Just read the entire thread (before found one post via google). Since I'm in the industry thought I would ring in. I have heard good about George Brown too, and am also surprised they would not be accredited here in the USA. But I would mention from an employment perspective (most seasoned maint. manager or cheif engr. perspective), priorities are in this order of importance ...
1. Knowledge and skill (combination of diverse learning sources and actual experience)
2. Amount of education (diverse education, not just 1 source, also specific to brands they use at their company)
3. Graduate/degree (4 yr, 2yr, trade school, on-line, specific course)
4. Quality of educational institution (a perception by interviewer, have they heard good about institution, hire passed students and satisfied, etc.)
5. Accredited or not (Yes, may be important for Gov/city job, most employers do not consider accreditation for a PLC tech or Intr tech)
Also seen mention of LogixPro simulation software. While not a PLC training software, it is excellent learning tool for learning through experimentation once you already know the basics. Also of major importance for mot PLC tech jobs is not so much if you can write entire programs for newly designed equipment/systems, but can you use PLC to troubleshoot and understand existing PLC programs. To quickly gain that kind experience when you do not have the job and years to wait to gain of breakdown troubleshooting experience, there is a unique
new PLC Troubleshooting Skills Training software you should check out. It allows you to gain years of troubleshooting experience in just days by providing faults for your to troubleshoot, one after the other. It simulates real-world and shows you your weakness and strengths, so you can fine tune your skills. (It also teaches you the basics of PLCs and best practices for troubleshooting first.)
Hope my 2 cents helps viewers of this post in some way.
Don