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St. Clair College doubles size of pre-apprenticeship precision metal cutting program to meet local demand

A red-hot skills trade industry is scooping up students as fast as they can graduate.

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Sitting in an unemployment centre last summer, Rebecca Turner felt overwhelmed at seeing no obvious pathway to the future for herself and her three young children.

Little did she know, her future was hanging on the wall in the form of a poster for a women’s pre-apprenticeship program for CNC machinists/industrial millwrights at St. Clair College.

“I was waitressing, but I wanted a career not just a job,” said the 28-year-old Turner.

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“It never occurred to me to enter the skilled trades field. As a young women, it wasn’t presented to me as a career opportunity.”

Turner completed the condensed 31-week program last week and was hired full-time at Centreline (Windsor) where she finished up her 12-week placement.

Instead of scraping by on tips, Turner has a stable job with benefits, a pension plan and profit sharing.

A general view of the plant floor at Centerline Ltd. in Windsor, Ont. is shown on March 31, 2016. A media conference was held at the company to announce government funding for pre-apprenticeship programs in the metal cutting trades.
A general view of the plant floor at Centerline Ltd. in Windsor, Ont. is shown on March 31, 2016. A media conference was held at the company to announce government funding for pre-apprenticeship programs in the metal cutting trades. Photo by Dan Janisse /Windsor Star

Turner’s story is a common one in the red-hot tool and die/mold-making industries said Centreline’s vice-president of operations Steve Renaud.

“We’ve hired 150 people in the past year and 75 per cent of them are people without experience,” Renaud said.

“We’re in a very aggressive phase of hiring.

“Looking to the future, there’s no sign of things slowing down. There’ll be strong growth for the next three to five years.”

Like a growing number of companies, Centreline is partnering with the education sector to have a role in grooming and ensuring there’s a pool of future employees.

In addition to St. Clair’s pre-apprenticeship and other traditional apprenticeship programs, the company is also supportive of the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program offered through the high schools. The company also hires and trains its own people.

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“We have 75 apprentices right now and that’s the highest number we’ve ever had,” added Renaud, who said he has 25 to 30 positions to fill currently.

“What people need to know that starting in skilled trades doesn’t mean you’re on the shop floor forever. Much of our company’s leadership started on the shop floor.

“Employees who start in skilled trades are moving on to design, sales, management  . . . there’s just a whole array of opportunities.”

Employees at Centerline Ltd. in Windsor, Ont. are shown on March 31, 2016. A media conference was held at the company to announce government funding for pre-apprenticeship programs in the metal cutting trades.
Employees at Centerline Ltd. in Windsor, Ont. are shown on March 31, 2016. A media conference was held at the company to announce government funding for pre-apprenticeship programs in the metal cutting trades. Photo by Dan Janisse /Windsor Star

The provincial government recently recognized the area’s rapidly growing manufacturing needs by giving St. Clair $640,000 to double the size of its pre-apprenticeship precision metal cutting program to 50 students. The next program begins in May with a second intake in August.

The Ministry of Universities, Training and Colleges covers the cost of tuition and textbooks. The province also provides boots, safety equipment and training and $700 worth of tools.

In partnership with Women’s Enterprise Skills Training of Windsor, the college will again offer an all-female CNC/industrial millwright pre-apprenticeship program starting in August.

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The cost of childcare is covered through the Ontario Women’s Directorate.

The college had 100 per cent placement of all its pre-apprenticeship graduates and demand for students remains robust.

“I’ve gotten calls from employers to reserve spots in the program with the promise they’ll hire them when they’re done,” said Nour Hachem-Fawaz, project manager for the pre-apprenticeship program.

“I’m not sure we’re even going to need a job fair for this next intake.”

Josh Blondin, a recent pre-apprentice graduate hired full time by Centreline, got two or three job offers a month before he graduated in mid-November.

Blondin said the program has been life changing for him.

“One year ago I was in a dead end job going nowhere,” Blondin said. “Now, I’m a second-year apprentice.

“It’s a condensed first year, but I’m on my feet on the shop floor running. I’ve got something to grow into.”

dwaddell@postmedia.com

St. Clair College will be holding a series of information sessions for those interested in the Pre-apprenticeship CNC Precision Metal Cutting Certificate Program.

Sessions will be held:

·      April 2 at 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. in Room 2022 at St. Clair College’s main campus

·      April 6 at 5 p.m. at St. Clair College Employment Centre at the Windsor Roundhouse Centre (3015 Howard Ave.)

·      April 12 and April 25 at 1 p.m. at St. Clair College Employment Centre at the Windsor Roundhouse Centre (3015 Howard Ave.)

·      April 18 at 1:30 p.m. at South Essex Community Council (215 Talbot St. E, Leamington)

·      April 19 at 5:30 p.m. at St. Clair’s Thames Campus (1001 Grand Ave. W., Chatham)

The computer design area at Centerline Ltd. in Windsor, Ont. is shown on March 31, 2016.
The computer design area at Centerline Ltd. in Windsor, Ont. is shown on March 31, 2016. Photo by Dan Janisse /Windsor Star
Zach Gossman, 22, a machinist at Centerline Ltd. in Windsor, Ont. works on a CNC machine on March 31, 2016.
Zach Gossman, 22, a machinist at Centerline Ltd. in Windsor, Ont. works on a CNC machine on March 31, 2016. Photo by Dan Janisse /Windsor Star
A general view of the plant floor at Centerline Ltd. in Windsor, Ont. is shown on March 31, 2016.
A general view of the plant floor at Centerline Ltd. in Windsor, Ont. is shown on March 31, 2016. Photo by Dan Janisse /Windsor Star
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