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.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
Premiers not being truthful about carbon tax, Trudeau says while sparks fly in Ottawa
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Conservative premiers across the country are 'not telling the truth' when it comes to the carbon tax. Trudeau's comments came as fresh sparks were flying in Ottawa at a recalled House of Commons committee.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
'Ninja,' Twitch's biggest streamer, is diagnosed with skin cancer
American gamer and Twitch superstar, Tyler 'Ninja' Blevins, revealed he was diagnosed with melanoma, a form of skin cancer.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Here's what Trudeau says the upcoming federal budget will offer renters
The federal government will create a new 'Canadian Renters' Bill of Rights,' which would require landlords to disclose their properties' rental price history to prospective tenants.
Families shocked after Niagara Falls hotel cancels bookings made year in advance of solar eclipse
After having the foresight to book their Niagara Falls hotel rooms more than a year in advance, several families planning to take in the solar eclipse next month were shocked to find out their reservations had been cancelled.