New Tourism Micro-Credential Now Available at Lakehead University

Thunder Bay and Orillia, Ont.  

Lakehead University is now offering a brand new micro-credential with intake starting on January 9.

The Ontario Professional Tourism Industry Specialist (OPTIS)/Northern Ontario Professional Tourism Industry Specialist (NOPTIS) is designed for tourism industry professionals who work for any organization with a mandate to support operators to foster growth in the tourism industry.

This includes provincial and federal tourism advisors, municipal staff, economic development officers, destination marketing and sector organization staff, and tourism operators and individuals in management roles within the tourism sector.

Individuals taking this course will be better at supporting tourism, or in some cases, moving into new positions focused on tourism development. With a particular focus on skill enhancement and local COVID-19 response, completing this course will better prepare tourism operators to improve and expand their business.

The Ontario Professional Tourism Industry Specialist (OPTIS) and the Northern Ontario Professional Tourism Industry Specialist (NOPTIS) micro-credentials are available online, province-wide.

This comprehensive online learning opportunity provides a credential that will lead to a more knowledgeable and skilled professional tourism workforce that is enabled to advance, support and grow the tourism sector.

The micro-credential consists of six modules that address the essential elements of the tourism industry.

They are titled: What is tourism?; Product Development; Marketing; Critical Tourism Products and Markets; Either a) Business Planning and Managing a Small Business (for Tourism Business owners) OR b) Supporting Tourism in your Community (for individuals working with a mandate to support operators); Risk, Liability & Safety.

A seventh module focused on the geographic region of Northern Ontario will provide an option to obtain a Northern Ontario Professional Tourism Specialist (NOPTIS) micro-credential.

Each module is eight hours in length and completed over a two-week period. This course is facilitated by an industry-professional who will guide you through the course and assist you with your capstone project, an independent project that will become a useful tool after you complete the course.

OPTIS/NOPTIS will be available for learners in French at Collège Boréal in 2023. This course was created in partnership with Destination Northern Ontario, Ontario Ministry of Colleges and Universities, and with support from Collège Boréal, Tourism Industry Association of Ontario, Nature and Outdoors Tourism Ontario, Indigenous Tourism Ontario, and Société Économique de l’Ontario. 

The course starts January 9, 2023.

The following links are for course information

(https://communityzone.lakeheadu.ca/optis-noptis) and to register

 (https://erpss.lakeheadu.ca:8173/Student/Noptis).