Building a Career as Construction and Maintenance Technician

Building a career as construction and maintenance technician in Canada typically requires formal education and training as apprentice in electrical trade after completing high school. Students considering this as a career are required to obtain a thorough grounding in electrical engineering sciences and skills, including electrical circuits, maintenance of electrical devices and instruments, operation of electrical motors and power transmission. In addition to this, they need to undertake actual workplace assignments in order to gain hands-on-experience.

Construction and Maintenance Engineering Program

There are a number of colleges in Canada that offer co-op diploma apprenticeship programs in construction and maintenance. Unfortunately, not all offer extensive workplace experience through real-life assignments. Centennial College's post-secondary two-year construction and maintenance technician program - electrical engineering prepares students to build a career in this field. The program combines in-school theory, lab experience and paid co-op placement.

The course covers a wide range of subjects including

• Electrical theory, coding and printing
• Installation methods
• Electronics
• Monitoring systems
• AutoCAD
• Mathematics
• Network and Adv Control System
• Design and development course
• Power generation and distribution
• Prints - construction and maintenance

In addition, students also gain understanding of ethics in technology and environment and the Canadian electrical code. They spend eight months of the program time on a co-op placement arranged by the college, in order to gain practical hands-on-experience.

Enrollment Guide

In order to enroll in this program, you will need:

• Secondary school diploma
• English Grade 12 C or University or equivalent
• Mathematics Grade 11 M or 12 C or University or equivalent

In addition, you will also need to:

• Complete a questionnaire to assess co-op employability
• Attend information/interview session to discuss questionnaire answers
• Be eligible to work as an apprentice in Ontario
• Credential evaluation of the above if you're educated outside of Canada

Career Prospects for Program Graduates

The graduates of this program can build exciting careers as construction and maintenance technicians in the areas of service, installation, repairs, sales and design. They design, install, maintain and repair electrical systems, devices and equipments that are needed in a building. They are also expected to design optimum electrical solutions for a particular building.

The professionals can find employment with construction companies and firms operating in other industries. Almost all companies employ maintenance technicians. Besides, increased dependence on electrical systems has resulted in the increase in demand of construction and maintenance engineering professionals.

Typical Job Duties

The technicians are typically expected to

• Designing site-specific electrical solutions
• Installing or overseeing/supervising the installation of electrical systems
• Monitoring the systems
• Ensuring that the designed systems meet health and safety requirements
• Advising clients on energy use and power transmission
• Selecting appropriate locations for equipment/device installation
• Estimating costs of installing, maintaining and repairing electrical systems
• Working with detailed diagrams, plans and drawings
• Using computer-aided design software to design the system required for a particular project

However, roles and responsibilities may vary depending upon the employment, job title and individual experience. Individuals wishing to improve job prospects may opt for advanced educational programs.