Certificate in Power Engineering Technician

at Saskatchewan Polytechnic - Regina Campus Canada

There’s a lot of technology at work in today’s commercial and institutional buildings, from energy efficient boilers to complex HVAC systems (heating, ventilation, air conditioning). Building systems require regular, skilled maintenance—mechanical and technical. That’s why building systems technicians are always in demand. It’s a job that requires good problem-solving skills and the ability to work independently or as part of a team.

Building Systems Technician is a one-year certificate program offered at Saskatchewan Polytechnic, Regina Campus. You’ll receive comprehensive training in maintaining and operating electrical, ventilation, refrigeration and water treatment systems.

Most courses include practical activities to develop your troubleshooting skills. Time in a working facility will give students a real life experience during the second semester work placement. It’s a great way to use what you’ve learned in class and labs in a real-world setting. It’s also a way to develop contacts for possible future employment.

Certification Opportunities
Industry certifications are important to your career mobility and earning power. So, in addition to developing your knowledge and skills, Saskatchewan Polytechnic helps you prepare for industry certification exams. You’ll have an opportunity to write the Technical Safety Authority of Saskatchewan (TSASK) exams:

• 5th Class Power Engineering (5th Class Power Engineering qualifies the certificate holder to operate equipment at the Fireman Boiler Operator level)
• Refrigeration Engineer (Refrigeration Engineer qualifies the certificate holder to operate equipment at the Refrigeration Plant Operator level)

The Bachelor of Construction Management (BCM) degree program is unique in Saskatchewan offering students the opportunity to earn an after-diploma baccalaureate degree with an additional two years of study. The program was developed in response to industry need and global trends for trained professionals in the construction industry. The BCM program combines practical multi-faceted skills with theoretical knowledge and technical training, truly a practitioner's degree. 

Sask Polytech is proud of its reputation of providing industry with 'career ready' graduates, and this degree is no exception while providing a unique, direct and relevant path for students to earn a degree in this increasingly important area. The curriculum encompasses a comprehensive spectrum of construction management topics including:

• Scheduling
• Estimating
• Safety
• Contract law
• Cost control
• Tendering
• Project management

If you like working with machinery, enjoy solving mechanical problems and are good with your hands, check out Saskatchewan Polytechnic’s Industrial Mechanics program. You’ll get the basic knowledge and skills you need to install, repair, overhaul and maintain stationary, industrial machinery and mechanical equipment.

Demand for industrial mechanics - also called millwrights - is high across western Canada. Oil & gas and mining are big employers, but there’s also demand in manufacturing, milling, power generation and chemical plants.

Industrial Mechanics is a one-year certificate program offered at Saskatchewan Polytechnic Saskatoon campus and Saskatchewan Polytechnic Prince Albert campus. Working in well-equipped shops with highly qualified instructors, you’ll get practical, hands-on training in:

• basic math, drafting and blueprint reading
• basic welding, fabrication and installation
• conveyance systems, pumps and pipe fitting
• mechanical components
• preventative maintenance
• using tools of the trade

The goal of the program is to prepare internationally-educated graduates with degrees in information and communications technology for the fields of data analysis and machine learning. Humans have always wanted to better understand the massive amounts of currently available and newly gathered data and what that means for future potential.

Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics is the power to analyze and learn about large amounts of data from multiple sources and detect patterns to make future trend predictions. Business and industry benefits from predictive analytics to make decisions about production, marketing and development.

You will study

• Cost and benefit estimation for process change
• Conversion of business questions into data mining problems
• Enterprise data architecture and associated technologies
• Strategies to leverage the popular data science language Python
• Importance of business intelligence to the modern enterprise
• Application of artificial intelligence (AI) application programming interfaces (APIs) to business applications
• Application of algorithms to make predictions that form the foundation of machine learning
• Ethical issues surrounding big data
• Emerging application of AI to common business areas

Power engineering technicians help keep power plants running safely and efficiently. A shortage of certified technicians means job opportunities have never been better. You could work in the oil patch, mining, manufacturing, energy, health and other industries. It’s a physical job that requires manual dexterity and good vision, as well as problem-solving skills and a knack for working with machinery.

Saskatchewan Polytechnic is Saskatchewan’s primary provider of power engineering certification. We offer two levels of training: the one-year Power Engineering Technician certificate program and the two-year Power Engineering Technology diploma program.

The one-year Power Engineering Technician certificate program is offered at Saskatchewan Polytechnic Regina Campus, and at Southeast College, (Estevan), Great Plains College (Swift Current), Parkland College (Yorkton), and Carlton Trail College (Humboldt). You’ll study Fourth Class interprovincial standardized material, which will prepare you to challenge interprovincial Fourth Class examinations.

You’ll receive practical training in boiler operations, maintenance techniques and tool use. You’ll develop troubleshooting skills in practical labs, get boiler firing time in the power lab and industry work experience in your second term.

The balance of hands-on labs, work experience and exam preparation makes Saskatchewan Polytechnic graduates productive on the job from day one—something employers look for when hiring and promoting.

Certification Opportunities:-

Power engineering is divided into levels of skill and training called classes (First Class is the highest level). You progress from one class to another through a combination of work experience, course completions and rigorous interprovincial exams.

As a Power Engineering Technician graduate, you’ll be prepared to challenge:

• TSASK (Technical Safety Authority of Saskatchewan) interprovincial (standardized) Fourth Class exams, and
• TSASK provincial Refrigeration Engineers Certificate exam, which allows you to operate larger refrigeration plans in Saskatchewan

Parts management technicians make sure the right parts are available in the right place at the right time. You have to like variety, be good at organizing things, be able to handle large volumes of information, and have good people and computer skills.

The Parts Management Technician program at Saskatchewan Polytechnic provides the skills you need to work in wholesale distribution centres and in automotive, truck, agricultural, industrial equipment and recreational equipment dealerships.

Saskatchewan Polytechnic's one-year Parts Management Technician certificate program is offered on campus in Saskatoon. The entire program is also offered online through distance learning. Combining classroom theory with practical assignments and labs, you’ll learn how to serve different customers, dispense parts and sell related goods. You’ll get practical training in:

• All types of parts
• Maintaining a clean, orderly display and storage area
• Maintaining pre-determined inventory levels
• Parts applications and locations
• Parts purchasing and storage
• Using a computerized inventory control system
• Using parts manuals, catalogues, and electronic catalogues

If you’re interested in a hands-on trade, check out Saskatchewan Polytechnic’s Welding program. We’ll get you started on a career that offers a lot of options, great mobility and excellent pay.

Welders are in high demand—in oil and gas, mining, manufacturing and construction. You need to be good with your hands and enjoy working with tools. You also need to be a problem-solver and a team player who’s able to follow instructions.

Welding is a one-year certificate program offered at all four Saskatchewan Polytechnic campuses in Moose Jaw, Prince Albert, Regina and Saskatoon. Build knowledge and skills in operating welding equipment and performing basic welding operations. You’ll get hands-on instruction in:

• cutting processes
• gas metal arc, gas tungsten arc, shielded metal arc welding
• general shop practice and shop safety
• operating fabrication equipment
• oxy/acetylene fusion welding
• quality assurance
• using blueprints

Information technology, business software, mobile platforms—information systems are reinventing the way we do business. Computer-savvy people with programming and development skills are in demand in the business world. When your skill set includes training in business solution development, you’re a hot commodity.

Business Information Systems (BIS) is a two-year diploma program offered full-time at Saskatchewan Polytechnic, Moose Jaw Campus. It includes four academic semesters and a six-month paid co-operative education work term.

The Business Information Systems program starts with a solid foundation in business basics with a focus on information technology functions and learning how to use them to develop meaningful business solutions. This includes training in:

• Software development languages (Visual Studio.NET, Java, COBOL);
• Computer hardware, networking and operating systems (Windows, Unix and Linux);
• Data gathering, modeling and database management systems (Oracle, SQL Server 2000);
• Retrieval techniques of databases and programming languages (SQL, PLSQL, ADO.NET, JDBC); and
• Target platforms, including Windows application development, networked software development, web application development (XHTML, JavaScript, ASP, Java).

You’ll use cutting edge technology in servers, programming and mobile apps. You’ll have opportunities to develop or enhance actual production applications, and build hands-on skills in systems analysis, design methodologies and project management.

There is a mandatory six-month paid Co-operative Education work term between Semesters 2 and 3. Semesters and co-op work term time patterns are listed in Courses below.

In Saskatchewan, 4 out of every 10 people currently working in management are over the age of 55. Retirement is looming for nearly half our management workforce. This reality presents an opportunity for those with the right combination of skills, experience, and education.

The new Bachelor of Applied Management (BAMgt) degree program provides journeypersons and non-business diploma graduates with a unique opportunity to leverage existing education and experience into a bachelor's degree with only two years of additional study.

The BAMgt degree is designed to meet the emerging need for qualified managers by providing you with two years of course credit towards the four-year bachelor's degree. The program provides theoretical knowledge and technical training through applied learning opportunities. You will build knowledge and skills in a wide range of leadership and management disciplines including accountancy, human resource management, business communications, strategic management, leadership development, business analytics, finance, change management, risk management, commercial law, and economics.

If you’re detail oriented, self motivated and want a unique career in the health-care industry, consider Saskatchewan Polytechnic’s Health Information Management program. You’ll learn how to collect, organize and manage large amounts of health information, all while meeting privacy standards.

You could work as a health information management practitioner, coordinator or analyst with health regions as well as public and private health agencies-hospitals to cancer clinics and government agencies. Your unique skill set can also open doors to jobs with police forces, educational institutions, law offices, insurance companies and pharmaceutical firms.

Learn from experienced instructors as you build knowledge and leadership skills in:

• Data collection, coding and quality;
• Electronic health information management (e-HIM);
• Information privacy, security and confidentiality;
• Interpretation and analysis of health data;
• Patient access to health information;
• Records and systems management; and
• Transition to the electronic health record.

Work Experience
The program includes two work-based practicums: one in first year, one in second year. It’s a chance to apply your new knowledge and skills in an actual health agency setting. By the time you graduate, you’ll already have 15 weeks of real-world experience - something you can highlight to potential employers.

Diploma to Degree
Use your Saskatchewan Polytechnic diploma to transfer into the third year of a four-year Kinesiology, Health Studies or Arts degree program at the University of Regina or First Nations University of Canada.