Meet Our Graduates

Scott Foltz, Maintenance Facilitator, is a lead mechanic with a national promotional products manufacturer. His decision to enroll in the PLC Technician program was based on several positive recommendations from maintenance forums and also the flexible format which allowed him to work at his own pace. “I really enjoyed the fact I could grab my laptop and jump on the program when I had a few spare minutes. Working as I do makes it difficult to devote a large block of time to studies.”

“My employer has been very supportive by providing tuition reimbursement and giving me the opportunity to apply my new skills. If you don’t use it you lose it.”

Phil Boudreau has completed the Electronics and PLC Technician Certificate programs. "Since taking the Electronics program, I have designed a circuit board for a special application required for air conditioning and refrigeration compressor conversions. Many of our customers use PLCs so I also enrolled in the PLC program to expand my skills. While I have not had the opportunity to work with PLCs yet, I am hoping to get my hands on some equipment very soon in order to apply my knowledge and strengthen my skills even further."

"I really liked the simulators as they helped fast-track my understanding of various concepts. I was able to learn and remember technical concepts much more easily when I practiced them using the simulation tools."

"The online forum was also helpful. The discussion forum proved to be a great resource since I was often able to find answers to my questions that were previously asked by other students who had similar challenges with the course content."

Monica Golding works in the automotive sector where, as an Electrical Apprentice, she maintains and troubleshoots automated equipment. Monica enrolled in the GBC PLC program with the financial support of her employer. As she could not attend a course in a traditional classroom setting, she chose the PLC Technician Certificate ‘because it is offered entirely online’ and had the flexibility she needed to fit into her schedule.

‘The PLC simulator is an excellent tool allowing me to actually write and run programs. PLCs are an integral part of my current job and I now feel more proficient with them.’ 

David Catataneo is a Project Manager at an electrical services company. He enrolled in the PLC Technician II program “to develop my skills and help ensure I can manage all aspects of any project.” The flexibility of the programs’ format was particularly important to David. “I liked the fact I could study from home as I do not have time to travel to and from school with a young family.”

David has seen immediate benefits from the program. “I have applied my new knowledge of PLCs in various situations, for example, where I have been asked to complete the wiring installation of a project that included PLC Control System components.”

With the support of his employer, New England Controls, Frederic Ekollo enrolled in the online PLC program. As a System Engineer Frederic spends much of his time doing “programming and configuration, using Emerson DeltaV systems control software but wanted to enhance [his] knowledge of PLC’s. PLC and DeltaV programming are similar in many ways and combining both systems is like driving my dream car.”

“At the moment, I am swamped with other projects but in the near future expect to have a project that will allow me to configure logic using my new PLC skills.”

“It has been a pleasure to be part of George Brown College, and I really enjoyed the certificate program I took. It was very interesting. I will definitely recommend it to others.” 

Andrew Reid graduated from the PLC Technician Certificate program at George Brown College. He registered into it "to increase his knowledge and understanding of PLCs, as they are used to control fish production at our factory."

"Since taking the program I have used PLCs almost every day. The company has me doing a lot of their PLC program modifications to update our factories. I am the Chief Marine Engineer and am now more involved in the automation side of production rather than just the mechanical work."

Working full time Andrew found ‘the ability to complete the program with no time restrictions’ indispensable.

Scott Spooner works as a Senior Electrician at Crucible Steel in Syracuse New York. Scott registered into the PLC Technician II program ‘to stay current with today's technology’.

‘I found this program very challenging especially since I had never enrolled in an online course before. With the help of your staff and your awesome Resource Center I was able to complete this course despite all life distractions (work, relationships, travels, etc.) Thank you for a great experience.'