Arc of life: office job to welder
Conestoga College training hotbed for high demand skilled trades
WATERLOO — Politicians held a news conference about training more welders and a welder stole the show.
James Graine, 38, says he has the coolest job ever, welding nuclear power components. It’s skilled work and he hasn’t been doing it long, after switching careers to train at Conestoga College.
The provincial government invited Graine to speak Tuesday about public support for 67 training programs in skilled trades. More than 1,200 students are enrolled.
“There’s so many jobs out there for welders,” Graine said.
It’s not simple work, he said. But it’s rewarding if you apply yourself to the trade as he did.
Have you ever dreamed about changing the arc of your life? Graine was 12 years into a sales career when he was laid off. Unemployed and uncertain, he tapped into a government program designed to launch him on a second career. He’d always been interested in skilled trades, but had never seen a weld. (To weld is to fuse metals together.)
That was in 2013. Six months of college training, followed by an apprenticeship, led him to Aecon’s factory on Sheldon Drive in Cambridge, where he helps build modules for U.S. nuclear reactors. The work requires precise welds that can take hours to complete.
He no longer sits at a desk arguing with customers on the telephone. He works with his hands and creates.
“I will never be a sales rep again,” he told politicians and educators at Conestoga’s Waterloo campus. “It’s been great.”
The government was delighted to hear this. It’s about to spend $500,000 to train another 48 welding or heavy equipment students at Conestoga, part of a $14-million plan to develop carpenters, plumbers, cooks and other workers in high-demand trades.
“The big issue for employers in this community is: Where are the workers with the right skills?” Conestoga president John Tibbits said.
The government wants to recruit more immigrants, women, and First Nations people into skilled trades, lured by free tuition and other supports.
“We’ve got to make sure we’ve got the people we need to build the infrastructure we need,” said Deb Matthews, deputy premier and Minister of Skills Development. She estimates Ontario will need 20,000 more skilled tradespeople in the coming decade.
“We literally have thousands … of jobs that are sitting vacant right now in this region, that we need to fill,” said Daiene Vernile, MPP for Kitchener Centre.