15 December 2008
All Aboard the College Train
Thunder Bay Ontario - Friday was graduation day for
students in one of Confederation College's newest programs.
The college's first round of railway conductor program students are finished their studies and ready to get to work. Six of the 11
graduates already have jobs lined up with Canadian Pacific Railway.
"They're applying for railway conductor, yardman, yard foreman, and yard helper positions," program instructor Rod Medwick
said in an interview. "They eventually can work their way up to a locomotive engineer or management positions."
He said representatives from CPR and the Railway Association of Canada (RAC) have come to speak to the class and brought with them
some good news. The CPR representative anticipated the company would be hiring about 300 people in 2009, while the representative from
RAC estimated there would be about 5,100 jobs available over the next five to 10 years.
Eric Hauta, 22, who landed a job with CPR, said after working construction in the summer months for the past few years, he was looking
for something more permanent. "I figured the railway is a good career," he said about his decision to apply for the course.
After eight weeks of in-class instruction and two weeks in the field, Medwick said graduates of the program have a better
chance at getting a railway job than someone without the education. "Anybody who takes this course would have a leg up on any
other person just coming off the street," he said. "This type of education seems to be where railways are headed in the
future in terms of looking for new employees."
When graduates get a position, they will still have 13 weeks of on-the-job training, he added. But people who have not
taken the course have to go through a 20-week training process.
"(Having employees who have taken the course) is a benefit to the railways," he said.
Allen Otway, 33, said he applied to different railway companies in the past, but found no takers. Otway was laid off from his job at
Abitibi Bowater in May 2007. "I needed a job, I've got a young family and wife," he said. Because of his new qualifications,
he said, he was hired by CPR.
Trevor Pilatzke, 18, said he simply has a passion for all things trains. "Once it gets in your blood, you can't get rid of
it," he said. He said he found the course very impressive. "But I would still say you've got to like what you do. It takes a
certain passion," he said, especially since the course costs $9,500 and runs five days a week.
Hauta added that people thinking about taking the course should be physically fit and not mind working in the outdoors.
Medwick said he expects a much larger class next semester. Classes start 26 Jan 2009 in a classroom at the former
McKellar Hospital site.
The railway conductor program is also offered at George Brown College in Toronto as well as at colleges in Alberta and British
Columbia.
|
