In early November, I.E. Weldon Secondary School (IEWSS) received new, high-tech machine equipment through the Career-Ready with the Canadian Tooling & Machining Association (CTMA): Expanding Opportunities program. The experiential program is designed to increase students’ skills for job opportunities in the precision metal working sector by exposing students to technology at an earlier age, and providing real-world experience.
The Career-Ready program is in partnership with CTMA and the Ontario Council for Technology Education (OCTE), who purchased and delivered equipment to 40 secondary schools across 22 school boards in Ontario.
IEWSS was fortunate enough to receive a Haas Desktop CNC Mill, a Modern Vertical Mill, and a Tormach CNC Plasma cutting table, which will be utilized by the school’s discovering and exploring technology, manufacturing, design, and robotics classes.
“By better equipping our school facility, we better equip students to seek out meaningful careers in industry,” said IEWSS Head of Business and Technological Studies, Alan Stanley. “This funding helps put our students in front of machinery that they can find in many manufacturing facilities right here in the City of Kawartha Lakes.”
The other half of the program will provide experiential work placements for secondary school cooperative education (co-op) students, with a focus in the precision metal cutting sector. Each participant will work alongside experienced tradespeople, skilled workers, and other professionals who will provide them with an opportunity to gain real work skills and knowledge.
“While students attend IEWSS, we hope they participate in as many opportunities as they want,” said Stanley. “Programs like co-op, Dual Credits, Specialist High Skills Majors (SHSM), Skills Ontario competitions, First Robotics, and an Electric Vehicle Team, are all available here at IEWSS. The funding from the CTMA through OCTE has increased the value of those experiences for our students.”
The Career-Ready with CTMA: Expanding Opportunities program is funded in part by the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario. To learn more, visit the CTMA website.
