Conestoga news

September 16, 2008 12:02 PM

New Trades Programs

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There is no substitute for practical education when it comes to developing and implementing the skills necessary to support economic growth and prosperity. Conestoga takes this responsibility seriously and has built an enviable reputation for educational excellence in technical trades.

In order to continue this record of growth and success, Conestoga is introducing new skilled trades program starting this fall/winter. All programs lead to an Ontario College Certificate and each can be completed in less than a year of study.

New at the Guelph Campus are Heavy Equipment Operator, Heavy Equipment Techniques and Motive Power Fundamentals – Truck Trailer Service

At 34 weeks in length, Heavy Equipment Operator offers instruction in inspection, maintenance, installation and operating skills associated with heavy equipment such as loader backhoes, dozers, and excavators. The program also emphasizes development of skills in communications, mathematics and computer applications.

The two other programs, Heavy Equipment Techniques and Motive Power Fundamentals – Truck Trailer Service, are 47 weeks in length, and each includes a 16-week period of co-operative education employment. The former program deals with inspection and testing skills associated with systems found in heavy duty equipment, plus emphasizing communication, documentation, information technology and computer skills. The latter program combines pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship learning related to the truck trailer service technician trade, and includes skills development in trade-related mathematics, communications and computer applications.

In these three Guelph campus programs, students will register as apprentices with MTCU from the start of the program, through a consortium of employers who act as group sponsors for the entire cohort of students. This arrangement allows students to do in-college apprenticeship training and is a very innovative pathway to apprenticeship.

Conestoga is a major force in apprenticeship education in Ontario – the third largest apprenticeship college in the Ontario system, a leader in the development of new programming and curriculum, and a college where apprenticeship enrolment has grown by more than 20 per cent in recent years. Conestoga College continues to work with industry to address skill shortages in technical trades and provides traditional apprenticeship training in numerous motive power trades and heavy construction trades including Automotive Service Technician, Truck and Coach Technician, Heavy Duty Equipment Technician and Heavy Equipment Operator. The Guelph Campus is situated in an area that has the highest concentration of trucking transportation businesses in Ontario.

For more information on trades and apprenticeship programs at Conestoga College please check out our web site at www.conestogac.on.ca/trades

CONTACT: Brenda Gilmore (Guelph campus), 519-824-9390 ext: 122, bgilmore@conestogac.on.ca