Apex CEO Keith Parlee at last month's press conference. Image: Inda Intiar/Huddle
The Atlantic Chamber of Commerce launched a pilot program aimed at introducing advanced manufacturing opportunities to businesses and students in a press conference at APEX Industries last month.
“Advanced manufacturing helps businesses improve their efficiency by implementing smart technologies. This does not have to be costly or complicated, and manufacturers can benefit greatly from even the smallest of changes,” said Sheri Sommervile, the Chamber’s CEO. “But timing is crucial for the manufacturing companies to implement smart processes to boost their productivity and competitiveness, to reduce their operating costs and to improve the quality of products and processes.”
Called Forging Ahead, the campaign includes three phases. The first phase is the launch, the second phase is outreach to students and manufacturers “to show them why it’s important,” and the third phase is how they can get involved. The program will roll out in the span of 12 months, with a budget of approximately $580,000.
Somerville said taking advantage of Industry 4.0 technology, including automation, is an important way to solve the labour and skill shortage. She said that’s the top issue faced by the 16,000 businesses the chamber represents across the region.
At the same time, automation is expected to change the world of work. So, while some jobs will become obsolete, new types of jobs will be created. In any case, companies will have to invest in and leverage technology to remain competitive and grow. The campaign aims to cover both sides of the coin.
“There’s a component that’s dedicated to advanced manufacturing and the technology- the small changes they can make,” she said. “And then the second portion would be making sure that students and educators realize that there’s the opportunity for them in these exciting fields and careers.”
“As a region, I think we have to do this. Our population is aging and declining and we’re going to have needs. We’ve got very real needs as it stands today,” she added.
Dr. Alexander MacDonald, the president and CEO of Holland College who represents Atlantic Canada on the federal government’s Future Skills Council, said future graduates and current workers need to be equipped for those changes.
“What we’re worried about is do we have enough people to do these jobs even with the added technologies because the people will have to be re-skilled and up-skilled,” he said.
Keith Parlee, the CEO of Apex Industries, shared his experience of investing in and implementing automation in his factory at the press conference.
He said in the last two years, technology has increased APEX’s capacity significantly and led to growth.
“As we’ve continued to adopt technology, we’ve added 60 people and still plan to add more,” he said. “Being successful is a key part of it. You have to be competitive otherwise you don’t get work for anyone.”
Sommerville said the campaign, sponsored by Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), will raise awareness about ways companies can access funds from the agency and other programs, including those offered by each of the Atlantic provinces.
“As the Atlantic Chamber, our benefit is we are a regional organization and we can approach it from a regional perspective, and leverage the 16,000 businesses that we represent across the region,” she said.
Down the line, there could be opportunities for various partnerships.
“As a pilot, we have to figure out who’s gonna do what and where, where we can partner that makes sense,” she said.
Inda Intiar is a reporter with Huddle, an Acadia Broadcasting content partner.
