Multiple programs in a manufacturing company

CIMCO Manufacturing in Toronto designs and makes air conditioning and refrigeration equipment for industry, sport, and recreation. CIMCO has made a commitment to continuing training for all of its employees.

The variety of courses offered on site certainly gives education and training a high profile. Basic skills programs, recognized as essential to comprehensive and ongoing training, have been offered for five years along with Just in Time training, blueprint reading, welding, machine shop, millwright, forklift safety, and other job-specific programs.

Basic skills courses, put on by the Continuing Education Department of the Toronto Board of Education, have included English as a Second Language, Math Refresher, Communications in the Workplace, and Signing for the Hearing Impaired.

Workplace education at CIMCO began with a work-related ESL program. Initially, the instructor worked closely with lead hands and used production manuals and job-related print material to design a Language for Work program. Now into its fifth year, and in response to growing interests of the participants, this program has expanded to include more exploration of personal development; social, political, and economic issues; health; company and industry history; native peoples; and many more topics. Work-related topics include the Just in Time program and production systems.

One of the recommendations from the communications needs assessment was to request the Canadian Hearing Society to help employees communicate with hearing-impaired people. Management asked for a signing course, which attracted not only employees with hearing difficulties, but also participants from a variety of employee groups, including the ESL class. As a result, hearing employees found a new way to communicate with their co-workers on the noise-filled shop floors.

Recently, adult basic education programs in math and oral or written communication have been added. They are available in six-week cycles, as are the on-site job-specific training programs.

The training coordinator, a union member, has been instrumental to the program through his support, availability, and input to curriculum design. The instructor and coordinator have met regularly to develop and implement a communication and math program relevant to ongoing changes in the company.

The communication course concentrates on the writing and oral skills needed to work effectively in a Just in Time structure. Because participation in meetings is central to this structure, the skills practised include taking minutes, summarizing information, making group decisions, etc. The training coordinator helped design the math refresher program to emphasize multiple-function problem solving, which requires knowledge and use of fractions, costing, measuring, and other math skills necessary for team production. The courses continue to be successful avenues to personal development, job-skills improvement, and preparation for in-house training programs.