VMAC promotes future manufacturing careers with 100 student facility tour in Nanaimo, B.C.

By
Heavy Equipment Guide Staff
November 22, 2022

Students sit and watch a powerpoint in a manufacturing facility

VMAC's facility tour gave students the unique opportunity to see modern manufacturing in action and have their questions answered by various manufacturing professionals from VMAC. Source: VMAC

VMAC has welcomed 100 high school students to its 44,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in November, with support from Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters and WorkSafeBC. The facility tour featured visits to VMAC's foundry, CNC machine shop, fabrication shop, assembly, quality assurance, tech support, and engineering, and included a live product demo.

"VMAC is proud to showcase the wide range of career opportunities that support the equipment engineered, manufactured, and assembled in our vertically integrated manufacturing facility to a diverse group of students," explains Tod Gilbert, VMAC's president. "We are excited to welcome our guests for a behind-the-scenes facility tour that introduces a variety of dynamic career paths in our rapidly evolving industry."

VMAC's facility tour gave students the unique opportunity to see modern manufacturing in action and have their questions answered by various manufacturing professionals from VMAC, as well as members from the Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME) and WorkSafeBC.

"VMAC is an excellent example of a successful B.C. manufacturer," explains Andrew Wynn-Williams, Divisional Vice President for Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters. "Their product is high quality, high value, and complex so students get a great understanding of the variety of skilled roles that go into putting a manufactured product on the shelf."

VMAC is a technology-driven operation that ships mobile air compressor systems worldwide, allowing the company to offer secure employment and careers on Vancouver Island. VMAC is continuing its goal for growth and sustainability in the Canadian manufacturing industry by sharing its unique lean enterprise manufacturing operations with today's youth.

"VMAC has sponsored our apprentices in the past," says Derek Beeston, district principal at The Career Technical Center. "This world-class organization is a premier example of professionals from many fields innovating together to create outstanding designs and products."