NC prof Brian Mewhiney (middle) and alumnus Karl Dockstader (right) stand with Morning Live host Bob Cowan (left) in the CHCH Hamilton studio after their television appearance on August 13, 2014.
He’s a recent graduate of Niagara College’s Renewable Energies Technician program (2013) who recently appeared on CHCH Morning Live to speak about the program and his work in this exciting industry. This month, InsideNC checks in with Karl Dockstader, 35, who has turned his interest in renewable energies into an exciting career in the solar industry.
Dockstader currently works in Renewable Project Development for EnerDynamic Hybrid Technologies Inc.
Here is what he had to say:
What drew you to Niagara College’s Renewable Energies Technician program?
I was laid off from hospitality when I ran into Aboriginal Recruitment officer Tanja Steinbach at a recruiting booth at a Pow Wow and I started to learn about the programs offered at the college. I scheduled a meeting with her and learned about what an excellent math and science department program the college had but she drew my attention to this brand new Renewable Energy Technician program and I was intrigued. I couldn’t imagine with the way the world we live in changing so much that investing time in education could be a bad idea so I went for the RET program. I haven’t looked back since.
Why were you interested in this chosen field of study?
Renewable Energy has so much upside. There is a shift in the way younger people are thinking about building this world because they are awakening to the reality that doing things the way we do them in perpetuity is impossible. Building a smarter electrical supply grid with smaller, renewable forms of energy is the inevitable way of the future. It is such an obvious choice for a field to get into. Look at how well the programmers that came up before Y2K did, that’s where the renewable technicians could be poised to position themselves at.
Did you attend after another post-secondary degree/diploma?
I was a head chef at respected golf course after having been a hotel executive chef for a few years previous to that. I had been to (Liaison) College, gotten my Red Seal, but just saw that that my increasing family and community demands were in conflict with a highly demanding career. I thought that it was time to learn new skills and start to work smarter, not harder.
What was your career goal when you first enrolled in the program?
I didn’t really know exactly what I wanted to do, but our program had such a great cross-section of skills offered, including amazing social science and communications education that I felt like I had a lot of options by the time I was done.
Is there something that stands out about your time at NC?
Wow, there were so many highlights. I think that when Trevor Bentley and Evan DiValentino started the Green Energy Club and brought in those outside real industry experts like Jordan Beekhuis of Rankin Renewables and Adrian Downey from Enercon Wind it just breathed a motivational fresh life into the labs and texts we were labouring over.
What did you find rewarding about the program?
A teacher like Bryan Mewhiney who was so knowledgeable in his field made tough mathematics and complicated electrical engineering theory feel like a rewarding problem solving exercise. There are things that would go up on the whiteboard in the early days that seemed almost incomprehensible, but by the end of the course, as we were challenged more and more and more the reward of understanding those whiteboard problems was uplifting. There are technical things that I understand because of Niagara College that have given me the ability to have informed conversations with experts that just otherwise would not be possible.
I understand you and your brother both took the same program. What was that like?
J (Justin) and I were both starting young families working in jobs with non-traditional hours so when I started to tell him what program I was getting into the excitement for opportunity became contagious. Our excitement built and next thing you know we were enrolled at the same time in the same program. We started a healthy competition, where honestly he had the math and science edge and I had the communications edge, but as brothers we pushed each other and it all worked out pretty good in the end. I am very happy with my job, and he is doing pretty good for himself too. I love solar, even with the ebbs and flows of the industry, and his talents are not being wasted by Germany’s greatest wind turbine manufacturer as they grow their footprint in the Canadian market.
Describe your job at EnerDynamic Hybrid Technologies Inc.
As a solar panel manufacturing company that is transitioning into the global market and it’s demand for hybrid renewable energy technology I have to be informed and on the cutting edge of the products on the market. When customers call looking for the types of products we offer if I don’t offer a keen sense of knowledge of our products backed by a thorough understanding of the engineering and design principle demands they will go elsewhere. My job is to solve their energy problems by offering our suite of products or by procuring something faster and cheaper than they could do it for themselves. I have been on site at 2 of our 5 500 kilowatt installations to work with the technical teams, and have been trained on everything from industrial scale solar to what the difference between small scale rectifiers means to our wind research teams.
Any specific career accomplishments so far?
We have, to the best of my knowledge, the only working net metered solar installations in Niagara through Umbrella Energy which was acquired by my current company EHT. Because of a partnership with Niagara Research that I was a part of when I went to school, I was able to gain employment with the research partner and now I am able to help our company offer net metering metrics that exceed anything else in use in our industry. In a competitive field our head start gives us an advantage that is invaluable, and I am proud to be a part of this lofty accomplishment.
What do you find rewarding about your job specifically?
There are a lot of solar companies, and there are still a few solar manufacturers left, but EHT is special. We are trend-setting. I often wonder if I am in at the ground floor of the next Apple or Ford Motor Company. Each time I participate in project the knowledge I gain is so unique and special.
How did NC prepare you for your current position?
College provided me with foundational skills that I was able to use to attain employment. Specifically we were trained in AutoCAD and I used an AutoCAD mock-up of a roof that my employer was trying to pitch to a client to sell my services to my first employer.
What do you enjoy about working in this field?
It is a challenging mix of timing and knowledge to be able to meet our deliverables here at EHT. When our clients are satisfied and we take a moment to realize the scope and impact of a project we have executed it can be awe-inspiring to realize what we have done.
What are your career goals for the future?
I hope to continue to grow my expertise in the solar and hybrid technology fields to the point where I become one the foremost knowledge keepers in my field.
How does your career choice impact the rest of your life?
Having a stable career with traditional hours has allowed me to volunteer more in my community. I found the time to re-connect with the special culture of the Oneida people when I was in school, and now my career affords me the time to commit to learning how to help preserve knowledge that was almost vanquished.
Do you have any other affiliations/ involvements related to your career?
I am a contributing member to the Niagara Energy Alliance, a stakeholder organization tasked with raising the profile of renewable energy companies doing business in Niagara. The NEA dominated local airwaves over the provincial election to remind the people of Niagara that graduates such as myself are finding good jobs in the new renewable energy sector right here in Niagara.
Any major involvements unrelated to your career?
I am the president of the Board of Directors at the Niagara Regional Native Centre, and am working hard at tracing my roots back to my culture as a member of the Oneida Nation.
