Photos: Contibuted
The Wood Manufacturing Council presented a Woodworking Teachers Professional Development Day at Georgian College recently with more than 40 participants.
More than 25 tech educators and several school board representatives took part in the event, which focused on networking and education.
Three school boards participated, including Simcoe County District School Board, Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board and Trillium Lakelands District School Board.
Rebecca Sabourin, dean, engineering and environmental technologies, skilled trades at Georgian College welcomed the participants, who then went on a tour of the woodshop, where they got to do a little woodworking project, under the guidance of Georgian instructors and students.
The group also received a thorough overview of the educational opportunities available to their students. Presentations on the wood programs at their institutions were provided by Lynn MacKinlay (Georgian), Elizabeth Sully (Humber) Joni Jean and Trevor Hibbs (Conestoga), as well as Joren Dettmer (UBC) and Brad MacDonald (Mowhawk). 
Mike Baker, CEO of the Wood Manufacturing Cluster of Ontario (WMCO) spoke on behalf of the Ontario wood sector and provided an overview of industry trends, issues, needs and programs.
Wes Smith, a former faculty member at Georgian, and Will Carlisle, a Georgian student, also shared their unique perspectives.
The formal portion of the program finished with a presentation by Robert Aucoin, Ottawa Carleton District School Board (retired), who spoke about the WMC’s WoodLINKS program and demonstrated how the Google classroom version can assist and support high school woodshop teachers. The day ended with a plant tour at Springwater Woodcraft in Minesing Ontario where Simon Lloyd provided participants with an overview of the company and a tour of their facilities.
Established in 1992, Springwater Woodcraft is a family-owned and operated company whose product line includes more than 125 unique, hand-crafted items, including benches, bookshelves, media units etc. Their products are made solely with pine, harvested from sustainably managed forests in North America. Their finishes are all non-toxic and water-based.
The Woodworking Teachers Professional Development Day provided a significant opportunity for industry and post-secondary educators to promote careers in the sector, and outline the educational pathways to those careers. Special thanks to Lynn MacKinlay and the Georgian team for hosting this insightful event.
