With an employment rate close to 100 percent, Douglas College's Dispensing Optician Program has a strong track record with the optical industry. Students in the second year will have sufficient time to work part-time in the industry. (Note if you are already a licensed Dispensing Optician, and want to gain contact lens fitting qualifications, you may be eligible for Direct Entry into the second year.)
Douglas College is the only public institution in BC that offers a Dispensing Optician Program. The employment rate of graduates is nearly 100 percent.
To work as a Dispensing Optician or a contact lens fitter in this province, you must be licensed by the College of Opticians of BC. In order to get a license you must take a training program that is approved by the College of Opticians of BC and pass their registration exam. Douglas College students have a high pass rate on the College of Opticians exam.
Douglas College's Dispensing Optician Program has established long-term relationships with employers due to the quality of our grads and our commitment to providing an education that meets today's health care needs.
There are many career opportunities. Graduates can work for independent opticians, large companies, optometrists or opthalmologists or become self-employed.
Demand is strong for contact lens fitters. Continuing to the second year to learn contact lens fitting will enhance your employment options.
Job opportunities for opticians in BC are expected to grow faster than the provincial average until 2008. The aging of the baby boomer generation and a greater emphasis on preventative vision care means more opportunities in this field.
Greater retail and business skills
Training in business and marketing skills in the Douglas College Dispensing Optician Program better prepares you for a greater range of rewarding positions in the eyewear industry. In addition to working as Dispensing Opticians, many of our graduates work in sales and advanced positions with eyewear companies. Other Douglas College graduates are successfully operating their own retail businesses after completing the program.
Employers approve!
"We've hired several graduates from the Dispensing Optician Program. Their education has helped us in many ways - in picking out the right frames and lenses they've helped increase our business and educate us. They've reduced remakes and refunds by helping us select the right product. There's a lot of things you only learn from hands-on experience. The grads really help us close more sales because of their education."
- Tina Kamagianis, Optical Manager at Pearle Vision in Coquitlam Centre
