RapidSkills micro-credentials
The RapidSkills micro-credentials program is presented by the City of Barrie and Georgian College, in partnership with the County of Simcoe and the Simcoe Muskoka Workforce Development Board. This project is funded in part by the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario.
About the RapidSkills program
Delivered in a fast and flexible format, RapidSkills micro-credentials are short-term, competency-based, industry-recognized certifications. Presented by the City of Barrie and Georgian College, these micro-credentials are specific to the manufacturing sector and focus on key skill areas that have been identified as valuable by local manufacturing employers.
The program consists of a series of micro-certificates, which are short-term, competency-based, industry-recognized certifications.
Dates and delivery
Enrolment dates: Various throughout the year
Micro-certificate and training dates: See individual micro-certificate pages for more information
Delivery: Part-time, online and in person
Location: Barrie Campus
RapidSkills micro-certificates for the manufacturing sector
Each micro-certificate comprises up to three modules based on sectoral-focused feedback from regional stakeholders and employers. Micro-credentials are designed to upskill workers in a part-time format. Digital badges will be awarded for the completion of each micro-certificate module and for completion of the entire RapidSkills program.
Industrial Automation
Explore the fundamentals of modern automation. This three-module, 96-hour micro-certificate will prepare participants for careers in manufacturing and industrial maintenance, automation technicians, PLC programming, and machine building and integration. Employees working as manufacturing supervisors and lead hands will also benefit from training in automation technology.
Hydraulics and Pneumatics
Explore fluid power components and circuits. This two-module, 60-hour micro-certificate will prepare participants for careers in industrial and manufacturing maintenance, automation building and troubleshooting, mobile equipment troubleshooting and repair, construction equipment troubleshooting and repair, and entry-level fluid power specialist.
Fundamental Shop Skills
Examine fundamental shop skills and learn to perform critical functions in this 30-hour module. Develop the skills to interpret engineering drawings. Examine manufacturing process required to build components. Identify tolerances, materials and basic geometric dimensioning. Interpret hidden lines, section lines, thread types and ground surface symbols.
Precision Machining
Manufacture components using engineering drawings and traditional industrial machines. This three-module, 90-hour micro-certificate will prepare participants for careers as a material handler, conventional mill and lathe machine operator, general machinist, tool and die maker, and mould maker.
CNC
Explore CNC fundamentals using industry-grade tools and equipment in manufacturing. This three-module, 90-hour micro-certificate will prepare participants for entry-level roles in CNC programming.
Robotics
Explore industrial robotic motion, control and troubleshooting. This three-module, 96-hour micro-certificate will prepare participants for careers in robot programming, machine-building and integration, manufacturing maintenance, and automation technician.
Leadership in Manufacturing
In this five-module, 30-hour micro-certificate, build a solid foundation and broad business knowledge base of management, with a focus in manufacturing. Participants develop both operational management and leadership skills while learning to motivate, inspire and lead their teams to success.
Quality Management
In this two-module, 40-hour micro-certificate, participants build a foundation in quality management theories and methodologies and learn tools and techniques for a systematic approach to problem solving and root cause analysis. Participants will also develop project management and change management soft skills to support their quality management skill set.
How the program works
Registration for the RapidSkills program is open to employers who would like to retrain or upskill their workers.
Intake avenues
Corporate training
- If you’re an employer in the auto or advanced manufacturing sector, we can help.
Self-identification
- You can self-identify to participate in the program by contacting RapidSkills staff.
The hydraulics training course provided by the RapidSkills project has been one of the best training courses, if not the best training course, I’ve had the honour of participating in. Attending training during a pandemic can certainly be a challenge, but RapidSkills and the instructor of the course made the most of it and gave us updates promptly to any potential changes happening. The instructor was very knowledgeable, blended hands-on learning and theory together in a manner that made the material fun and easy to learn. I highly recommend RapidSkills to anyone looking to advance knowledge or training in their respective industry.—John Fiebrich, Mechanical Designer, Weldco-Beales Manufacturing
Corporate training
If you’re an employer in the auto or advanced manufacturing sector and want to participate in corporate training, we can help.
You may refer eligible employees for participation, per the criteria above. Employees can take part in the training while continuing to work.
Become an employer partner
To inquire about becoming an employer partner, please contact us at rapidskills@georgiancollege.ca.
Hire program graduates
Interested in hiring a RapidSkills program participant or graduate?
If you’re an employer and want to hire a participant, you may register with RapidSkills staff to become an employer of choice. This will provide you with access to employees who graduate from the program with the most up-to-date, in-demand, sectoral-focused skills.
We will work to ensure that each participant completes the program in full and that employers have access to any additional programming.
Register to participate in the program
For job seekers looking for a new opportunity, the RapidSkills program offers tailored skills training and employer connections so that you can quickly move into a job in the local manufacturing sector.
Potential participants will be referred to RapidSkills staff, go through an intake process to ensure eligibility requirements have been met, receive testing to gauge knowledge levels in the training areas, and partake in a program orientation.
If a participant believes they have acquired competencies gained in a micro-certificate module through education and/or work, they may request skill testing to challenge for completion of that module (and receipt of the applicable digital badge). Once a participant has completed each module and/or received all digital badges associated with the micro-certificate, they will be granted the full micro-certificate.
Upon completion of a micro-certificate, a participant may be eligible for credit transfers into select Georgian programs.
Featured partners
The RapidSkills program has worked with employers from the auto and advanced manufacturing sectors across Simcoe County, including:
Canplas Industries Ltd. has been a leader in the construction plastics industry since 1966.
From the very beginning, our dedicated team of employees prioritized an unrelenting commitment to customer service, focusing on safety, stringent quality and continuous improvement.
Innovation is part of our DNA, with new product solutions being developed and introduced for all of our market segments which include plumbing, ventilation, separation technologies and central vacuum.
CSR is a proven leader in formulating, manufacturing, and filling of personal care and colour cosmetic products.
For over 65 years, we have helped build successful consumer brands for some of the industry’s most reputable companies. Our focus on consistency, performance and reliability in the context of strict current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) guidelines. This makes CSR the right choice for North American and international companies looking for a complete range of product innovation, manufacturing and filling solutions.
The Electric Motor Coil Company (EMCC) is a proven industry-leading supplier of motor coils, generator coils, commutators and slip rings.
Our products are sold to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), and aftermarket winding and motor repair customers worldwide. EMCC operates out of a 40,000-square foot-state-of-the-art factory with a fully equipped testing laboratory on site. EMCC has automotive industry-type strengths, including low-cost coil manufacturing, labour efficiency models, and automated processes.
We have a highly skilled and experienced workforce combined with a proven manufacturing methodology – designed to reduce cost, raise quality, and ensure on-time delivery. Our extensive capabilities span a large variety of applications. We are committed to finishing every project on time, on budget, and to the highest standards of quality. We offer the responsive services that you would expect from a world-class coil supplier.
Innovative Automation designs and builds industrial automation equipment, mostly for the automotive industry.
We don’t design and build the parts that go into a vehicle; we design and build the systems that produce the parts.
Kumi Canada Corporation (KCC) is a plastic injection molding company. The company was established in January 1997 by Kumi Kasei Co., Ltd., of Japan and Kamco Industries Inc., of Ohio, to supply automotive parts to Honda of Canada and other related manufacturers in Canada.
Our success in this highly competitive industry depends on the efforts of our associates to work together as a team to provide the highest quality products to our customers.
Molded Precision Components (MPC) was established in 1980 to address the automotive industry need for a responsive prototype molding shop, specializing in high-quality plastic parts such as gears and complex assemblies.
Today, that legacy remains strong, but under new ownership since 2006, MPC has developed its capabilities and technologies far beyond prototyping.
Leading our sector in Industry 4.0 implementation, MPC offers a full-service, multi-disciplinary engineering, product development and precision injection molding service, complemented with our own in-house tool-building operation.
MTH Manufacturing Inc. is located in Elmvale, ON, just 70 minutes north of Toronto and two hours from the United States (U.S.) border.
Established in 2007, MTH Manufacturing Inc. specializes in machining and assembly of commercial vehicle components in a lean production environment.
Our manufacturing capabilities are enhanced by our ability to design and develop products and processes, both to optimize production processes and to improve product designs. Our approach includes using ISO 9001 based business systems as well Six Sigma improvement tools.
For more than 50 years, Prodomax has built a reputation as a specialized industrial engineering firm focused on turnkey integration of complex manufacturing production systems for automotive companies which produce structural underbody components.
We engineer and deliver automation solutions that advance your competitive edge, integrating assembly, welding and material handling, including both laser-cutting and laser-welding technologies.
Raytheon ELCAN is a Canadian optics innovation centre with over 70 years’ experience in Midland, ON.
ELCAN is a strategic partner for our global customers. We design and manufacture high-precision opto-mechanical/opto-electronic systems to help our customers see farther and faster across air, land, sea and space domains.
Proud to support our local, national and global communities, Raytheon ELCAN strives to deliver a world-class employee experience where our employees can work, grow and belong.
SAE is a North American best-in-class manufacturer that specializes in solutions for electrical grounding, alternating current (AC) mitigation, and cathodic protection.
SAE’s innovative design techniques and product technologies, combined with the leading-edge expert knowledge and extensive field experience, help get you what you need for reliable grounding and safety protocols.
SAE’s grounding products and electrodes are designed for high performance, extremely long lifetimes, maintenance-free reliable operations, and are inherently resistant to theft.
SAE further specializes in engineering design that integrates site geography, soil characteristics and soil resistivity data with advanced computer modeling tools to ensure our clients’ electrical protection and ambient noise mitigation specifications are met or exceeded.
Weldco-Beales Mfg. (WBM) designs and manufactures specialized heavy equipment attachments for OEM’s dedicated to servicing the construction, forestry, mining, scrap recycling, road maintenance and resource industries. Typical attachments include buckets, blades and plows, forks, grapples, tire handlers, cable reelers, ejector bodies, guarding structures and custom products.
Our focus is customer success, based on honesty, fairness and our commitment to quality. Collaboration and problem-solving are supported by full engineering capabilities and our wealth of industry experience.
WBM is 100 per cent Canadian owned and has operated since 1945 in Canada, committed to continual growth and exploration of opportunities that capitalize on our strengths to serve the global market.
Featured faculty
Brent Belford
Faculty, Precision Machining
Brent Belford has taught at Georgian for 17 years. He is also the academic technologist for the Precision Skills program. He has been a licensed mechanic for over 25 years where he worked largely on performance and custom builds. Brent’s machining skills were used for the manufacturing of performance and racing parts. He’s still involved with racing.
Adam Bowman
Faculty, Industrial Automation and Robotics
Adam Bowman has over 20 years of experience working with robotics and automation. Through occupying various roles such as a new build integrator in advanced manufacturing and now as a college professor and corporate trainer, Adam brings a wealth of knowledge and diverse experience. He enjoys working with students and industrial partners to help meet their learning needs and provide companies the opportunity to keep pace with the ever-changing technology landscape.
Peter Ferreira
Faculty, Leadership in Manufacturing
A passionate people leader with 18 years’ experience, driving sales, marketing, and operations teams to success through coaching. Peter Ferreira is highly engaging by using motivational, inspirational and supportive techniques. He is known for leading by example in various industries, including Software as a Servive (SaaS), technology, ecommerce, educational technology (EdTech), retail, wholesale and financial. Peter is a true professional who loves to share best practices, and spark discussion and collaboration to foster learning through the art of corporate training.
Gary Harris
Faculty, Precision Machining
Gary Harris has been a full-time teacher with Georgian for 18 years. He is a mould maker by trade and has travelled the world teaching and sharing his passion for design and manufacturing. Gary developed the precision machining micro-certificate in response to the needs of the local automotive and advanced manufacturing sectors.
Phil LeBoeuf
Faculty, Hydraulics and Pneumatics
Phil LeBoeuf has worked in the skilled trades field since 1977. A licensed industrial millwright, Phil has worked in various manufacturing industries specializing in machine building, plant maintenance and repair, fluid power maintenance and mobile equipment building and maintenance. Phil joined Georgian in 2003 and has become one of the foremost expert skilled trades trainers, having instructed numerous topics related to the trades and workplace safety. His expertise is requested across the province on a number of ministry-regulated initiatives and mandatory training requirements.
Jean-Marc Singh
Faculty, Quality Management
Jean-Marc Singh is a driven professional with over 28 years’ experience in project management, engineering, corporate operations, and senior leadership. Jean-Marc has a deep-rooted history within the oil and gas, and manufacturing industries, developing and implementing standard operating procedures (SOPs), quality management systems (QMS), and project management offices (PMOs) for North America, Asia-Pacific (APAC) and Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). He enjoys working with students and is committed to lifelong learning and professional development.
Contact us
Our team is always available for questions related to corporate training including group rates, custom programming and how to best utilize Georgian resources.
Contact information
rapidskills@georgiancollege.ca
548.877.0368
One Georgian Drive
Barrie, ON L4M 3X9
Hours: 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
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The RapidSkills micro-credentials program is presented by the City of Barrie and Georgian College, in partnership with the County of Simcoe and the Simcoe Muskoka Workforce Development Board. This project is funded in part by the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario.
