McKenzie College program draws interest of BMM hopefuls

Moncton woman beats the rush and enrolls weeks ahead of announcment of 1,000 jobs coming

By Tori Weldon, CBC News Posted: Sep 30, 2015 6:00 AM AT Last Updated: Sep 30, 2015 8:20 AM AT

Kailynn Hachey is happy to be ahead of the curve, enrolling in a new software tester diploma program at McKenzie College just weeks before BMM Testlabs announced an expansion of its Moncton operations by 1,000 people over five years.

Hachey graduated from high school in 2013 has been looking for employment opportunities.

"I've been working part-time jobs on my own since then, just thinking, maybe I'll find something tomorrow," said Hachey.

"And I got wind of this program and I knew if I didn't immediately go for it I would never go for it, so I jumped on the opportunity and got into the class."

The 11-month diploma program that teaches students how to be a software tester, was suggested by her cousin, a fellow student.

Last Thursday, Hachey and her entire class was at the Capitol Theatre when the company announced its plans to create 1,000 new jobs.

"The job with BMM or any of the other companies would be awesome and to make it a career, when I've been so into computers since I was young," Hachey said.

"I can stay here, I can live my life here, I can have a good career here, instead of going God knows where."

Dale Ritchie, the president of McKenzie College, said the program was developed with BBM, knowing its plans to expand its operations in Moncton.

"We've been run off our feet just answering inquiries and explaining to the new prospective students what it's all about," he said.

"You can imagine there's been a lot of interest because of the press, and the announcement and the excitement around this opportunity."

Judson Murray, an instructor of software testing at McKenzie College, says the announcement is exciting, but software testing — also known as quality assurance — is a growing industry in many sectors.

"Quite simply, what they are training to do is to help organizations verify that the software solutions they are creating work as advertised," Murray said.

Nine students are currently enrolled in the diploma program, that includes a design component, testing fundamentals, and test automation. The program finishes with a six-week internship at BMM.

Another session with 20 students is planned to start in November. Ritchie says the college has facilities to manage four sessions of this size a year.

McKenzie College is a private institute and does not receive public funding.

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