Ahead of the curve
Advances are bringing new opportunities
Technological innovations transform opportunities for skilled trades.
Josiah Fallaise enjoys working with his hands and building cars, so when he was considering career options, becoming an automobile mechanic was high on his list.
“But my brother took the auto route, so I didn’t want to copy him,” he says. “I wanted to be able to work on engines and machines, so I chose a manufacturing engineering technician program instead.”
The skills and technologies he learned while attending Loyalist College in Belleville, Ont., allowed him to pursue his love of cars — he recently completed extensive modifications to a Nissan 240 — while setting him on a promising career path in the manufacturing sector.
For Fallaise, 21, one of the most interesting aspects of his training was in 3-D computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/ CAM) where he learned to design and model fully functioning components using a computer neurologic control (CNC) machine. A CNC machine increases manufacturing productivity and flexibility by automatically executing a series of machining operations.
Fallaise’s proficiency in computer-aided manufacturing earned him a second-place finish at the Ontario Technological Skills Competition earlier this year. It also earned him a position with Indsale Limited, a growing manufacturer of specialty adhesives and coatings based in Trenton, Ont.
“To produce the best product, I need two things: The best raw materials, and the best people to put them together,” says Michael J. Markiewicz, president of Indsale. “The new skills that students learn today help both our company and our clients to be competitive in world markets. Without employees like Josiah, that are adept at current technologies, we would fail.”
The ability to operate a lathe is not enough for industry today, says Jeremy Braithwaite, a professor at Loyalist College. “We need a diverse graduate that can specialize in technologies such as rapid prototyping, high-speed CNC machining, and predictive quality control. Skills in these areas can help manufacturers and processors to reduce scrap and wasted time, build efficiency and cut overhead costs.”
In the first year of the manufacturing engineering technician program at Loyalist College, students learn the core skills needed to work in a manufacturing environment, such as welding, basic hydraulics, pneumatics, electricity and manual machining. “In the second year, we explode those fundamentals into the technology side,” says Braithwaite. “High-speed machining moves the traditional machining method of low and slow to six times faster than before. In the automation program, students develop a fully automated assembly line with touch screen capability and an internal robot, and dynamic simulation allows them to make digital prototypes of products.”
These are the types of programs that build a passion for manufacturing in his students, says Braithwaite. It is also creating a problem that others might like to have: “Employers are grabbing up our graduates each year and we can’t keep up with the demand. This year alone, there were three times as many jobs available as graduates coming out of the program,” he says. “From automotive, aviation and pharmaceuticals to food processing, transit and engineering and design companies, opportunities are available across the board in industrial and manufacturing.”
Manufacturing is not the only area where skilled trades are changing with advances in technology.
“In the automotive service industry, there is more initial diagnosis using computers, laser levelling and grading devices are being introduced into landscaping, and construction work is being impacted by technology especially for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified buildings,” says Shaun Thorson, CEO with Ottawa-based Skills Canada. “Generally there is an increasing need for digital skills and an understanding of tablets and other electronic tools in the workplace to read, understand and act on schematics for example.”
While he can’t predict what the future might hold, Thorson says market forces will control how tomorrow’s apprenticeships are structured at the provincial and territorial level where curriculum is defined. “We could see the integration of new technologies into the existing curriculum, or there could be enough demand to create new certifications or designations.”
Regardless, starting an apprenticeship and learning a trade is not just a job, it’s a career that can lead to many opportunities, he says.