The focus of the program is to raise cultural awareness for all employees at Georgian College. The program was rolled out in two separate phases – “Train the Trainer” and “Train the Staff”. It was imperative that this initiative be a sustainable model that would allow the college to provide ongoing cultural diversity training well into the future. As such, in in January 2016 (the first phase), the college contracted a cross-cultural expert to conduct training with select employees from the college. The employees were from all areas of the college (service areas, counselling, academic). The “Cultural Diversity – Train the Trainer” sessions were held over the course of three and half days and employees were mentored to become cultural diversity ambassadors and they were readied to deliver cultural diversity training to the greater Georgian College audience (staff and faculty across the college). In May 2015, the Cultural Diversity training was mandated by the Senior Leadership team for all employees. It is policy that every employee at Georgian College completes the half day Cultural Diversity Awareness workshop.

The information relayed in the workshop seeks to build awareness of the “invisible differences” that exist when interacting with culturally diverse populations. The workshop highlights culturally diverse norms that exist with regard how individuals communicate, how they interact with others and how they might interpret social interactions. The workshop offers interaction and discourse related to the significance of appreciating the cultural lens our international students bring to the table when they interact with most any area of the college.