Cambridge high school benefits from provincial funding for high-tech equipment

It’s not your average shop class.

Step inside St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School in Cambridge and you’ll definitely see some high-tech machinery.

It’s all thanks to an initiative by the Canadian Tooling and Machining Association (CTMA) and the Ontario Council for Technology and Education (OCTE), funded through the province’s Skills Development Fund.

Equipment deliveries for the program began in 2022 and include computer numerical control (CNC) machines, engine lathes and vertical milling machines.

In February, the province announced it is spending another $36,330 at St. Benedict’s to purchase more of these machines.

“The new equipment will be used for metal machining primarily. Although, we do machine other materials such as plastics,” says Victor Castela, a mechanical manufacturing teacher at the high school.

The school has computer numerical control (CNC) machines, engine lathes and vertical milling machines -- and there's more high-tech equipment on the way. (Spencer Turcotte/CTV Kitchener)

Since the first batch of new machines arrived, students say it’s made a huge difference in preparing them for careers in tooling and machining. Now, word of even more machines is exciting.

“I’m in Grade 13,” said student Lubomir Jankovic. “I’ve graduated already but I’m back here just to hone my skills. I’m currently at a co-op placement at Eclipse Automation.”

“It’s really cool being able to design your own ideas, make a drawing for it and then you actually get to build it yourself too,” said Grade 12 student Sofia Antelmi.

Castela says the equipment that has already come in has allowed his class to stay current. He adds, it’s necessary to help bridge the gaps between high school, post-secondary and the workforce.

“Anything you can design on the computer, as long as it makes logical sense when machining it, can be done,” says student Lubomir Jankovic.

Students have also been able to create a wide range of things.

“I’ve made a bullet, I’ve made a pen, I’ve made a hole gauge. That was the first thing I ever did on these,” said Grade 12 student Erin Baker, pointing to an engine lathe.

“Anything you can design on the computer, as long as it makes logical sense when machining it, can be done,” said Jankovic.

In terms of whether the investment has been worth it, the students seem to think so.

“When I started high school I came in here thinking, ‘I’m going to be a doctor, I’m going to be a lawyer, I’m going to be something cool like that.’ I didn’t realize this was a pathway I could take,” says Grade 12 student Christina Rawson.

The province says since the Skills Development Fund was launched in 2021, more than $660 million has been invested in helping more than 400,000 people upgrade their skills. It’s an investment into students’ futures that stretches far beyond St. Benedict’s.