong, but this is one of the few places that does what they say.  Pre-Apprenticeship has brought my brother and boyfriend excellent education and successful careers, and they had been trying to secure an apprenticeship for two years.
My brother and I attended a Youth Apprenticeship Standards Council open house at the Pre-Apprenticeship Training Institute, the facility in which students are trained before entering the workforce. The training facility practically sold us instantly. You could tell it was very hands-on oriented, and when we met with the trainers (who told us they are experiences trades people in the fields) they advocated for PAT as a great institution to really prepare you for the workplace. Your right that this is would not be the place to go if you are not serious.
My brother entered the program, with a guarantee from PAT that because of his employability and assessment tests (which he says were not difficult to do well on) and as long as he maintained a 75% average in the program, he would get a membership to the Youth Apprenticeship Standards Council. I have since found out this is where most of the industry hires. They told us that if you are offered these conditions and meet them, they have a 95% success rate in linking people through the job link program with an employer and a job. They do not simply say they are guaranteeing you a job, they put in writing the conditions that they will grant you a membership to the job-link program in YASC.  And they ensured us, many people do meet the requirements.
My brother graduated from the Electrical program two years ago and was placed with and has been working for a great employer making a living for himself, and his family. I remember him telling me that companies from related trades like telecom were offering him a premium because he completed their training and wanted to hire him on the spot.
My boyfriend attended PAT last year, prior to which he received the same conditions in writing for his membership to the Youth Apprenticeship Standards Council. He graduated last winter, and in two weeks was hired through YASC by his employer as an apprentice and loves his job. I know some of the people waited longer but some were very selective and turned down job offers and they were linked with other employers and went to work. My boyfriend said that his training at PAT has allowed him to accelerate his apprenticeship, by challenging the Level 1 Apprenticeship Exam and passed it, and is now a second year apprentice. He also explained that Ontario has a 3:1 ratio which restricts companies from hiring apprentices  unlike the rest of Canada is 1:1, so we're grateful they lived up to our expectations, because we can move on with our lives, otherwise he would still be looking for a job and these ratios do not help.
 Im not sure why this person filed the complaint, maybe he or she did not make the job link program requirement, it is however an inaccurate perception of the Pre-Apprenticeship Training Institute in my view, but I highly encourage everyone to do their own research.
I can thank PAT Institute for the careers of my brother and my boyfriend, and Im sure many other people feel the same way.