New Humber College centre targets demand for trade skills
October 8, 2009
Thulasi Srikanthan
SPECIAL TO THE STAR
When the first students arrived at Humber College's new Centre for Trades and Technology last month, Cory Graves couldn't help but smile.
"Every time I walk in here, it feels good," says Graves, a Humber grad who helped install the electrical system for the cavernous, 95,000-square-foot building. "It's also interesting to see because you know what the guys are going to be working on."
Once a furniture manufacturing plant and warehouse, the technology centre is now home to several skilled-trades programs, including carpentry, welding, construction and electrical.
It will also serve as a mini satellite campus for the college's apprenticeship programs.
Graves, who graduated from the electrical apprenticeship program in 2003, helped install the wiring and more than 1,000 lighting fixtures in the building, located on Carrier Dr. just north of Humber's main campus.
He is also a good example of why skilled trades are enjoying a resurgence, as young people seek reliable career options in a tough economy.
Graves says his work as a foreman at Rogol Electric shielded him from the worst of the economic dive. "I know it was a bit slow for some companies but we were very busy," he says. "People always need electricians."
Humber officials say the new centre speaks to the demand for skilled trades workers. Enrolment in the school's apprenticeship programs jumped 10.5 per cent this year, with plumbing and electrical apprenticeships proving particularly popular.
"There are more people getting into it, so there is a call out there in the real world," says Michael Auchincloss, program co-ordinator for Humber's industrial electrician apprenticeship.
A Humber grad himself, Auchincloss helped design the new centre.
"It wasn't really that difficult to put it together," he says. "Being in the trade, and having to deal with the other labs at the old building, we knew what we wanted and we knew what we didn't have, so we just put the puzzle pieces together."
Joe Tomona, associate dean at the school of applied technology, says more skilled trades workers will be needed as the population ages.
"For so many years, the skilled trades wasn't really a primary career choice for people," he notes. "We had the IT boom about 15 years ago and everybody was into the higher tech. We forgot about the changing demographics of the workforce – that tradespeople were getting older and not many young kids were getting into this area."
Now, that is changing, he says.
"People realize that the doctors, the lawyers, and the information technologists need to be in buildings and someone has to build the infrastructure."
The trades also offer stability in recessionary times and a good lifestyle, he adds.
"Nothing works without electricity. If the plumbing goes down, if there is no heat or no refrigeration, you got serious issues. I don't want to call them totally recession-proof but there is a very big need.
"All the things that make our life what it is are produced by skilled workers, and you can make a really great living as a tradesperson."
Adnan Hubjer is among many students who jumped into the trades after seeing the opportunities available. The University of Toronto business commerce graduate is now an intermediate plumber in the fourth year of his apprenticeship.
"Trade is something more for me; it allows me to use my knowledge and be in an environment that doesn't require me to be at a desk," he says, adding that his new career choice requires a lot more skill and knowledge than many people realize.
Toronto Star