Plumbing for the facts on employment: training for a fitting career
8/23/2007 4:04:02 PM
Craig Thistle had found employment soon after high school but he knew if he wanted job security, he was going to have to go to college.
The Glenwood native found steady work as a general labourer with McCarthy’s Heating in Gander, but didn’t have the specific skills or training to keep him in demand. His boss Joe McCarthy requested that Thistle take the nine-month Plumbing program at College of the North Atlantic’s (CNA) nearby campus in Bonavista.
“I had regular work with the company, but after I graduated from the program I had job security and much more salary,” says Thistle. “And now I have something to fall back on.”
McCarthy says he was impressed with Thistle from the get-go.
“He came on as a helper/labourer and I took a liking to him right away. His attitude was fantastic for a kid, but I told him he should go to college for a trade,” says McCarthy.
“‘What should I do?’ he asked… I suggested plumbing… I let him go do his training and said there’d be a place for him when he came back. And you know, he’s probably one of the best plumbers I’ve ever had here.”
McCarthy has operated his heating business for 28 years and now employs 15 people in his company. He has learned what to look for in an employee.
“I have hired many people from CNA; in fact, I have four working with me right now. I certainly do believe in the quality of programming at CNA and the fantastic training they offer,” McCarthy says emphatically.
“And I know first-hand… I am also a grad of the college; I did the Oil Burner Mechanic program 30 years ago in Placentia.”
Thistle has now been with the company for a total of five years, loves his job and appreciates the opportunity given to him by his boss.
“I had a guaranteed job when I came back,” Thistle continues, “and I was no longer at the bottom of the totem pole. And the best thing? It’s good work and I get to stay in Newfoundland.”
He’s not the only one. The plumbing sector of the trades industry is booming, along with other trades like ironworker (offered at Bay St. George campus) and welder (offered at several CNA campuses), due to several large-scale projects in the province.
The provincial government’s Report of the Newfoundland and Labrador Skills Task Force released in March 2007 revealed the massive demand for skilled trades workers for such ongoing projects as Hibernia, Terra Nova, White Rose and IOC Mining and upcoming projects such as Voisey’s Bay, Hebron and Lower Churchill.
The labour forecast reveals that the current level of employment is expected to more than double by 2011, with over 9,000 employed in these projects.
“Many of these projects would require large numbers of workers with the same skilled trades and will, as a result, compete with each other – and with construction projects across Canada and around the world – for the limited workers in certain skills areas,” states the report.
In fact, plumbers are one of the groups expected to remain in demand throughout the entire duration of these projects into the next decade, and CNA is ready with training to meet the needs of these projects and other new technologies.
“The college has responded to the demand for plumbers by adding additional training capacity in its program at our Bonavista campus,” says Colin Forward, dean of industrial trades at CNA.
“Graduates can seek apprenticeship opportunities in all areas of the construction sector, from residential housing to large oil and gas development projects. As well, graduates should be excited about opportunities arising from innovations in the area of alternative energy, including new and efficient ways of installing and maintaining plumbing systems.”
To acquire Journeyperson’s status, a graduate of the Plumber program works as an apprentice in the field for a designated number of hours before completing advanced level training in preparation for writing the Interprovincial Journeyperson's Examination (Red Seal) for classification as a certified tradesperson in the industry.
If one wanted to explore the world, opportunities abound for trades workers. The Skills Task Force report also identifies increasing labour market demands for projects and industries in other parts of Canada and abroad.
According to that report, the Atlantic Provinces Economic Council’s 2006 Major Projects Inventory identifies 357 projects in various stages of development throughout Atlantic Canada, valued at nearly $54 billion.
And graduates of CNA’s trades programs have also found work in places such as South America, Africa and Europe.
If one is searching for a solid career in the trades, it seems plumbing is a “fitting” choice.
For more information on the Plumber program, contact Bonavista campus at: 709. 468.1700
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Media Contact:
Tanya Alexander
Public Information Officer
College of the North Atlantic
709.643.7928