Getting the Most Out of a Food Handling Certificate’s Lifetime

Making the Most of Everything

On a sad note, when we hear the adage “nothing lasts forever”, we are reminded of our own mortality. Yet on the positive side, the same adage reminds that we need to make the most out of everything in life. Family time, friendships, working towards goals, and creating the best for our children are what drive us to use our time on Earth to the maximum. In an odd way, things like expiry dates and deadlines help us achieve those goals. Think of getting a gym membership: you can pay for it, but it won’t last forever, so it’s up to you to slog out to the weight and fitness rooms to get your body in shape. Other items like driver’s licenses and passports have certain shelve lives too, so it’s up to us to use them for our desired travel needs. When it comes to things like food handling and safety certificates, it’s good to know how they last so you use them to your professional advantage.

Half of a Decade

Some certifications and licenses are now available to be used over a whole decade. Some only last a few years. Food handling and safety certificates typically last five years. Hence, should one want to venture into the food industry and go about getting a proper food handler certificate, they have half a decade to make the most out of it. This is not to cause stress but rather to note what is available to someone seeking food industry employment. If you’re starting out and just acquire a food handler certificate, you’re off and running to build up your own career. Perhaps you have start at the bottom of the job ladder in dishwashing or bussing, but those are good building blocks to get one’s food career going. If you’re already working in the food industry and need a food handler certification to continue in the field, you just have to get one and then go back to your regular job, perhaps at a promoted level, and feel secure that you’re legally allowed to do your job for five more years. In any case, once you’ve got that official piece of paper, the next five years are yours to make the most out of.

Less Time to Acquire

If five years seems lengthy to build a career, that’s positive. But what’s better is that getting a food handler certificate doesn’t take much time at all. If can sacrifice one day, you can get your food handler and safety certificate in one session. Obviously, it’s a fairly intense day as students have to cover microbiology, food industry legalities, foodborne illness theory, and how to properly deport oneself in the food world as a safe, responsible professional. However, once that day is done and you pass your final quiz, you can begin that five year path to creating a reputation for yourself in whichever food industry avenue you choose.

If this is a five-year adventure that’s appealing or you need to renew your food handler certification for another five years, visit ActiCert.com/Food-Handler-Certificate/ to get your new food handler certificate. It takes a short time to complete but provides a long time to build success.

The Personal Value of Having a Food Handler Certificate Anywhere in Canada

There was a Time, But…

Canada has come a long way in so many levels as a nation. It’s the second largest geographically in the world and even before its 1867 Confederation, it was building on its economy, development, and infrastructure. Mining, technology, banking, forestry products, and agriculture are all some of the larger industries that helped forge the national economic profile. These days, other new industries are flourishing such as technology, manufacturing, and many recreational industries. The food marketplace is part of the latter and it’s growing like never before. Just go to the remotest parts of Canada and you can still get imported fruit and multi-ethnic restaurant choices. That’s great for consumers, and if, years ago, you wanted to become part of the food industry, you just had to wiggle your way into it via application or making a professional connection. That was then but now it’s not as easy. You need some food handling certification before you can get going.

Province-to-Province

Each Canadian province has its own unique trademarks of landmarks, history, and modern population composition. Obviously, Quebec stands out with its French-based traditions of language and unique customs, cuisine, and architecture. Yet even smaller provinces like New Brunswick are distinguished by their evolving economy and new people moving there. But some things do not differ much province-to-province and food handling is one of those policy standards. Each province has its own legalities on food handling and no matter if one wishes to be a waiter in a fine dining restaurant in Vancouver or operate a hot dog stand or food truck on the streets of Winnipeg, each food handler must abide by those legalities. This is to ensure that they keep the food handling environment safe for both colleagues and customers alike. Though there are provincial and regional differences, one might say that there is a common Canada food handler certificate to be acquired wherever one journeys for food-related work.

Mobility from St. John’s to Victoria

Now you’ve decided that come what may, you want to work in food handling. That’s great. Without any ironic implication, you are now of value. Your talents in customer service, business, and/or food preparation truly serve a function to patrons that want to enjoy your wares. It can be a tough job but the personal satisfaction that comes with the role is akin to a great tradesperson, engineer, or artisan that know what they do is of use to the public. Again, it’s great. But before you do anything, you must get that food hander certificate to work wherever you are in Canada. It doesn’t take long to complete, is at low cost, and once you’ve got it, you are ready to work.

ActiCert has grown across Canada offering food handling in provinces including Ontario and Alberta. We’re working on breaking into offering food handler certification in more provinces too. For now though, go to ActiCert.com/Food-Handler-Certificate/ to get your new food handler certificate in Canada.

What Is a Proctor? How to Become a Proctor in Canada

Understanding What a Proctor is How to Become One

What Is a Proctor? Understanding the Role

There are those jobs that everyone knows about—plumbers, investment bankers, surgeons, lawyers, and cattle farmers all quickly conjure up images in people’s heads and what their basic duties are. But some jobs aren’t so commonly known. So many young people aspire to become influencers using social media and their personalities to promote something. This job didn’t exist just a few decades ago. Socialites are real people that attend public events and help inspire people to donate money to foundations or causes, but it’s not a train-then-work sort of job. One job that has also been of some confusion of late is a proctor. It’s only recently become a legitimized career and has gained much popularity. But what is a proctor? Time to find out.

What Does a Proctor Do? Monitoring, Invigilating, and More

Proctors are testing professionals. They do everything to ensure that a testing session goes according to plan. It’s a rigid role and it’s not for everyone either. Proctors must follow the guidelines of the test exactly and are usually monitored performance-wise themselves during the test. From checking in candidates to sitting them at their designated test station to noting directives of the test from a script, time notifications, candidate washroom breaks, any technical mishaps, and the proper dismissal at the test’s end are involved in the job. The need for proctors has increased as there are more tests available to the public and new computer-based formats that must be utilized. Whether they are called invigilators or examiners, proctors have a strict job to do and need the right directives beforehand.

Course Preparation

Now that you know what an exam proctor is, you might be thinking it’s a job for you. Yet you are unsure of how to get started. In years previous, it only took a connection from someone already working in proctoring or examinations to help get you a job. These days, you need to have some sort of Canadian proctoring course certification behind you. Since there are so many test varieties and respective test interfaces, taking a proctoring course give aspirants to the role an idea of what they will face on test days. As well, these courses are recognized by testing companies and those that have completed a Canadian proctoring course get their resumes sent to the top of the pile when they start applying for work.

If proctoring seems like a role for you, hook up with ActiCert’s Canadian proctoring course. As part of ActiCert’s roster of certification courses, it is a comprehensive certification program that immerses those that wish to make proctoring a career choice in all the intricacies of the role. Visit ActiCert.com/Canadian-Proctoring-Course/ now to begin your Canadian proctoring journey.

Getting the Most of an Ontario Food Handling Certificate

Food Service Opportunities Across Ontario

If you’ve ever driven or flown across Ontario, you realize just how wide of a province it is. Sure Quebec is geographically the largest in Canada, but Ontario’s width covers a lot of ground, cities, towns, and all points in between. Going a step further, there are a lot of restaurants, hotels, cafes, pubs, chain restaurants, hospitals with food service, lounges, food trucks, and the hungry people that frequent or dine on those establishments. If you really think about it, there is a lot of opportunity for anyone that wants to work in food services within Ontario’s boundaries. But the problem is often the same: how does one break into the industry?

Why an Ontario Food Handling Certificate Matters

As with so many industries, professions, and activities today, you need a piece of paper to even get a foot into what you want to be part of. Is it pleasant? Not necessarily. Is it necessary? That’s debatable. Do you have to bite the bullet sometimes and go get that piece of paper? If you want to be part of that faction of life, rightly or wrongly, yes. Whether it’s a boating license, a demolition permit, or a certification to work, it’s just part of everyone’s routine: get that piece of paper and you’re a step up from where you once were. It’s the same deal working in the food industry in the widest Canadian province—if you get that properly accredited Ontario food handling certificate, you can begin to make headway in your food services career.

How Food Handler Certification Can Boost Your Career

Getting an Ontario food handling certificate is not hard at all. You pick a date, pay your fees, attend the classes, take a test, pass, and then you’re set. It sounds simple and it really is. But what’s more is that certificate you carry around and put on your resume is what puts your resume and ultimately you at the top of the hiring consideration pile of a manager’s desk. They will see that you are a certified food handler and will make the mental note that this candidate has taken the time and expense to get food handler certified. Hence that candidate is appealing and can be seen as a positive addition to their team. Whether it be for a waiter job in a fancy restaurant or a student willing to work in dishwashing or line preparation or a dietician wanting to work at a school or senior’s home, that certificate is what brands the aspiring hire as desirable to at least consider. It’s what can build one’s career as a real stepping stone.

ActiCert offers its fully accredited food handler certification program across Ontario. We offer in-person and digital food handler certification classes regularly, and can arrange group or individual sessions that are convenient to you. Visit ActiCert.com/food-handler-certificate/ to get involved in becoming an Ontario-based food handler certificate holder and make use of the opportunities this province’s food industry can offer.

Understanding What Specific First Aid Titles You Need

People like options, especially in the modern age. When we think of what we can purchase or chose on the marketplace, it’s amazing. Once there was one kind of Coca-Cola and now there are multiple flavours, not to mention many soft drink competitors. People can pick whatever cell phone provider these days instead of only one phone monopolized phone service of the past. Plus, how many airlines can one chose for that quick trip out of town? Many and many more.

But with options comes selection. Consumers need to know what they are buying and how to distinguish the product from others like them. Once upon a time, students only took one kind of first aid program that covered all they supposedly needed to know. But these days they are many first aid courses and anyone needing first aid certification must be able to pick the right one for their immediate needs.

Only What You Need

If you’ve ever gone to a dinner buffet, you might be overwhelmed by the selection of food. Furthermore, as enticing as it all is, you know you are human. You can only consume so much and might even had to abide by a food restriction or two. That awareness if what is needed now in choosing first aid certification programs: it’s great that there are many well constructed and delivered programs, but you have to be specific on what you need. If you’re a paramedic, you need to specifically study the Emergency Medical Responder (EMR) certification course. A lot of first responders and even some tourists that are in the mountainous or peripheral regions of North America need to study Wilderness and Remote First Aid—it’s a newer program to first aid studies and proven popular. Typically, those that just need first aid for their office or factory need CPR/AED blended first aid with some defibrillator instruction. In essence, it’s up to you to what type of first aid you want but make sure you check with your employer or consider the activity you are studying first aid for. This beforehand thinking will help you make the best decision for yourself and first aid studies.

New Name, Same Program

Recently “standard first aid” was changed to “intermediate first aid”. As well, “emergency first aid” has now been retitled “basic first aid”. The names are different, but the programs are still the same. They are done in a short period, often interactive, and can are fully endorsed by the Red Cross.

ActiCert is up to date on these first aid options and offers many to people seeking to get the exact first aid option they require. Check them out at ActiCert.com/redcross/ today to find the right first aid certification you need.

Taking Advantage of ActiCert’s Certification Programs All Summer Long

No snow or signs of winter festivities. Heat, humidity, and sunshine are the daily forecasts. The World Cup of Soccer is still on for a bit longer and then, well, more summer sports like baseball will continue. School’s still out and there is time in the day for barbecues, picnics, road trips, beach ventures, and hiking. In all, summer is still on. That’s a good thing but for other reasons.

Obviously, everyone wants to take advantage of the season in terms of recreation and relaxation. But there might be a gap where you can get some education or something to help further your professional success. Summer is good for that. With a generally less-hustle-and-bustle of other seasons, it’s often the best time to get some education with ease.

Short but Sweet

If you’ve ever done summer school, summer fast-tracking courses, or taken education at post-secondary levels over the summer, it likely doesn’t conjure the best memories. Stuck in class, trying to take notes while you dream of the beach or the ice cream parlour, and methodically going through text chapters to finish up your studies are common images. That’s understandable. But not all summer education is like that. Certification courses in food handling and first aid retain the intensity that they have at other points of the calendar year, and often since there are smaller summer enrolments, the instructors and activities are more one-on-one and intensive. Moreover, the commitment to completing them is short. You might have to do an online study bit then go to a classroom to complete the certification, but that’s usually no longer than a day in length. Certification is short and sweet, and once you’re done, that’s it. You can still get to the beach or get your ice cream, no problem.

Till the End of the Year

You might have friends or family that totally denounce any sort of studying in the summer. This is their only real holiday time with their family, and especially if they have children, they want to take advantage of it with a clear calendar. Again, this is very understandable. But you might have flexibility, a brief gap in your work schedule, or time during a summer holiday that you can devote to getting a certification. That’s an advantage for you and it paves the way for better things from summer till year’s end. Your company might need a first aid supervisor, and since you took the time to get a first aid certification, you can get into the application run quickly. You know that there is going to be hiring for the fall in local restaurants, cafes, and catering services, so once you get a food handler certification in July or August, you are ready to apply and can land a gig sooner.

Other people might take the summer off, but ActiCert doesn’t. We run our programs year-round and are happy to help you meet your summertime goals. Visit us at ActiCert.com to take advantage of summer certification today.

Why First Aid Training is So Valued in Society These Days

When things become popular, it’s hard to know if that item, trend, or persuasion is something of merit or just a passing fad. Whether it’s a new band, fashion item, or technological development, only time will tell if these new developments truly last and affect humans in a positive way forward.

Education, certification, and licensing can be part of this conundrum. People grumble that they have to get anything from a boating license to a culinary education certificate to do something they can learn with practice. This is fine and debatable. But with the rising popularity of so many companies and organizations needing first aid certification holder, there is a decent explanation for this new popularity.

We Just Never Know

It is true to say that we live in an overall safer society these days. People take more care with themselves and are more aware of safety issues in their home, workplace, travel routes, and recreational areas. But, as the saying goes, we just never know what can happen. People can have a sudden allergic reaction to a food or substance they get exposed to that they hitherto did not know affected them so negatively. Strong, violent weather patterns can wreak havoc on people with little warning. Old building infrastructures can collapse and cause mayhem to people. As safe as any person or community can be, accidents and incidents still happen to humans, and they must be on-guard and ready to save a human life in such situations. We hear how bad things are in the news and media, but it would beneficial to show just how many lives are helped with those that know first aid and CPR.

The Legal Ramifications

We might live in a safer society, but we are not a less bureaucratic one. Sadly, the legal matters that arise when accidents and human harm arise can be enormous. Whenever humans get hurt at their work, in school, or in a public place and after emergency services assist them, you can bet there is going to be a mountain of paperwork, reports, and often legal disputes that are costly and mentally excruciating. As bad as that all sounds, that’s another reason why so many companies and organizations want to have properly certified first aid personnel around. Not only are first aid certification holders able to help others, they can help lower the potential legal burdens. Having someone injured is bad enough but trying to resolve consequential legal disputes thereafter is worse. Certified first aid holders are an overall double asset.

You can be that asset in your company or community with ActiCert’s first aid and CPR courses. Come check us out at ActiCert.com/redcross/ to become your own skilled first aid big deal to those around you.

Getting Certified in Test Proctoring and its Related Professional Benefits

If you’re having a tough time landing a job these days or have ever struggled to find a job, well, you understand frustration. You’re able-bodied and of sound mind with some formal education. What’s wrong with companies? Why won’t they hire? How is one to build a career? Yes, all this neurosis is more common than it needs to be, no question.

With that people will do just about anything to work and earn money: deliver food, work for construction agencies, and take in laundry or sewing. Those are all great. But one area that has potential for employment is exam proctoring. Perhaps it’s never been well known as a career but these days it’s blossoming and needs staff.

An Exam for Everything

People gripe today that they need pieces of paper for everything. There seems to be a license, diploma, and/or course of study for some of the most menial jobs. To top it off, there seems to be an exam to certify or qualify everyone to get the job they want. All this can be annoying. But turning this information on its head, one realizes that all of this study and testing demand a real need for people to proctor these tests through. Proctors are un-biased and hired to conduct exams according to specific rules and regulations to ensure fairness to all candidates. Moreover, not all test scenarios are the same. There are several computer-based tests, some paper-based options, and those that have to oversee these tests have to be properly trained and audited to ensure they offer each test properly.

Part of the Engine

These days, more testing centers are opening up, often in more remoted areas. They are a focal point for candidates around them to book their test their, come in, take the test, then get sent their results thereafter. These centers can also offer more than one test, such as IELTS for English language assessments or accounting certification tests for those accountants that wish to get a chartered designation, and both under the same roof. Again, the staff there must be multifaceted to properly check-in, secure, and execute the test for candidates. It can be nerve wracking at times, but if properly trained and professional, proctors can have a very lucrative career.

This might be the career for you. If so, check out ActiCert’s Canadian Proctoring certification course at ActiCert.com/Canadian-Proctoring-Course/. This twenty-four-hour certification course can get you ready to work as a proctor in today’s fast-paced testing and examination environments. Becoming a certified proctor can open new doors for you professionally, so let ActiCert help you get going.

Finding Food Handling Success in Mobile Food Services

Even today, we still find ourselves imagining certain bastions of the way things are, especially in the professional world. If someone says they teach, we automatically see them at the front of a classroom, dictating a lesson. If someone says they are a banker, we see them behind the counter or in their office at a standalone bank. The reality is that a lot of teachers today work online, and a lot of banking professionals do their work from home or move branch-to-branch.

The only issue really is that these old hat images limit perceptions. If you’re an aspiring food service worker and you can’t get a job in a traditional restaurant, hotel, or café, you think it’s over. If you dream of having your one brick-and-mortar food outlet but don’t have the capital or infrastructure to begin, they you think it’s really over. But it’s not. You just have to go mobile.

Going to Where the Action Is

Food handling work isn’t just in one place at a given time. It goes where the action is. That includes conventions, fairs, farmer’s markets, weddings, bar mitzvahs, and corporate events. These events often employ caterers and food specialists to deliver very specific food to guests and attendees. Think about what you see these days: mobile clam bars, plated dinners set up in an impromptu kitchen space, themed parties where chefs must prepare a ton of flexible options, be they Eastern-influenced snacks, vegan and gluten-free options, and specific dietary plate options including kosher and halal. These catering companies need certified food handlers to come aboard and help them on their event journeys. It’s often the most fast-paced food service work one can experience.

Getting in Gear

Ask any restauranteur or food entrepreneur about the troubles they experience. Food rarely comes as a topic as they know their food service abilities. It’s the other matters surrounding the food handling environment that get under their craw. Taxes, staffing, regulations, and, most troublesome, maintaining a four-walled space to operate really infuse the conversation. In recent decades, many food handlers have found a way out thanks to mobile food units, specifically food trucks, to get their wares to customers. The dividends on getting into gear with a food truck are many too. There folks can still be their own food service bosses and they realize that there are savings to be had while getting their reputation in the community known. Again, they can go to their clients without the hassles of running a static food production premises.

Now you can see the options. You may wish to have your own food truck or at least seek out catering or events companies for food handling work if you can’t get a job in traditional means. Having a food handler certification from ActiCert can put you on either path. Check out ActiCert.com/food-handler-certificate/ to get your food handling career into its mobility.

Using Food Handler Certification as a Beginning Point for Your Own Food Business

Using Food Handler Certification as a Beginning Point for Your Own Food Business

Ask any successful chef-owner-operator of a food business, they will likely advise that if you want to do what they do, there’s a plethora of skills to have. Aside from good chef training in a restaurant and/or a reputable culinary school, there are the matters of legalities, business, logistics, maintenance, and, well, a lot more. No matter how much you like cooking and food, you must operate like a businessperson to ensure your food establishment gets and stays going properly.

The sad news is that so many food businesses fail and many aspirants complain that they did not understand just how much work was involved. However, even by taking a food handling certification, a new food business owner-aspirant can learn what is involved in getting their business underway.

A Complete Survey

If you study English literature, a well written survey can cover the origins of the language and notable writers throughout history. The same with a good electrical engineering textbook—it can cover theory and practice chapter-to-chapter. The food handler certification information is comprehensive of all matters related to food health and safety but is also interspersed with other information that can give the student insights into running a truly great food business.

Typically, the first chapter deals with federal, provincial, and municipal legalities, then covers issues of microbiology and foodborne illness before covering food storage, logistics, cleaning, temperature controls, waste disposal, and food handler etiquette. Upon completion, the student can see what they must be aware of, first as a food handler, and what avenues would need to be explored further if they were to further become a food business owner-operator.

An Ongoing Checklist

Admittedly, many that dream of becoming a food business entrepreneur complete food handler certification and opt out of pursuing their initial goals due to the sheer volume of regulations, standards, and behavioral necessities they just studied. Yet so many others use the food handler certification and its related information as their own personal checklist to build their knowledge bank and further utilize in actualizing their food business ideas. Since so much is covered, they are now mentally equipped and ready to see their food business through to operation.

That might be what you want and, if so, ActiCert can help. Visit ActiCert.com/food-handler-certificate/ to begin building your own stepping stones to create your own food business.