What the media is saying:

Tech training's new face

By Stephanie Whittaker

No longer a poor cousin to the academic stream, vocational programs aim at specific markets.

Allen Miller was yearning for change. He could see no future in his job in the shipping and receiving department of a Montreal company.

"It's a job for a young guy," he said. "It's very physical. I'd seen people with blown disks in their backs and I read the writing on the wall. People told me I was too old to go back to school at 40 but I did it anyway and it's given me a lot more hope".

Miller is enrolled at Rosemount Technology Centre, the largest English technical vocational school in Quebec. He's studying the installation and repair of telecommunications equipment, which he hopes will eventually enable him to launch his own business, setting up security systems. "This is a new direction for me," says Miller.

  And so it is for the 300 students a year who are graduated from Rosemount's 10 programs, which are designed to supply an increasingly demanding workplace with skilled workers.

There was a time when technical vocational training was seen as a poor cousin to the academic stream. No more, says Marzia Michielli, the Director of Rosemount Technology Centre. In the past decade, she says, vocational programs have been developed to produce works with specific skills for the knowledge-based workforce. "Statistics Canada says that someone born today will have an average of eight careers in his lifetime, "Michielli said, adding that the trend toward life-long learning has been a boon to the school by attracting mature students in search of career change or those wishing to upgrade skills in their fast-changing industries.

Until 1993, the centre was operated under the aegis of Rosemount High School, which shares the vast building in Montreal's east end. "In 1993, we were made a separate school, "Michielli said. "At the time, we had about 350 students. Now, we have about 850 a year in courses that are offered day and evening."

Michielli says the school's close ties to Montreal industry have enabled it to graduate students whose skills are in demand. "We wanted a close partnership with industry," she said. "Once a year, we invite businesses in to give us feedback and enlighten us about new trends. All the teachers meet with representatives of industry and say to them; "If you could tweak the programs, where would you put the emphasis?" The response varies according to whether they're small, medium or large companies. But we're able to change the way we teach according to what industry tells us.

Among the programs offered are automated systems electromechanics, industrial drafting, machining techniques, printing and digital layout, cabinet making and furniture refinishing, among others.

While many students enter the programs with a view to changing careers or upgrading existing skills, some, such as Christopher Joly, 17, arrive fresh out of High school.

"I decided I wanted to work with my hands and furniture finishing would be a good area, "Joly said. "When I finish studying furniture refinishing, I'll enroll in cabinet making. "Like the other students interviewed for this story, Joly has a specific career goal in mind. "I'd like to work on finishing the interiors of private jets," he said. "Or I'd have the skills to work for a furniture company."

Michelle Guillemette, 21, is another student with a strong sense of where she'd like to work after finishing her studies in electromechanics. "I'd like to work in robotics. I'm learning machining, welding and about motor and transmission components. Any company now that has production lines that are automated would need the skills that this program teaches. I'd like to end up in the food or pharmaceutical industry."

Like other students, Guillemette has narrowed down her career focus through working in a series of jobs. "I've been a bartender. I've worked on piking and greasing railway tracks. I've done customer service, waitressing and worked in a perfumery." After high school, Guillemette decided that the academic route held no appeal for her. "But I did want to do something technical and scientific," she said.

Some students choose vocational training after other career choices fall through. Giulio Marinaro, who had worked for his father's construction company during the summer when he was a student, had always loved tools. He says the program will give him skills to work in industrial tool and dye molds. Like Allen Miller, he hopes to launch his own business.

Still other students study vocational programs to enhance existing skills Luis Ernesto Flores, 25, an interior designer says studying cabinet-making is a natural extension of skills he's already aquired. "I got really interested in furniture and how it's built," he said. "I'm good at drafting and interior design and I'd like to launch my own company doing cabinet making and interior design. The two disciplines complement one another." Michielli said vocational training could also update skills. Wilna Clark, 44, decided to study computer graphics at Rosemount to complement the constellation of skills she's aquired throughout her career. Clark studied architectural interiors at Ryerson University and photography at Dawson College. She wants new skills that will boost her marketability. "While I was working in the photography field, I never used computers. I decided studying computer graphics would enable me to work in magazines or in the communications department of a large company." She said.

"There's been a shift in technical vocational training." Says Curtis George, the schools' assistant director. " The bulk of our students are aged from 20 to 40 and about 10 percent are coming with university degrees.

"A diploma in computer graphics for instance, can permit people with a bachelor of fine arts to fast track their careers. We've had students who've been through CEGEP and university and they find they can't market themselves."

It explains the increased demand for hands-on-training. The English Montreal School Board announced it's plan this month to expand Rosemount Technology Centre to a second nearby campus.

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