Planermill Maintenance Technician II & I Apprenticeship - College of the RockiesPlanermill Education in CanadaCarpentry and Woodworking Programs -- Community College Programs
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Planermill Maintenance Technician II & I Apprenticeship - College of the Rockies What is an apprenticeship?: An apprenticeship is a method of learning a trade through a combination of periods of in-class, technical/theoretical education and periods of paid, on-the-job training. During the latter portions of an apprenticeship, the student (apprentice) will work, in an indentured capacity, under the direction of a certified, journeyperson member of the trade one is learning. A journeyperson is an individual who has earned the standards of practice of his/her trade, typically via the completion of an apprenticeship. About 80 to 85 percent of an apprenticeship is comprised of experiential learning. The wage an apprentice earns depends on various factors such as education/training, experience, and economic aspects like supply and demand. An apprentice can, however, start at about 40 to 50 percent of what a journeyperson would earn in the trade being learned, and increasing with each progression in the various stages of the apprenticeship. The advantage of completing an apprenticeship is not only that one acquires in-depth knowledge and skills in a trade but also that, within the latter, one's career opportunities and salary potential are normally increased. How does one enter an apprenticeship?: To be eligible for an apprenticeship, candidates will usually have completed a minimum of Grade 10, or equivalent, including English 10, Mathematics 10, and Science 10. Some potential students may be required to successfully write an entrance examination. In some cases, the aforementioned pre-requisites may be waived. Furthermore, before a person can enter an apprenticeship program, he/she must find a qualified (journeyperson) employer willing to apprentice him/her. The responsibility for finding an employer ultimately rests with the person wanting to be apprenticed. However, ITA and/or COR may be able to provide programs that may help students obtain employment or, at least, increase their respective employability. For example, ITA sponsors a special program for high school students, the Secondary School Apprenticeship (SSA). Through the SSA, students may begin an apprenticeship while in secondary school that involves them working part-time, for pay, and simultaneously receiving credits for high school. Students in the SSA can have up to 2 years of training in their respective trades by the time they graduate high school. The advantage of completing a relevant program before seeking to be apprenticed is that the graduate often finds favour with potential employers because he/she has obtained the skills required to become immediately productive on the job, and thus may find sponsorship easier to come by. Moreover, a person who possesses previous training and/or work experience in the trade in which he/she wants to be apprenticed may be eligible to receive time credits towards the apprenticeship program and/or may be able to challenge the latter's technical training portion. Before an individual can be officially indentured, he/she and his/her employer must officially register with ITA. When the apprentice has found an employer, the former must contact ITA. The latter may request an interview with the employer and/or apprentice prior to approving the apprenticeship. During the interview, the qualifications and suitability of the employer and goals of the apprenticeship, among other things, will be determined and finalized. The employer and apprentice must sign an official agreement detailing the apprenticeship, such as its objectives, course, and rules, among other things. Once the apprenticeship has been approved, the apprentice may proceed to apply to COR's Planermill Maintenance Technician II & I Apprenticeship for the technical/theoretical component of the apprenticeship. The College of the Rockies' Planermill Maintenance Technician Apprenticeship is a unique program in North America and has been developed in partnership with the Interior Forest Labour Relations Association, IWA Canada, and the forest industry is a unique program in North America. The Program provides 'three levels of Apprenticeship training' and 'is organized into three years consisting of one seven-week training session and two six-week training sessions.' Among the major topics to be covered are bearings and seals, fasteners and fittings, grinding, installing, jointing, and removing cutter heads and knives, hydraulic, lubrication, and pneumatic systems and service, maintenance, overhaul, and repair of planers and planermill equipment, metal brazing, soldering, and welding, processing technical information, the forest industry, the planer and how it works, tools and equipment, and work safety. For further information or to register applicants are encouraged to contact the College by phone at (250) 489-2751, fax at (250) 489-1790, or the relevant email as listed on its website. Existing Planermill Maintenance Technicians may be allowed to part-take in the College's 60-hour Certificate of Qualification Upgrade Program which will 'help them prepare to write the Provincial Certificate of Qualification for Planermill Technician II and I.'Certified millwrights aspiring to enter the Planermill profession may be interested in completing the College's Planermill Maintenance Millwright Bridging Program before applying to the Planermill Maintenance Technician program. The Millwright Bridging Program is a compressed 5-week course, including 1 week of pre-reading, 1 week online, and 3 weeks of 'face-to-face instruction' which will articulate and standardize 'credit from the Millwright trade to the' Planermill trade.
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