Ursuline College Chatham Catholic Secondary School has received $80,000 in grants for the purchase of machinery and tools.  The funding comes from the Canadian Tooling & Machining Association (CMTA) and the Ontario Council for Technology Education (OCTE) in partnership with 22 school boards across Ontario.  Through this initiative, new high-tech equipment will be delivered to 40 high schools throughout the province.

“We are very pleased and thankful to receive this tremendous grant,” says Lisa Harnarine, Principal of Ursuline College Chatham Catholic Secondary School.  “The equipment we purchase will be a great benefit to our students whose career pathways include the skilled trades.”

UCC will receive a CNC router, two vertical drilling machines and a metal lathe at a cost of $75,000.  In addition, the school will receive $5,000 in tools, including class sets of micrometers, calipers, metal rulers, a vise and drill set.

“Our goal is to expose high school students to technology at an earlier age to engage their interest for a career within our industry,” says Robert Cattle, CTMA executive director. “Not only does this expose students to newer technology at an earlier age, but also gives teachers up-to-date equipment to implement in their classrooms.”

The program also provides experiential work placements for high school co-op students, with a focus in the precision metal cutting sector. Each student is paid an hourly rate while earning cooperative education credits.

“Our government is proud to support projects that expose high school students to the skilled trades early on,” says Monte McNaughton, Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development. “Our province needs more skilled workers and attracting more young people into these rewarding careers is crucial to that objective. I want to congratulate the CTMA and OCTE for this incredible initiative.”

The Career-Ready with CTMA: Expanding Opportunities program is funded in part by the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario.