VIEW Fall 2025 Canada Post Mail Publications Agreement Number: 40609661 The voice of the Canadian Tooling & Machining Association CTMA’s Career- Ready program helps connect the dots5 CONTENTS FALL 2025 19 Fall 2025 Published For: The Canadian Tooling & Machining Association 140 McGovern Drive, Unit 3 Cambridge, Ontario N3H 4R7 Tel: (519) 653-7265 Fax: (519) 653-6764 marketing@ctma.com www.ctma.com The contributed articles presented in this magazine represent the opinions of the authors and the interviewees. Their inclusion does not directly or implicitly denote concurrence by the Canadian Tooling & Machining Association. Articles were selected for inclusion based on the issues and views of interest to the industry. Published By: Matrix Group Publishing Inc. 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To request permission, please contact the association’s office by e-mail at info@ctma.com. 9 21 16 UP FRONT 7 A Message from the CTMA president FEATURES 9 From classroom to career: CTMA’s Career-Ready program helps connect the dots 13 Congratulations to Donato Ardellini! 15 CTMA’s 27th Annual Golf Tournament: A hole-in-one for networking and fun 19 Celebrating the 2025 CTMA High School Award winners MEMBER PROFILE 21 Investing in-house: Stanpac’s bold move to bring repairs in-house CTMA HEADLINES 23 Welcoming new CTMA members! 25 Attendees receive incredible tour of Exco Engineering 26 CTMA members experience the future of agriculture with tour of Mucci Farms’ facility 28 Subscribe to CTMA’s Members’ Forum 29 CTMA hosts annual Cutting Tool Survey Group meeting 30 INDEX TO ADVERTISERS67 UP FRONT KNOWING THAT I FIND HUMOUR and love to laugh at the things in life that are outside society’s conven- tions of acceptability, my brother sent me a copy of a lady’s obituary that chronicled her life and instead of sainting her, which most obituary’s do even if the person was horrible, the obituary went on to describe how she left her husband; completely abandoned her two children; and selfishly pursued her own desires. It ended with “Sarah Sylvester” (not her real name) will not be missed by anyone. I thought it was hilarious and laughed out loud and thought, “Finally, a real obituary!” It also made me think of the missed opportunity this lady had of probably the most important thing every one of us should be doing in our lives—being a good mentor and role model to the next generation. My father-in-law passed away a few years ago and I really miss him. He was an excellent husband and father, a talented athlete who played hockey and baseball at higher levels, and an excellent baseball team manager. In each area of his life, he was a great role model, but what I really miss the most are his stories of his life experiences. He would share about his first job in a canning factory, his family life when his father was off to war, and his many hockey and baseball exploits (he was a scrapper in hockey and sometimes had to climb out the dressing room window to escape his enemies waiting for him after the game). His stories were often hilarious, but what really spoke to me was hearing about all the tough jobs he had, how he hitchhiked across the county with his hockey equipment—just to be on the team (this was junior hockey) and about the many hours he put in as a young father working three jobs to provide a good living standard for his family. That is what I call a role model! To this day, his children are all hard workers and successful. I wonder why?! Probably the most effective method of learning is not always through formal education (which is important) but rather by experiential or what is referred to as “vicarious learning.” This is why apprenticeships and workplace mentoring processes are so effective and important. How do you connect with the next generation to establish a relationship to be able to pass on your knowledge? I have had more conversations than I would have liked with managers complaining about the culture, work ethic, lack of resilience, and inability to cope with life of the next generation of young people entering the workplace. I get it; it’s often problematic to say the least. I just finished an excellent book called, “The Anxious Generation – How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness” by Jonathan Haidt. To nutshell his message, he says that our children have not developed the ability to cope with normal life stressors and provides data that the Louis Jahn CTMA President Jahn Engineering Ltd. Meeting them at their level should not mean that we accept mediocrity or unacceptable behaviour. It means understanding their worldview and respecting their values, but at the same time making sure they have a clear understanding of expectations of their jobs, which includes both productivity measurables and behavioural expectations. Being a good mentor: Engaging the next generation ANNUALGENERAL MEETING &Dinner SCANTHECODEOR VISITWWW.CTMA.COM TOREGISTER! KEYNOTEPRESENTATION FROMYANMARKSON NETWORKING APPRENTICEAWARDS8 rates of depression, anxiety, self-harm, and suicide rose sharply, more than doubling for children born in the 1990s, with the arrival of the “phone-based childhood” in the early 2000s. Statistics show that the average Gen Z (ages 16 to 24) spends four hours and 37 minutes each day on their phone. With this monumental distraction how are you going to reach them and get their attention to turn them into productive members of your workplace? These behaviours are a massive shift compared to when many of us entered the workforce. The next generation is slowly taking over our world, so how do we effectively connect with them to pass on our knowledge? We need to meet them at their level and accept that they may dress and present different than us, want different things out of life, or place importance on different aspects of their lives with different social, ethical, and environmental values. For example, on my 16 th birthday, I got my driver’s license. My daughter had to be coaxed into getting a driver’s license when she was in her 20s. It wasn’t a priority for her. When I did my apprenticeship, I was an overtime hound. Many younger people are more than satisfied with 40 hours or less per week. The next big challenge is helping them meet expectations. Part of the mentoring process is to challenge them and set goals for them that may sometimes take them outside of their comfort zone or be different than their normal habits. Meeting them at their level should not mean that we accept mediocrity or unacceptable behaviour. It means understanding their worldview and respecting their values, but at the same time making sure they have a clear understanding of expectations of their jobs. This includes productivity measurables, behaviour expectations, performance targets, limiting personal screen time, and being at work when requested. Often when I assign a task to a younger person, they tell me: “I’ll do my best” qualifying their efforts and my reply is always the same, “I don’t want your best if your best does not get the task completed correctly and on time.” I’ve received many strange looks in response, but they all get the message. I may have to offer advice, encourage them, or help them succeed, but I make my expectations clear. Imagine if Steve Jobs or Bill Gates said to their young development teams, “just get the iPhone or Microsoft software working so it performs a few good functions.” Where would we be today? They set the bar high and when they reached their goals, they set the bar even higher, and young people responded every time translating to making Apple and Microsoft successful companies, which demonstrates that it is possible. We need to copy their models. Many young people are amazing and can do things much better and quicker than their mentors because of their exuberance, innate abilities, use of technology, education and, as of late, their use of artificial intelligence. Our job as parents, managers, mentors, and industry leaders is to be good role models and to do whatever it takes to teach and reach the next generation of workers so that our workplace and world become a better place. ❙❙❙9 FEATURE he manufacturing sector is doing its part to engage with the next generation of tradespeople, donating time, resources, and equipment to schools, such as through the Canadian Tooling & Machining Association’s (CTMA) Career-Ready with CTMA: Expanding Opportunities program. Accounting for approximately $174 billion of the national GDP, manufacturing is a cornerstone of Canada’s economy and a major employer of quality full-time, well-paying jobs from coast to coast. As the sector has modernized, manufacturers have become increasingly innovative and high-tech, relying on a highly-skilled and knowledgeable workforce that includes designers, researchers, programmers, engineers, technicians, and tradespeople. However, whether due to an aging workforce, declining apprenticeship enrollment, or outdated perceptions about trade careers, Ontario continues to face a growing shortage of skilled trades workers and, despite the need for more skilled tradespeople, many young people are still encouraged to look elsewhere for careers. This increasing gap between workforce supply and demand ultimately threatens future infrastructure projects and economic growth for the province. Encouraging more young people to explore the skilled trades as a stable career will only contribute to Ontario’s long-term prosperity. The Career-Ready program supports the creation of 150 Experiential Work Placements in the precision metalworking sector for new apprentices, high school graduates, post- secondary graduates or co-op students, job seekers looking for full-time employment, and existing employees looking to upskill. Eligible employers may receive non- repayable contributions to subsidize the wages of new hires or to upskill existing employees that meet the program’s eligibility criteria. Participating employers could receive up to $15,000 for each participant, depending on start date. The goal of the program is to support talent growth and attract the next generation of workers by offering practical on-the-job learning experiences that will help launch new careers in the precision metalworking sector. WORKFORCE INVESTMENT The Government of Ontario is also working behind the scenes to make it easier for students to consider a career in the skilled trades. The Province of Ontario has invested more than $1.5 billion in skilled trades training since 2020, through programs including Ontario’s Skills Development Fund, CTMA’s Career-Ready program helps connect the dots BY PAUL ADAIR, STAFF WRITER From classroom to career: CTMA photoNext >