DC, OPG and the IBB partner together on pre-apprenticeship program
Oshawa, Ont. – Durham College (DC), Ontario Power Generation (OPG), and the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers (IBB) are pleased to announce they have joined together to offer a three-week pre-apprenticeship program, providing essential boilermaker industry training.
Managed and delivered through DC’s Corporate Training Services (CTS), the pre-apprenticeship serves as an introduction to the boilermaker trade and provincial apprenticeship program. Its inaugural session begins on Monday, April 29, with four additional intakes scheduled throughout the summer which will train 100 new pre-apprentices.
The training program was created to help address the projected skilled trades’ shortage of boilermakers in Ontario. OPG, Bruce Power, and the Electrical Power Systems Construction Association (EPSCA) have been working on a province wide plan to mitigate the resourcing risks for contractors and owners, ensuring sufficient capacity exists to execute the volume and complexity of work at all the utilities, safely and on budget. Successful applicants will be referred for work at OPG sites, training with senior staff and learning their craft in the nuclear industry. The program is also being supported by the Organization of Canadian Nuclear Industries (OCNI).
“With OPG’s ongoing Darlington Refurbishment Project, the nuclear industry in Canada faces a looming supply gap in skilled trades and professionals. This program will not only help create the next generation of skilled trades, it will also help secure Ontario’s electricity supply for many years to come.”Dietmar Reiner, Senior Vice-President and Chief Project Officer for OPG
“When we originally approached Durham College with the idea of partnering on pre-apprenticeship training, we thought of this program as a type of probationary apprenticeship,” said Jonathan White, International Rep, IBB. “It is our full expectation that all successful students will be welcomed into a paid boilermaker apprenticeship upon completion.”
“The college is pleased to play a role in helping to develop the next generation of boilermakers,” said Tara Brodie, Director, Corporate Training Services, Durham College. “This new approach to apprenticeship training comes at a time when there is incredibly high demand in the industry for skilled professionals with applicable knowledge and hands-on experience. CTS’s track record of providing custom training solutions, coupled with the college’s history of excellence providing first-hand learning opportunities for skilled trades, means we are perfectly positioned to address the skilled trades gap the boilermaker industry is currently facing.”
No one understands these challenges better than OPG. Canada’s largest infrastructure and clean energy project taking place at its Darlington Nuclear Generating Station and refurbishment work is being done at the Bruce Nuclear Generating Station. A 2018 report from Ontario’s Auditor General indicates that approximately 1,000 boilermakers are needed to complete these nuclear refurbishment activities.
“OCNI is pleased to participate this important program which is a natural extension of the work that OCNI has been doing over that last year through Ontario’s Skills Catalyst Fund to attract and place young people and under-represented groups into skilled trades positions across the nuclear supply chain” said Ron Oberth, president and CEO, OCNI.
“The Durham College boilermaker pre-apprenticeship program is a true partnership between the labour market partners. Congratulations to OPG and the boilermakers union for taking a cooperative approach in recruiting the next generation of skilled trades people,” said Alex Lolua, General Manager, EPSCA.
Within the energy industry boilermakers build and maintain nuclear, hydroelectric and coal-fired generating stations, as well as oil-sands extraction plants, oil refineries, liquefied natural gas processing plants and other facilities. They also work in the mining, chemical, pulp and paper, cement and potash industries. The scope of a boilermaker’s work can include everything from specialty welding to hoisting, positioning and installing huge components of massive industrial plants, to project management and co-ordination of workers in other trades.
Those interested in a future boilermaker apprenticeship opportunity can visit www.boilermaker.ca/apply.
About OPG
OPG is one of the most diverse electricity generators in North America. It produces about half of the electricity Ontarians rely on every day, and its clean, safe, power costs an average of 40% less than other generators.
About Durham College
At Durham College (DC), the student experience comes first. With campuses in Oshawa and Whitby and a learning site in Pickering, we offer approximately 13,600 full-time post-secondary and apprenticeship students access to more than 140 full-time and nine apprenticeship programs, including the new Honours Bachelor of Health Care Technology Management degree.
We enable students to develop the career-ready skills required to meet the demands of today’s job market by connecting them with expert faculty and offering quality programs. With a focus on experiential learning through field-placements, applied research, co-ops and other hands-on opportunities, DC grads have the skills and knowledge employers need.
The Oshawa campus features DC’s newest building the Centre for Collaborative Education which represents the college’s commitment to working with local business and community partners while bringing together local, Indigenous and global communities and members of key business sectors.
DC’s Whitby campus features the W. Galen Weston Centre for Food, which includes Bistro ’67, a full-service, teaching-inspired restaurant, and Pantry, a retail store featuring food prepared by students in the college’s culinary programs.
For more information, visit www.durhamcollege.ca or call 905.721.2000.
About Organization of Canadian Nuclear Industries
Organization of Canadian Nuclear Industries (OCNI) is an association of more than 200 Canadian suppliers to the nuclear industry that employ more than 14,000 highly skilled and specialized engineers, technologists, and trades people. OCNI companies design reactors, manufacture major equipment and components, and provide engineering services and support to CANDU nuclear power plants in Canada as well as to CANDU and Light Water Reactor (LWR) plants in offshore markets.
About Electrical Power Systems Construction Association
EPSCA negotiates and administers construction trade collective agreements on behalf of employers performing construction industry work for the Bulk Electrical System on Ontario Power Generation Inc., Bruce Power LP and Hydro One property.
For further information, please contact:
Ontario Power Generation
416-592-4008 or 1-877-592-4008
Meghan Ney
Durham College
Communications and Marketing
905-721-2000 ext. 2197
meghan.ney@durhamcollege.ca
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