AMDSB benefits from equipment donation

Students at three Avon Maitland District high schools are getting new high-tech equipment for their manufacturing programs.

Superintendent of Education Jane Morris says the equipment is being provided by the Canadian Tooling and Machining Association as part of their Career-Ready Expanding Opportunities program.

“Initially we were just going to get equipment at Stratford District Secondary School and then they came back and said they would add the same sort of equipment at St. Marys DCVI and Central Huron Secondary School (in Clinton). So in total we’ve ended up with a donation of over 280-thousand dollars,” Morris stated.

Morris says that will allow their students to work on industry standard equipment in the skilled trades.

“So students are going to be working with equipment that is the kind of equipment they would see out in the industry. If they go out on a co-op placement or an apprenticeship or even decide after they leave high school to go work in a trade, they’ve had experience on the kind of equipment that they’re likely going to see in that job,” added Morris.

Morris says the equipment was delivered last week to the Stratford District Secondary School, and the students there were very excited about getting a chance to use it. She adds, the same equipment is expected to be delivered to the high schools in St. Marys and Clinton in March. She adds the donor agency for the program is the Canadian Tooling and Machining Association, but it is also supported to some degree by the federal and provincial governments. Morris also notes the program is another example of how the various governments and industry have recognized the need to encourage young people to consider a career in the skilled trades.

Read original story from Midwestern Ontario News – BlackburnNews.com