Sept-Îles, January 24, 2014 — The continuing education department at Cégep de Sept-Îles and Aluminerie Alouette held a celebration for the first group of graduates of the Attestation of College Studies (ACS) program in Industrial Reliability.

The graduation ceremony was held on January 23, 2014, in the Cégep de Sept-Îles auditorium. Donald Bherer, Executive Director of Cégep de Sept-Îles, and André Martel, President and CEO of Aluminerie Alouette, presented 17 students, all of them Alouette employees, with certificates confirming their successful completion of the tailor-made training program.

The Industrial Reliability program was created under a partnership between Cégep de Sept-Îles and Alouette. In 2011, Alouette expressed the need to develop training that would boost employees’ expertise in industrial maintenance. A short-term program leading to an ACS was designed.

The 315-hour program was given in 2012 and 2013 by trainers from Cégep de Sept-Îles, the Institut de technologie en maintenance industrielle (ITMI) and Alouette.The courses focused on different specializations (hydraulics, pneumatics, reading of plans, bearings, vibrations, alignment, etc.), maintenance reliability concepts (preventive and predictive maintenance programs, maintenance management, detection and analysis of malfunctions, change management, problem-solving techniques) and the use of computer tools.

According to Donald Bherer, “This project is a great example of the contribution that Cégep de Sept-Îles, especially its continuing education department, can make to developing the skills of people who are already employed, in cutting-edge areas of critical importance for companies.”

In the words of André Martel, “We can be proud of the determination shown by our employees during this upgrade program. By combining theory with practice, they are now better equipped to excel in their daily work in the areas of reliability and maintenance. To rise to the challenges on the horizon, Alouette will really need these new skills.”