News Article

MOT program rises to industry needs


6/24/2003 3:29:54 PM


Among several other companies visited by MOT students on their field trip, the group had an opportunity to view operations at Abitibi Consolidated in Stephenville


MOT students experienced their first field trip this year. One company visited by the students was LaFarge Gypsum in Corner Brook

June 24, 2003 – Last fall, Corner Brook campus of College of the North Atlantic added the new Manufacturing Operations Technology (MOT) program to its School of Engineering Technology. The program was developed in response to the automation currently taking place in processing industries.

The program has just completed its first year, and feedback from students and industry has been phenomenal, says Corner Brook Associate District Administrator Elizabeth Chaulk.

She says the MOT program has been designed with input from industry based on the increasing demand for advanced education and training for entry-level employees. In keeping with CNA’s mandate to respond to industry needs, the creation of the program seemed a logical step for the college.

Rob Kearley, Human Resource Supervisor at Corner Brook Pulp and Paper, says he is “very pleased about the college’s decision to offer the Manufacturing Operations Technology program. The College continues to provide us with a highly skilled and knowledgeable pool of qualified candidates from a variety of programs and the MOT program will help Corner Brook Pulp and Paper meet its future employment. This is especially relevant as an increased number of retirements from our core employee base is anticipated over the next few years”.

The campus has taken the response to industry a step further by having its engineering instructors work with industry to refine skill sets in order to deliver current industry skills and training to students of the MOT program.

Alan Kirby, an Instructor in the program spent 11 weeks at North Atlantic Refinery (NARL) in Come By Chance from August to October 2002. He assisted personnel from the production department in an effort to gain a better understanding of the process operations of the refinery.

“This professional development activity was an excellent opportunity for me to gain insight into the refining industry within Newfoundland and Labrador,” says Kirby.

Dan Murphy, another at Corner Brook campus has been taking mining-related courses at IOCC in Labrador City for the past seven weeks. He’s gotten exposure to and training in the pellet plant and in actual mining processes. He learned first-hand how raw ore is taken and converted into a marketable product.

“Having seen how these processes work individually and together gives an instructor a better practical understanding of the process, rather than just a theoretical understanding out of a text books that usually don’t give the relationship between the different pieces of equipment,” says Murphy.

These professional development activities provide time spent in industry settings to gain essential knowledge and experience in materials processing, process control and quality control, says Chaulk.

“They show how industry is supporting us – by hosting instructors in their related fields. This is a great link with industry that allows our graduates to benefit, as they will be trained in current manufacturing processes.”

MOT students also have the opportunity to see some manufacturing processes first-hand. The current group of students ended their first year with a field trip to several companies on the west coast of the island. These included LaFarge Gypsum in Corner Brook; Atlantic Minerals (a limestone and dolomite quarry) in Lower Cove on the Port au Port Peninsula; Abitibi Consolidated in Stephenville; and Nugget Pond Gold Milling Facility in Snook’s Arm on the Baie Verte Peninsula.

Graduates of the new MOT program will be trained as operators of automated manufacturing processes for any industry that takes raw material and turns it into a finished product - this could be pulp and paper, a mineral refinery or smelter, a pellet plant, or an oil refinery.

Chaulk says that the skill set gained by graduates of this program will also enhance the overall expertise required in the small scale manufacturing industry sector, especially as these operations adapt to automated processes.

With an excellent future employment outlook, graduates can expect to be met with many opportunities for good paying jobs and opportunity for advancement.

“The future employment outlook for graduates of this program is excellent,” says Chaulk.

“Not only do we expect an average of some 80-85 percent of graduates finding well-paying jobs (as with the former Pulp and Paper program), but with this new technology, we foresee even more opportunities for employment.”

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For more information on this exciting new program, contact:

Stephen Lee
Communications Manager
(709) 643-7929

or

Tanya Alexander
Public Information Officer
(709) 643-7928