Cool tools heading to area schools

Four local high schools have received state-of-the-art machinery to learn age-old trades.

Two high schools in the Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board (SMCDSB) and two high schools in the Simcoe County District School Board (SCDSB) received a donation from a partnership between the Canadian Tooling & Machining Association and the Ontario Council for Technology Education.

The nearly $200,000 ($199,252) is expected to help address the skilled-trade labour shortage in the precision metalworking sector by purchasing equipment to upgrade high school manufacturing facilities.

Funds will be distributed as follows:

• St. Peter's Catholic Secondary School, Barrie, $20,500 for a lathe
• St. Theresa's Catholic High School, Midland, $42,500 for a milling machine
• St. Theresa's Catholic High School, Midland, $29,200 for a plasma table
• Collingwood Collegiate Institute, Collingwood, $37,330.00 for a First Vertical milling machine
• Nottawasaga Pines Secondary School, Angus, $69,752.00 for a Haas Mini Mill

"The association and council have worked hard to remove barriers and support schools with state-of-the-art equipment for students, and we are so thankful," said Wade Tower, the secondary programme coordinator for the separate school board.

Both school boards are committed to closing the skilled trades gap and exposing students to the myriad of opportunities available to them in the province.

"Technology programs provide students with the skills needed for a career in the trades; having experience with state-of-the-art equipment gives them a competitive edge," said Theresa Watt, technological education facilitator with the public board.