Durham College (DC), Ontario Power Generation (OPG), and the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers (IBB) are pleased to announce they have joined together to offer a three-week pre-apprenticeship program, providing essential boilermaker industry training.

Managed and delivered through DC’s Corporate Training Services (CTS), the pre-apprenticeship serves as an introduction to the boilermaker trade and provincial apprenticeship program. Its inaugural session begins on Monday, April 29, with four additional intakes scheduled throughout the summer which will train 100 new pre-apprentices.

The training program was created to help address the projected skilled trades’ shortage of boilermakers in Ontario. OPG, Bruce Power, and the Electrical Power Systems Construction Association (EPSCA) have been working on a province wide plan to mitigate the resourcing risks for contractors and owners, ensuring sufficient capacity exists to execute the volume and complexity of work at all the utilities, safely and on budget. Successful applicants will be referred for work at OPG sites, training with senior staff and learning their craft in the nuclear industry. The program is also being supported by the Organization of Canadian Nuclear Industries (OCNI).

Within the energy industry boilermakers build and maintain nuclear, hydroelectric and coal-fired generating stations, as well as oil-sands extraction plants, oil refineries, liquefied natural gas processing plants and other facilities. They also work in the mining, chemical, pulp and paper, cement and potash industries. The scope of a boilermaker’s work can include everything from specialty welding to hoisting, positioning and installing huge components of massive industrial plants, to project management and co-ordination of workers in other trades.

Those interested in a future boilermaker apprenticeship opportunity can visit www.boilermaker.ca/apply.