It was an afternoon celebration full of good vibes as the graduates of a unique partnership between Humber Polytechnic and Karis Disability Services received their certificates at the Barrett Centre for Technology Innovation.
Karis – which provides shared and independent living services, accessible family camps, advocacy, training, respite, and other programs with the mission of fostering inclusion, independence, and opportunity for people with disabilities – launched its partnership with Humber in 2014. Together, Humber and Karis offer a two-semester Culinary Skills Development and Employment program that trains students to work in professional kitchens at restaurants such as Boston Pizza or Turtle Jack’s.
In addition to celebrating that milestone, Humber and Karis now offer a Baking Fundamentals program. In the spring, Humber’s Longo Faculty of Business, led by John McNeil, associate dean of Continuous Professional Learning (CPL), worked with Karis to create the program that mirrors the culinary model and places graduates in roles at industry employers such as Sobey’s and Tim Hortons.
The first cohort of 14 Baking Fundamentals graduates, along with the 14 graduates from the Culinary Skills program, were recognized at this year’s ceremony.
