New Training Program for Manufacturing Technicians in Quebec

The National School of Furniture and Cabinetmaking or the “ENME” has been developing a brand new technical program for eco fabrication engineering in Victoriaville and Montreal, Quebec. The program will train manufacturing technicians for the future of the sector including all of its potential challenges and opportunities. It will offer students the ability to hone their craft in cabinetmaking and technical furniture design.

Ecofabrication engineering technologists support the sector with a hands-on approach that involves the following:

• Industry 4.0 (Internet of Things, big data analytics, 3D printing, robotization, augmented reality, AI, and human-machine interface)
• The environment (circular economy, eco-manufacturing, eco-design, energy saving, and waste reduction)
• Employee well-being (ergonomics, health, and safety, human-centric workspaces, collaborative technology, and inclusion)

Students in this program will complete various training processes related to design, production, new technologies, procurement, internal logistics, programming, personnel supervision, health and safety procedures, and quality control.

The ENME offers programs in furniture and cabinetmaking techniques (DEC), cabinetmaking, furniture finishing, and padding (DEP). The school serves over 200 students, both youth and adults, and is the reference center for the province’s furniture manufacturers and cabinetmakers. It provides students with a number of laboratories related to wood processing, industrial finishing, CAD (Solidworks and Autocad), and CNC (MasterCam). Created in 1965, the school has gained an admirable reputation in the skilled trades and furniture sector.

After completing their programs students go on to become designers, finishers/assemblers, painters, woodworking machine programmers, woodworkers, and woodworking inspectors and production technicians. The Quebec school system does not require any prerequisites for students to join. The skills students develop in their program will allow them to play an active role in the sector to progress it forward.

The ENME is urging prospective students interested in the eco fabrication program to contact them at genie.ecofabrication@cegepvicto.ca. The school is thoroughly committed to the development of furniture companies, architectural carpentry, and building doors and windows and any other wood or wood products.