Conestoga College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning is a fixture in the Kitchener area. Close to half of all adults in the Waterloo region have participated in training and education at Conestoga. In 2019 and 2020, almost 85 per cent of its graduates became employed within six months of graduating; more than 90 per cent of employers expressed satisfaction with their new employees. At its network of campuses in southwestern Ontario (such as in Brantford, Guelph and Ingersoll), Conestoga offers a full range of degree, diploma, certificate, post-graduate, apprenticeship, upgrading and preparatory programs, along with microcredentials. Co-op terms are offered in 70 programs.

Residences are walking distance from the Kitchener and Cambridge campuses. Conestoga also offers child care that’s open to the community and doubles as experience for early childhood education students.

Primary research areas at Conestoga include improving the quality of life and care of Canada’s seniors, advanced recycling technologies for electronic waste, smart manufacturing, food-processing technology, supply chain management and improving the safety and performance of Canada’s labour force. Conestoga features a 58,000-square-foot woodworking training facility. A 2018 revamp of the Waterloo campus added 150,000 square feet of learning space, which houses programming in culinary and hospitality management, applied computer science and information technology, and specialized programs for newcomers to Canada.