February 2006
Success Story
CCNA and co-op program give employer a winning team
Tutor and student succeed together
It was a real struggle. Vince Delibato
was in grade ten at St. Jean de Brébeuf
secondary school in Hamilton, Ontario,
where he took IT Essentials I: PC Hardware and Software in the computer engineering course (TEE20). It covered the
basics of computers, how they function
and a brief introduction to networking.
He did not get off to a good start.
Vince Delibato
Fab Sa
“Students who have taken this
program have two skill sets we
don’t often see and that is to
work together as a team and
to solve problems.”
- George Saturnino, President, Icor Group
hired. He had more knowledge than I
did, there was that grade difference and
he was older than me.”
What happened, though, was Icor hired
them both. Cheryl McGregor is Director
of Operations and she is very happy
with their performance. “They’re really
here to learn,” she says. “They’re both
trouble-shooting PC and network problems and they work very well as a team.
They are particularly good at problem
solving.”
In stepped senior student Fab Sa, who
tutored Delibato and got immediate
results. Delibato says, “He tutored me
for about half the semester and my mark George Saturnino, President of Icor,
jumped by ten percent.”
supports co-op programs because he
Delibato enjoyed the course enough he is wants young people to see the IT world
is different from their perception of a
now taking the next stepping stone,
programmer stuck behind their cubicle.
Cisco Certified Network Associate
(CCNA) semesters, as is Sa, who is hop- In his mind, co-op students who have
taken CCNA stand out. “Students who
ing to go to Mohawk College where
have taken this program have two skill
they give credit for CCNA semesters
sets we don’t often see and that is to
taken in high school.
work together as a team and to solve
Sa says he realised what he wanted to do
problems,” he says.
after taking the computer engineering
Paul Kocsis is their instructor in the
course. “I got good habits, passed that
course and took CCNA. Computer eng- technical studies department at St. Jean
ineering was a bit intimidating but after de Brébeuf. He is a strong supporter of
that it was pretty amazing, really cool.” the Cisco Networking Academy program. He says, “It gives students an
St. Jean de Brébeuf has a co-op componexcellent chance to accelerate their learnent to their courses, usually in grade 11.
ing and they can learn something for job
Both Delibato and Sa were interviewing
opportunities. This is an area where
for jobs for their co-op placements.
there is demand coming and they’re
Delibato had an interview with Icor
positioning themselves to be in a good
Group, an IT support and network manopportunity for a job.”
agement company. He recounts, “I
A student and his tutor have combined
walked out of the interview, everything
their skills to make a winning team with
had gone well, and then I happened to
a promising future that has only just
look in one of the chairs and saw Fab
begun.
sitting there. I figured I wouldn’t get
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