New in Office Automation Department

Joliette, February 3, 2005 – The students in Office Automation Department of the Cégep régional de Lanaudière à Joliette are currently developing the first educational practice firm (PF) of this cégep, to incorporate the knowledge acquired during their studies. This enterprise will soon be known as Vari@, name representing diversity from all sides.

Of course, the practice firms are mostly located in Europe. However, it is becoming a concept more and more popular in various areas in the Province of Quebec in Canada. The idea is pretty simple: it is a way to simulate the business world while functioning like real enterprises, in whether a professional or scholar context. All services are recreated: Accounting, Sales, Purchasing, Marketing, Advertising, Human Resources and Communication. Only the production and the delivery are not done for real. The main goal of this type of exercises is to give an insight of the real business world . While the students take full part in the PF, they experience a lot more than they would, while sitting in a classroom all day long.

The students will work with the Cannebergière Coutu, the first official partner of Vari@, and eventually, more enterprises will be able to join this project. On the one hand, the partners offer models of their documents, species of their production, and models of their organization along with a realistic idea of the fees that the real enterprises have to pay to keep going. On the other hand, the practice firm offers to their partners a better visibility and advertises their products through the Medias. The PF offers contacts with the partners of other practice firms be them Canadian or International, and also offers, for free, to its partners, all administrative and advertising work accomplished. Furthermore, it allows the students to find new ways to solve problems as a practice firm, but with the real problems of its partners.

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Source : Office Automation students

For more informations : Mr. André Guay
(450) 759-1661, extension 1286