Automotive training: Ontario colleges geared for success.

When it comes to partnering with business and industry, Ontario colleges count the automotive sector as long-time supporters. Automotive manufacturing is key to the economic success of the province. An estimated 95% of the Canadian automotive manufacturing workforce live and work in Ontario, representing direct employment of nearly 200,000 individuals. One in seven jobs in Canada is tied in some way to the automotive sector. One in six jobs in Ontario is tied to the industry. The ability of Ontario's automotive manufacturing industry to compete depends, to a significant degree, on the availability of a highly skilled workforce. Ontario Colleges provide more than 350 diploma, degree and certificate programs related to the operations functions of the automotive manufacturing industry. They include apprenticeships and trades updating; technical and manufacturing processes; and management and supervisory content. Details are included in the newly released Guide to Programs and Courses for Automotive Manufacturing: Ontario Colleges (available online at www.collegeconnect.com). This information will be vital in enabling industry, education and government to determine the type and level of investment in new education/training initiatives and for developing sector-specific strategies for both the short, medium and long terms.

Colleges across the province are already engaging in exciting automotive programs and training. A driving force in Canada, Georgian College is a leader in automotive education and training at the college level, with three dynamic divisions that serve a breadth of clients and students. The college is home to the Canadian Automotive Institute (CAI), which will celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2005. CAI's Dean Marie-Noellc Bonicalzi points out that the Institute was founded on a vision to provide the automotive industry with educated, trained young people. "Industry support started with fundraising activities that raised $5 million to build CAI. The Canadian Automobile Dealers Association was a leader in co-ordinating the initiative."

The support has continued in a variety of ways, including a total of $150,000 in scholarships offered by automotive companies annually, and professionals to serve on CAI's advisory committee and board of directors. "We work closely with industry to make sure we respond to their current needs," Bonicalzi says.

At CAI, students can pursue a three-year Business Administration Automotive Marketing diploma or, a four-year Bachelor of Applied Business Automotive Management Degree, both unique in Canada. "The applied degree, which is designed for people seeking a management career, is now in its second year. When we applied to the Ministry to implement it, there was nothing like it being offered at any university, and the demand for qualified professionals in this area is huge."

CAI also hosts one of Canada's annual automobile shows onsite. "Ours is the largest outdoor auto show in the country, Bonicalzi says, "and is entirely managed by our students. Industry support has been key to CAI's success. For the automotive companies, their return on investment is solid."

Rounding out the automotive offerings at Georgian are the Centre for Automotive Parts Expertise (CAPE) and the Industrial Research and Development Institute (IRDI). According to Bob Kennedy, Georgian's Vice President of External Relations, "CAPE launched in 1997 to form a national strategic alliance with the automotive manufacturing and automotive products design industry. The Automotive Parts Manufacturers' Association (APMA) and the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development and Trade are two of CAPE's most valued partners."

Based in Midland, IRDI was acquired in 2003 by Georgian from private sector sources. "We acquired IRDI as part of a strategic move to consolidate our automotive expertise with CAI and CAPE to create an integrated national centre of excellence in automotive education, training and research," Kennedy says. "IRDI's North American reputation for leading automotive applied research and development, combined with Georgian's other national institutes, places Georgian on the cutting edge of Ganada's multi-billion dollar automotive industry."

Centennial College is another nationally recognized leader in automotive training. The college's School of Transportation is Canada's largest transportation training facility. School of Transportation Dean Denise Devlin-Li stresses industry support as critical to the School's success. "Our corporate partners include major manufacturers that provide us with training vehicles, as well as professional development opportunities for our faculty. We meet with them regularly to discuss progress so that we keep current with their needs. The new push now is to incorporate e-learning into the skills our students need to graduate."

Centennial's School of Transportation offers Modified Apprenticeship Programs (MAP) for several automotive manufacturers, including Honda/Accura, General Motors, Ford, Freightliner, Volvo/Mack, Toyota and Canadian Tire. These MAP programs offer an additional eight weeks of training at the college beyond the regular 24 weeks. "Our strong, long-standing industry partnership with GM and other companies was the basis for the Ministry's funding of the modified program," Devlin-Li says. Centennial also conducts training for GM technicians in Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries.

College-industry partnerships in the automotive sector drive learning at Durham College, too. John Woodward, Durham's Dean of the Schools of Skilled Trades and Apprenticeship, explains that, "We work with GM, of course, because we are located in Oshawa, but we also receive strong support from many other companies including Subaru, BMW, Mazda and Daimler Chrysler."

For GM, Durham works with dealers to deliver new product training, and with the technician guild to supply training in production trades such as tool & die, millwright, electrician and welder. Durham also provides product training for technicians for Subaru, BMW, Daimler-Chrysler and Mazda. "We rely heavily on support from suppliers, too," Woodward says. In support of Durham's automotive training, Snap-on leaves equipment in the college automotive shops for student training use, with the understanding that if the need arises to do a product demonstration to a potential client, Snap-on can do so on weekends. "This means we have the latest and greatest equipment onsite," Woodward stresses, "and helps build up strong working relationships with the manufacturers."

Loyalist College encompasses a large automotive program. Co-ordinator of Automotive Programs John Mercer says the college runs three part-time apprenticeship courses per week, plus a post-secondary course in the automotive area. "The Automotive Service Technician program covers generic skills, math, English and computers during the first semester, and students complete the first in-school level using the apprenticeship curriculum in the second semester, as well as parts counter personnel and small business courses. We take students with no automotive background and give them employable skills. Not everyone will be a mechanic." The second year of the two-year post-secondary program is completed through a partnership with Durham College.

Partnering among colleges is taking innovative turns at Algonquin College, which recently opened a new facility for automotive training. Algonquin has partnered with Centennial, Fanshawe and Durham to offer an online program called Automotive Service Technician, with Canadian Tire as a corporate partner. Dean of the School of Transportation and Building Trades at Algonquin John-Paul Tapp says, "This partnership with Canadian Tire enables their apprentices to take the college portion online as distance education. Students can complete the course while they are working, and simply attend the college in person for the exam at the end. Each college site has a resident mentor/coach for every shop with a sponsored apprentice." Algonquin's new automotive training facility was designed to enhance the learning environment with several smaller classrooms equipped with hoists and equipment. "This is a teaching environment, not a garage," Tapp says. "The facility is leading edge in terms of equipment, thanks to partnerships with suppliers such as Snap-on."

At St. Clair College, students can register for a brand new, unique four-year diploma apprenticeship starting in January. The Mechanical Technician--Co-op, Diploma/Apprenticeship program allows individuals to obtain an apprenticeship designation in a Precision Metal Cutting trade, plus a post-secondary diploma at the same time. Students may select to specialize as General Machinists or Mold Makers. This hybrid program enables students to work during their four years, and after successful program completion, they can write the exam for their Certificate of Apprenticeship.

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Niagara College houses a state-of-the-art automotive facility that was built in 1998 with major industry endorsement. Manager of the Technology Skills Centre Kevin Hewitt points out that although the college offers apprenticeships in numerous areas as well as associated post-secondary programs, "We have made a significant investment in automotive. It's our largest area of apprenticeship; we offer Automotive Service Technician and Autobody Collision Damage Repair."

Apprenticeship Co-ordinator Greg Wheeler points out that professionals are in demand in both areas. "For the most part, top students in these automotive programs across the province are approached by industry head hunters," he says. Niagara was the first Ontario college to offer the Automotive Service Technician program in a night release form so apprentices can continue working full-time and still satisfy the in-class component of the program. "Our shop takes up more than half of the 27,000 square feet dedicated to automotive programs in the facility," he adds.

As a Training Delivery Agent, Cambrian College offers traditional apprenticeship training through Ministry of Training, Colleges & Universities. It also offers a co-operative education apprenticeship model that is unique to Ontario's college system. "Through Sky/Tech, a consortium of stakeholders representing government, industry and education, Cambrian's post-secondary students who are registered as apprentices with MTCU (Apprenticeship Branch) and who have completed two recognized co-op semesters with industry partners, are granted completion of their in-school education," says Michel Barbeau, Dean of Skills Training/SkyTech at Cambrian College. "This means of pursuing their apprenticeship is available to students in Cambrian's two-year Millwright and Heavy Equipment Mechanic programs and its three-year Industrial Electrician program. "Right now, Cambrian is the only college in Ontario using this apprenticeship model, but several other colleges are exploring it." As a Training Delivery Agent, Cambrian also offers traditional apprenticeship programs including Cook, Carpentry, General Machinist and Welder/Fitter/Structural Steel Plate-worker.

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Fanshawe College in London is located on one of the busiest truck traffic stretches of Highway 401, across which companies transport automobiles and automotive supplies from local manufacturing plants. "We're close to Toyota in Cambridge, Ford in Talbotville, and Sterling Truck in St. Thomas," says Rod Cameron, Dean of Apprenticeship and Motive Power in Fanshawe's Technology Faculty, "so we have a large component of trades training in the automotive sector. In fact, 25,000 highway tractors pass by London on Highway 401 daily, offering us great business opportunities."

Piero Cherubini is Chair, Motive Power and Stoney Creek Programs at Mohawk College. "The apprenticeship programs offered at our Stoney Creek campus account for most of the college's trades and apprenticeship skills training," he says. "Mohawk has a vibrant motive power program. In the apprenticeship area, we offer many motive power-related apprenticeships, such as automotive service technician, General Motors ASEP and dealer training, autobody repair, truck and coach service technician, and have recently been approved to deliver truck-trailer service technician training." In addition to the traditional apprenticeship programs, we also offer a one-year and two-year motive power post-secondary program."

Northern College offers a one-year certificate in Motor Vehicle Mechanic. John Ikola, a professor in the program, says, "Each year we get as new a text as possible, and automotive manufacturers donate vehicles for students to work on. As vehicles become more sophisticated, it's important that we keep current. The last four weeks of this 40-week program involve work placement. Local students complete theirs locally, and we try to get out-of-town students placements in their home areas."

One thing for sure--Ontario colleges are paving the way to success for those seeking careers in the automotive industry.