Across all sectors, Brampton is investing in youth and talent to build tomorrow’s workforce.
The City of Brampton is developing a youth workforce strategy that will bridge gaps between the skills needed by business and industry and the skills and experiences gained in universities, colleges and even secondary schools. The focus is on providing pathways for our youth.
Establishing a strategy is a collaborative efforts with the City’s community partners, education institutions and businesses to better connect student skills with employer needs and expectations while leveraging government incentive and training programs. The results of these efforts are already seeing results as academia and industry in Brampton work cohesively to better prepare today’s youth for tomorrow’s jobs.
The Centre for Advanced Manufacturing and Design Technology (CAMDT) and new Skilled Trade Centre at Sheridan College’s Brampton campus is a “technology playground”
that puts students, manufacturers and industry partners in the same space. The space is both a learning environment for students and a testing ground for business. And the centre is being well used. Some of the Brampton companies who are working in the space include MDA Canada, Brampton Engineering, Hatch, Almag Aluminum, WG – Pro Manufacturing Ltd., Confederation Freezers, Amcor and Magna – Plastcoat.
Amazon has been particularly active in supporting robotics in Brampton. Just prior to officially opening in Brampton, Amazon Canada made a surprise delivery to the Brampton Robotics Club, dropping off $10,000 worth of equipment, technology and financial support. The donation has the long-term goal of encouraging students interested in STEM programs that will prepare them for the jobs Amazon and companies like it will offer down the road.
High school students are enjoying new programs with an emphasis on high-tech, innovative programming, and acquiring the tools they will need to succeed in future careers, says Samantha Brace, head of Business and Technology and the Specialist High Skills Major program at Central Peel Secondary School.
“With these programs we’re helping produce highly skilled and motivated future employees with an aptitude for technology and strong problem solving skills,” says Ms. Brace. With the support of Amazon Canada, the school’s robotics team has seen national and international success, and a team of Grade 12 students recently earned a second-place finish in a NASA competition to design a self-sustainable orbital space settlement.
Connecting students with hands-on experience is an approach working across a number of sectors.
At local Brampton hospitals, undergraduate students from various disciplines get involved with life sciences research and quality improvement projects through the Osler Summer Student Research Program. Students who have completed a minimum of two years of university are hired in salaried positions, as volunteers, or as part of their studies, with their qualifications matched to projects lead by Osler physicians.
Coca-Cola’s Brampton facility offers undergraduates the opportunity to gain practical experience and exposure to the manufacturing process, field operations planning, procurement and warehousing. It is also working with Unifor and Sheridan College to provide 15 new $2,000 scholarships to women enrolled in the skilled trades or post graduate manufacturing management programs.
Brampton’s youth workforce development strategy is formalizing the approach used by these companies and organizations to encourage more interaction and stronger collaboration between industry and education across the entire business community. The end goal is increased innovation, stronger networks, and the development of the skilled workforce of tomorrow.
