Become an In-Demand Electrical Engineering Technician in Two Years

There is currently a technical skills shortage looming both regionally and nationally in Canada's Electrical Engineering Technician field. As such, Centennial College's Electrical Engineering Technician offering gets students into the field in just two years to fill these technical positions as the manufacturing sector becomes more specialized, the construction industry flourishes and retirement rates increase.

But what exactly is the job of the Electrical Engineering Technician and how do you know if the field is for you? First and foremost, areas that fall under this umbrella include: power distribution and utilization, electrical power generation, transmission, and protection; industrial telecommunications, electrical maintenance and installation, control systems, services, sales, design and repair. All of these areas should interest you if you are to succeed in this field. Secondly, you must be comfortable with working in a range of employment settings in commercial, utility and industries using electrical technology as these are all areas of concern for the Electrical Engineering Technician.

Centennial College prepares students for the Electrical Engineering Technician field by exposing them to SETAS labs that provide extensive practice and ample opportunity to develop skills required to assume entry level positions in the industry. These labs play an important role as students obtain thorough grounding in electrical engineering sciences and skills, including electrical circuits, maintenance of electrical instruments or devices, operation of electrical motors and power transmission as used in the industry. In addition to the practical lab approach, the Electrical Engineering courses also weave in a project approach that simulates actual workplace assignments and allows students to gain experience in producing electrical drawings as well as diagnostics and analysis of electrical systems.

Specific Electrical Engineering courses in the Electrical Engineering Technician offering include: Canadian Electrical Code and Drawing Interpretation, Electrical Theory and Installations, Electronics, Ethics in Technology and the Environment, Fluid Power – Hydraulics, Monitoring Systems as well as Mathematics (covers calculations with approximate numbers, rules for exponents, simplifying algebraic expressions, graphing functions and solving linear and quadratic equations as well as systems of equations); and Ethics in Technology and Environment (provides students with an understanding of the impact of technology on society and the environment by examining ethical issues governing social, technological and environmental policies, and the impact of their implementation).

The final step students take in this Electrical Engineering Technician course is completing a final semester Electrical Engineering Technician Capstone Project course. This offering is an opportunity for students to gain real life experience and apply everything they have learned in the program by working on a project that serves as the final component of the diploma program.

Those interested in attending Electrical Engineering course must have completed at minimum an Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) or equivalent, or mature student status (19 years or older). They must also have the compulsory English 12C or U credit, or skills assessment, or equivalent; and the Math 11M or U, or 12C or U credit, or skills assessment, or equivalent.