Meet Our Graduates

Once John Shahin graduated from the PLC and PLC Technician II programs, he was able to change jobs and is now working in HVAC manufacturing as a licensed electrician. "By graduating from these programs and getting my Certificates I was able to demonstrate my expertise in control systems overall, with a specific emphasis on PLCs."

“I liked the flexibility of studying when it was convenient for me and the progression of content from  a basic introduction and foundation of PLCs to a more complex and advanced study of PLCs.

”These programs can give you a step forward in your career.”

Miguel Torres is a Collection's Senior Maintenance Worker, in charge of maintaining/repairing City of Riverbank lift stations and SCADA system. The program flexibility allowed him ‘to put in as many hours I could to finish it quickly.’

He hopes the PLC Technician Certificate will help him receive a position reclassification with his current employer. 

Michael Sovereign has been working for New Gold Inc in Rainy River, Ontario “for five years, first as a Maintenance Electrician and for the past two years as a Process Control Specialist. My responsibilities include administrating, configuring, and maintaining a DeltaV DCS system as well as other plant automation, including industrial communications and PLCs.”

“I wanted to learn more about PLCs because it is in-demand, and I enjoy working with computers. I had looked around for PLC courses before, but the cost was high and in-class learning was not feasible while working full time. When I found the PLC Technician II program at George Brown College, I was thrilled! The cost is reasonable, and the benefit of learning at my own pace while working allowed me to have a work/study/life balance.”

“The PLC Technician II program gave me the skills to troubleshoot PLC programs and an understanding of the concepts of PLCs, which contributed directly to my success in learning and understanding the DCS system at work. It is important to note that I spent considerable time learning the DCS so when position of Process Control Specialist open, my foreman recommended me for the job. “

Eduardo Tolentino is a Supervisor, Maintenance at Sputtek Inc., a metallurgical coatings company, providing PVD, DLC and Thermal Spray surface treatment coatings services. He registered into the PLC program to expand his PLC knowledge. ‘I've had the opportunity to apply the learning from the program to my current job. Specifically, I've been using it to maintain the PLC program and make changes to the existing program as needed.’ Since completing the program, ‘the maintenance of our PLC programs has been added to my responsibilities.’

Robert Simmons, an Industrial Electrician, works at West Fraser- Barwick, a wood products company producing lumber, engineered wood (OSB, LVL, MDF, plywood, particleboard), and other products including pulp, newsprint, wood chips, and renewable energy. He is responsible for the installation, troubleshooting and maintenance of equipment.

‘I needed a better understanding of programming as we use Rockwell RSLogix 5000 software in our plant. I liked the simulation software in the PLC Technician II program; it allowed me to create a program, run it, see the result of the programming and troubleshooting when it was not running properly.’

‘My role has not changed; however, the program did clear up some programming issues especially with regards to a control word in conjunction with masking.’

Jose Andres Avecillas Andrade is an Industrial Engineer where his responsibilities include preventive and corrective maintenance of AGVs (automated guided vehicles) and automation systems, as well as support for onsite and online PLC’s and robots. 

Jose wanted to ‘learn more about PLCs and delve more deeply into programming them’ especially as works in ‘a highly automated facility. My employer has given me the opportunity contribute to other areas of the company, allowing me to put into practice what I have learned.’

‘I like the way the PLC II content was presented and explained using examples and the simulation software.