By IAN ROSS
Being situated in one of the world's biggest mining camp during a global minerals boom offering lucrative salaries means Cambrian College has few problems filling seats in its mine technician and technologist programs.
After only a year as Cambrian College's dean of computer and engineering technology, Geoff Dalton is startled to see the cohesive relationship between his Sudbury institution and industry.
Dalton, a 16-year educator with ties to the Canadian auto industry, says there's an exceptionally strong bond and investment between Cambrian and Sudbury's two biggest miners, CVRD Inco and Xstrata Nickel.
Cambrian offers a variety of mining specialty programs offering common core basics but it's mainstays are the mining engineering technician and technologist programs.
Dalton expects their upcoming student intake for the technician program to be 100 students.
In the last four years, Cambrian's mining programs have seen a 200 per cent increase.
Those that enter the two-year technician program either enter the workforce upon completion or tack on an extra year's education as a mining technologist or the geology technologist.
Dalton says this past year's program attrition rate from first to second year went from 85 to 60, partly due to some Cambrian students getting job offers after only one year. The third year technologist class usually has 30 students.
More than half their students are mature, meaning more than 19 years of age.
Dalton says the strength of their programs are the experienced instructors.
"We have faculty that have lived the life and a great relationship with industry who are very supportive. The faculty are straight forward in the expectations of the industry. They know the importance of a good attitude, safety and paying attention to detail of work."
With a former operating mine in Onaping as a classroom, Cambrian blends both classroom theory with technical hands-on skills. "We give them a solid foundation to be successful," says Dalton.
"There's always a shortage of quality of people in every industry. The employer that recognizes they've got a good candidate will find (a job) even if one doesn't exist."
And there's no trouble getting industry buy-in since many companies' officials sit on Cambrian's program advisory committee. "We have people from industry with office space here. In the last few weeks we have entertained the CEO of CVRD from Brazil and people from Xstrata.
"We are getting so many visitors from overseas coming to see what we're doing."
Graduates go to work in specialized areas such as rock mechanics, mine ventilation, air conditioning, mining safety and field exploration. Some find work with mining contractors with Sudbury's extensive mining service sector.
Those that don't find work in Northern Ontario, head to northern Quebec, New Brunswick, British Columbia and the Alberta Oil Patch.
"With Xstrata and CVRD, because they do have multiple sites, there's opportunities across the country."
Starting salaries for technologists are in the $45,000 to $50,000 range.
But the college's other supporting skilled trades represent an important cross-over as well for the mining sector, says Dalton.
"Every program we have, our grads can work in the mining sector with computers, instrumentation, chemical engineering, mining or electrical."
On the web:
www.cambriancollege.ca
