Education/training
Get an edge with co-op apprenticeshipsKhaalid Baccus is on the fast track to a progressive career in the trades. SHARON ASCHAIEK |
|
 [ 2006-11-01 ] |
Khaalid Baccus says his training at Conestoga College gave him an edge in finding an apprenticeship.
The 20-year-old full-time apprentice at Waterloo, Ont.-based mould-making company Alder Enterprises knows a lot about making plastic and aluminum moulds, and he applies his skills every day on projects for several clients across Ontario.
CONESTOGA COLLEGE
However, Baccus knows that without the training he received through Conestoga College’s Mechanical Technician Co-op Diploma Apprenticeship – General Machinist program, he might not have enjoyed this exciting opportunity.
“It’s really hard to find a trades apprenticeship without any training, so this program gave me an edge,” he says.
Baccus is one of a growing number of students taking advantage of these innovative new programs so as to increase their chances of accessing Canada’s booming trades sector. Designed to train students in a highly skilled, in-demand trade, co-op diploma apprenticeship programs allow students to hit the ground running when they enter the workforce.
Students in these programs concurrently complete an apprenticeship in-school curriculum, an apprenticeship co-op experience and a diploma. The entire time, they are accumulating apprenticeship hours that get them closer to journeyperson certification.
In Baccus’ case, the year of classroom training he received in mechanical engineering drawing, relevant computer applications, metrology, metallurgy, and machining theory and practice more than prepared him for the workplace.
“Before I started at the college, I’d never touched a machine. By the end of it I think I was doing pretty well. I was prepared to get into the workforce,” he says.
Since their launch in 2004 at six Ontario colleges and with 200 participants, co-op diploma apprenticeship programs have multiplied dramatically in response to strong student demand and industry support. They received $9 million in funding from the provincial Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities in 2005/06 and are now offered at 21 colleges and feature 1,600 participants.
Conestoga College has grown its own offerings to also include programs in electrical technician, machine tool builder and integrator, industrial mechanic (millwright) and tool and die maker.
Conestoga College president John Tibbits says the programs prepare students for the increasingly sophisticated work involved in the trades.
“The jobs call for higher-level math, computer and problem-solving skills. Our students are better prepared to take on this work than they would have been out of high school,” Tibbits says.
Employers are very supportive of these initiatives and are opening their doors to welcome these better-prepared apprentices.
“Employers are reluctant to take someone off the street without skills or knowledge because training is expensive, and they don’t know if that person is committed to the trade,” says Rod Cameron, dean of technology at Fanshawe College. “The students’ post-secondary education assures the prospective employer that the individual is committed to that occupation.”
Cameron oversees Fanshawe’s handful of co-op diploma apprenticeship programs in areas such as culinary management, automotive service technician, truck and coach technician and, coming in January, industrial maintenance mechanic (millwright).
With the trades continuing to experience critical labour shortages — the Conference Board of Canada predicts a shortfall of one million workers in Canada by 2020 — Cameron is certain that graduates will enjoy access to plenty of lucrative job opportunities.
“There are fabulous opportunities for students,” he says. “They can expect long-term permanent employment at significant wages.”
That’s exactly what Khaalid Baccus looked forward to when he graduated. In September, he completed his year-long apprenticeship at Alder Enterprises and returned to Conestoga for 20 more weeks of in-class training. After that, he’ll return to Alder to accept the company’s offer of a full-time job.
Says Baccus: “From what I understand, there will be a lot of people retiring soon and trades employers needs many skilled workers, so I think my prospects are good.”
Would you ever work for a social or charitable enterprise in the third sector?