Smart Education in Canada : Job Fair Aims to Fill More than 100 Positions Available Immediately in Manufacturing Sector in Windsor-Essex

Windsor, Ontario - Recent CAD CAM grad Nicole Shanks, who was hired following St. Clair's last Manufacturing Job Fair, attended another job fair the college hosted on campus Wednesday – only this time as a recruiter for a company she now works for.

"Nicole is a perfect example of how successful our grads are and how quickly they are getting right to work in the field," said Nour Hachem, Pre-Apprenticeship Project Manager for St. Clair.

The St. Clair College Manufacturing Job Fair connected employers seeking to fill positions over 100 jobs in our local community with students ready for employment immediately. Students from St. Clair's pre-apprenticeship CNC Precision Cutting Program, Industrial Mechanic Program, CAD CAM Program, and Welding Program had the opportunity to network with local companies ready to hire.

"Our tool and mould shops in Windsor are turning work away because of a lack of an available skilled work force," said Jonathan Azzopardi, President of Laval Tool International, one of the employers who participated in the job fair. "St. Clair's programs are connecting all the dots by putting people to work."

As metal cutting industries have diversified from automotive products into aerospace and other specialty industries, the need for skilled CNC programmers /operators, industrial mechanic millwrights and general machinists has increased. Local employers have identified a need to hire additional precision metal cutting employees in the Windsor-Essex/Kent county region and responded positively to the delivery and participation in the delivery of St. Clair's most recent Pre-Apprenticeship Precision Metal Cutting program in 2014.

Since 2011, St. Clair has completed five successful Pre-Apprenticeship Programs and currently in the process of running a Pre-Apprenticeship Precision Metal Cutting program. The 2015 program started on April 6th where 25 students were selected to complete 19 weeks of in class training, followed by a 12-week paid work placement. The response and need for the program was evident in the increase of applications submitted. The program received over 140 applications, with 95 applicants selected for interviews.

The program has shown successful employment rate of 85%, with 70% of those who participated registering as apprentices. The proven track record of the program has led to students finding meaningful employment while meeting the human resource demands of industry.

This was St. Clair's second manufacturing student job fair this year, with a third manufacturing job fair scheduled for November 2015 to address industry demand and deliver trained individuals ready to hit the job floor running.

"Our trade specific job fair is designed to bring very busy companies in direct contact with over 60 students in training that have desperately needed manufacturing skills and are ready to work," said Robert Chittim, Chair of School of Skilled Trades.

"Canada is not only known for it's picturesque locations, but also for it's high standard of education. The Colleges in Canada are at par with the best known Colleges in the world, in terms of the educational programs offered and the facilities provided to the students " , says Mr. Deepak, Education Manager, Career XL Services..

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