“Wannabe gumshoes learn the art of surveillance at Sheridan College” Special to The Globe and Mail, Sept. 26, 2005, E3

 

 

Surely, neither Philip Marlowe nor Sam Spade earned their sleuthing stripes by poring over textbooks or taking copious notes from fusty academic types.

 

Indeed, this is why students enrolled in the Introduction to Surveillance course at Sheridan College's Oakville campus have their hands full with tiny camcorders and cameras — and there are neither pens nor notepads in sight.

 

Some heads are bent over the keyboards of their laptops, typing feverishly, while others are peering through the lens of digital cameras, zooming in on imagined suspects.

 

It's the first day of class, and as good a time as any for these would-be private eyes to get their hands on equipment they will use out in the field, Jean Callaghan figures.

 

“You are only going to be good with cameras if you use them, so there will be opportunities for you to take the cameras out and use them on your own,” Prof. Callaghan tells the class before she opens a boxy black briefcase full of, as she calls them, toys.

 

The briefcase is overflowing with gadgets for would-be private investigators, including charged batteries, and memory cards.

 

In this course, students are trained to perform the clandestine act of surveillance; in essence, tailing subjects and recording their movements while incognito.

 

The major project includes preparing a dossier on a subject of their choosing, comprising a detailed surveillance report, photographs and video. It's a prerequisite to graduate from the two-year investigation course at the college.

 

Graduates can pursue a range of careers in private investigation, retail security, insurance adjusting and even the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.

 

When asked, second-year student Nalini Maharaj, 22, is hesitant to speak of her goals. “I don't want to say,” she says. She pauses for a beat, and then, carefully: “I want to obtain a government-related job.”

 

For the most part, students are enrolled in the program because “they want to do something that is interesting, that is not 9-5 and sitting behind a desk the whole time,” says Prof. Callaghan, who worked as a private investigator for about 18 years before coming to Sheridan about 10 years ago. When she entered the industry, she was lucky enough to find a private eye who was willing to train her. But times have changed, and employers prefer vocational diplomas.

 

Though the Investigation program, students are required to take theoretical courses such as Criminal Procedures and Civil Procedures, where they explore the legalities of their work, the emphasis is on hands-on training.

 

By the time they graduate, they have trained their powers of observation by studying pictures for 30 seconds, then reciting a litany of 20 details. They have walked through a makeshift crime scene, secured the site and collected the evidence.

 

“They get the opportunity to make their mistakes before they get out there,” Prof. Callaghan says.

 

The skill-based college diploma stands in stark contrast to liberal arts degrees from universities. To a generation terrified by the possibility of joining the ranks of the unemployed, the lofty university degree may be losing its attraction.

 

According to Ontario College Application Services, the number of college applicants is on the rise. In 2000, nearly 129,000 people applied for full-time study for the fall term. Five years later, the applicants total about 136,000.

 

Sheridan vice-president Maureen Callahan chalks up the appeal of colleges to their job-driven education. “An increasing number of [students] are on student loans, are working during school, are finding the financial pressures are very difficult and I think a lot of them want the sense they will be able to find employment,” she says.

 

“There are people who enjoy the exploration of knowledge by following the paths through the academic woods. Then there are the other students who want to know what they can do with it, those who want to know how to apply that knowledge.”

 

Indeed, OCAS reports that college graduates make up one-third of Ontario's labour force.

 

“Two years and you're out there doing your job,” says investigation student Ryan O'Kelly, 18, who wants to become a private eye.

 

His classmate Bronwen Grieve, 19, echoes the sentiment: “In university, you learn about it in a textbook. Here, you actually do it.”

 

In fact, Glen Jones, professor of higher education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto, dismisses the suggestion that a university degree is more impressive.

 

“It's a bit like saying being a doctor is more prestigious than being a plumber,” he says. “At different points in your life, you will rely very heavily on people with different skill sets.”

 

When Ontario's community colleges were established in the 1960s, they were designed to address the needs of the work force that were not being met by universities, and to provide training for jobs that required specialized knowledge.

 

“Ontario colleges were designed to be separate but equal to universities where essentially you made a decision to attend the community college or university and never the twain would meet,” Prof. Jones said. “But over time, the reality is that people move and back forth.”

 

Today, colleges have evolved to offer credentials, applied degrees, joint degrees with universities, post-graduate programs, and to serve as entry points for professionals looking for new career paths.

 

At Sheridan, the most highly competitive programs, according to the 2005-2006 Ontario College Guide, include: advertising; applied photography; bachelor of applied arts in animation; bachelor of applied arts in illustration; media arts; music theatre, performance; police foundations, and social service work.

 

The fact is that employers hire college graduates who are prepared to launch into the work force, says Sheridan president and CEO Robert Turner. And Sheridan reflects that need by routinely evaluating the more than 100 programs on offer and “constantly checking our education is relevant to the marketplace,” he says.

 

“At the onset, we were designed to provide practical applied training that yields to an exciting career, and we still do that, that's still our strength. But be very clear, we have no aspiration to be a university, we have the aspiration to be the best polytechnic in the country.”