This November, aspiring General Machinists at Niagara College went from the lab to shop floor to explore careers at manufacturing facilities in the region.
Students in the one-year Mechanical Techniques (General Machinist) Certificate Program visited CMI Heavy Industries in Stevensville and BV Glazing Systems in Niagara Falls to explore how their skills are being used by machinists at area manufacturers.
General Machinists are craftspeople who master various machines, including lathes and mills, to cut, shape and finish metal and other materials to fashion parts for various industries. NC students saw, first-hand, how local manufacturers craft parts for diverse industries like shipbuilding, nuclear power, custom architecture, and more.
“The visits were a chance for NC students to see how the machining skills they’ve learned in our program apply to different industries and help make for a smooth transition into the workforce,” said Lisa Caruso, program coordinator of NC’s Mechanical Techniques program.
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- Shawn Rapone, co-owner of CMI, gave students a hands-on tour.
At CMI Heavy Industries, students learned about a growing, family-run business that manufactures custom projects using heavy fabricated, forged, and cast machined components and assemblies.
Shawn Rapone, one of four brothers behind CMI (also a member of NC’s Program Advisory Committee) gave 13 students and their instructors a tour of the busy shop floor. Rapone showcased various stages of CMI’s manufacturing process for a variety of large-scale custom builds. Students saw many types of large, specialized equipment, including a combined boring mill and lathe.
For General Machinist Jatin Kadian from India, the visit was a tour of his future workplace. Kadian was hired by CMI as a CNC Machinist. He explained that while the machines at CMI are larger than at NC, he will be applying the same principles from class.
“If you can do it on a small machine, you can do it here,” said Rapone. “What you’re learning is completely applicable to this.”
Marina Schiffer of Welland also toured CMI, sharing an interest in working at a small, custom machine shop where she can see projects through from beginning to end. Schiffer comes from a woodworking family, inspired by her grandfather, a Red Seal tradesman who she says could build a house from the ground up. Drawn to the broader opportunities in metalworking, Schiffer chose the industry for its larger, project-based work and fewer client consultations than carpentry.
Rapone offered the students words of encouragement:
“You picked a great trade to get into. It will keep you on your toes. The stigma of the past was that these trades were going away but they’re needed now more than ever. Get into shops like this because this work doesn’t go overseas; it stays in Canada… it means good job security.”
Machining students at BV Glazing Systems.
At BV Glazing Systems, the students explored the world of structural steel. The company custom-makes ‘curtain walls,’ the exterior frames and glass on skyscrapers.
Students also got an inside look at how BV Glazing Systems tests its products against the elements. They saw small test assemblies used to assess durability under weather, water, and air-pressure conditions – tests required for engineers to approve the job.
Student Mary Cortes from the Philippines says she saw familiar equipment in their facility, from CNC’s, fixtures, and bending and stamping dies producing a variety of features on components in their curtain wall assembly. BV Glazing Systems also had equipment she’d never seen, like FomIndustrie programmable machinery that works on AutoCAD.
Cortes was impressed by the diversity of their workforce, noting seeing employees from the Philippines and India.
“It’s a good feeling for International students to see that,” said Caruso. “It helps when you see people like you doing the job.”
“There were a lot of women there and it felt very welcoming,” said Cortes.
Coming from NC’s Motive Power program, Cortes hopes to combine her automotive background with newly gained machining skills to pursue a career in auto-parts manufacturing.
Employers at CMI Heavy Industries and BV Glazing Systems expressed strong interest in receiving resumes from NC students, underscoring the demand for general machinists.
