General Machinist Apprenticeship Program
Competed in 2018 Skills Ontario, placed 7th in Precision Machining category
Competed in 2019 Skills Ontario, placed 1st in Computer Aided Manufacturing category
Six years ago, as a young man trying to find my way, I took a pre-apprenticeship course through a private school in Burlington. Working as a retail manager at the time, I felt trapped in a low-wage, high-stress customer service role and had dreams of being a millwright at a craft brewery. After my first week in the program, I was hooked on machining and by the end of the six-month program, my goal was to become a CNC programmer.
After completing my pre-apprenticeship program, I began working in the tool and die industry and learned from seasoned tool makers—some with more than 40 years of experience—the fundamentals of metal cutting to extreme accuracy. Unfortunately, due to the financial constraints of being an apprentice in my mid-twenties, I was unable to begin my formal training.
Once I had a good handle on what I was doing at this shop, I moved on to a shop specializing in pumps, which turned out to be one of the best decisions I have ever made. The position taught me that with the right mindset and preparation, I could accomplish any machining task put in front of me. Unfortunately, I still was not a CNC programmer.
At a CNC jobbing shop, where a friend of mine worked, I noticed an ad posted for a skilled machinist. I polished up my resume and spent the next three weeks using all resources at my disposal to develop myself into a CNC machinist who would be a valuable asset to the shop. I got the job and now that I was in a position where I had access to the latest technologies, I really began to thrive. I started designing and building my own tools, coming up with new, creative ways to hold and remove material and was constantly researching and learning where the industry was moving. This shop was happy to sign me up as an apprentice and Mohawk College was my one and only choice
I had heard so many good things about Mohawk’s General Machinist Apprenticeship Program, not only as far as the facility but the faculty as well.
After a few months, my instructor Adam Taylor reached out to me asking if I would be interested in representing Mohawk as a participant in the Skills Ontario Competition—I agreed! For the remainder of the year, Adam would offer up challenges to me and let me struggle and develop my manual machining skills, applying the complex mathematics and engineering drawing fundamentals we learned in class.
My first year was a learning experience—I came in seventh place had a lot of fun and was inspired by how the Skills Ontario Competition is designed to promote skilled trades to a younger generation. Once I was back at school for my second block of training, I knew I wanted to compete in the Computer Aided Manufacturing category.
By this time, I had propelled myself to a lead programming position at my shop, working on highly complex components for the medical robotics industry and other automation sectors. I used my time in second year to hone my skills at quickly and efficiently going from print to part on CNC mills and lathes to prepare myself for the competition. All this hard work paid off with a gold medal win in my category.
Going into my third and final block of training, I hope to be able to coach and guide the next block of students who wish to participate in this event and achieve their career goals in their machinist trade. I am very thankful for my wife and family’s support throughout this journey as well as the support from my instructor Adam Taylor for guiding me to succeed in my career and the Skills Ontario Competition.