CTMA to honour skilled apprentices

Apprentices at Canadian machine shops have until April 30, 2006 to register for the Canadian Tooling & Machining Association’s (CTMA) 13th annual Apprenticeship Competition.
The CTMA will award prizes to the top three entrants. Entries will be judged on their both their accuracy and appearance.
The winners’ employers will also receive awards, with the top prize being a gift certificate valued at 40 per cent or $70,000 towards the purchase of an EDM or high-speed machining centre.
Anson Chan of Pickering, Ont.-based Canadian Progressive Tool & Transfer was awarded first prize last year; he received $1,500 and an oak tool chest. Shawn Sookdeo of Toronto-based Micrometric Ltd., and Darryl Denholm of Guelph, Ont.-based Blount Canada, placed second and third respectively. Apprentices can enter by faxing or mailing their registration to the CTMA. As part of the competition, entrants must produce a test piece; the CTMA will send entrants an angle plate test piece drawing with all relevant specifications. To be eligible, apprentices must return the entrance piece to the CTMA, along with a record sheet and a time log signed by their employer, by July 7, 2006.
Additionally, all entrants must be registered as apprentices with the Ministries of their home provinces.