New Apprenticeship program will help meet growing demand for highly skilled employees

Mechanical Technician Tool Making Co-Op Diploma Apprenticeship Program streamlines apprenticeships to get students working faster

For Immediate Release: November 22, 2011
Oakville, Ontario

Sheridan College is launching a new apprenticeship program for January, 2012 to train highly-skilled toolmakers in order to meet an increasing demand from local manufacturing companies. Two years after many manufacturers froze hiring or laid off workers during the recession, Sheridan is now seeing evidence that local manufacturers are looking for specialized workers vital to the industry.

“Sheridan is increasingly getting requests for many new skilled trade graduates, and we see this as a very positive sign for local manufacturing,” said Alan Reid, Associate Dean, Apprenticeship and Skilled Trades at Sheridan College. “Our new apprenticeship program will help fill this demand and also streamline the apprenticeship process. Graduates will be among the most highly-skilled new tool makers in the workforce and sought after by employers in the Greater Toronto Area.”

The Mechanical Technician Tool Making Co-Op Diploma Apprenticeship Program is a new approach. It will allow students to complete the required in-school curriculum for an apprenticeship program, and gain valuable work experience, while also earning a two-year technician college diploma. Students are trained in Sheridan’s dedicated skills training facilities, which feature the most current and sophisticated equipment that graduates will use in the workplace.

“Unlike other apprentice programs where students must return to school after starting work, Sheridan’s new program will let graduates enter the job market with their schooling complete as well as a full year of work experience,” added Reid. “Once in the workforce, these employees do not have to return to college to complete their apprenticeship requirements.”

Graduates from this new program will be attractive to local employers, particularly for small manufacturers, who in the past frequently had to release newly-hired employees to return to school. This often made it difficult for these employers to keep operations running smoothly. Sheridan’s new program solves this problem.

For more information about enrolling in the program, please call 905-845-9430 (from Oakville), 905-459-7533 (from Brampton/Mississauga), 905-681-4611 (from Hamilton), ext. 8036 or e-mail valerie.hughes@sheridanc.on.ca.