Visit the Canadian Tooling & Machining Association at CMTS

Eligible employers who participate in the Career-Ready With CTMA: Expanding Opportunities Program could receive 50 per cent of wages paid.

The Canadian Tooling & Machining Association (CTMA) was established in 1963 when numerous trade associations unified into one organization to represent the tooling industry in Canada.

The association currently represents more than 190 member companies within the precision metalworking industry. The CTMA’s aim is to be the voice of the industry, advocating on behalf of its members at all levels of government, its departments, and agencies.

The CTMA understands how busy members are, which is why the Government Relations Committee’s mandate is to stay current on evolving events and to keep the membership updated with key developments that may affect their businesses. The association proactively advocates for government action and change on issues that affect its members.

Membership is restricted to precision metalworking manufacturers and industry suppliers as associate members to ensure that the CTMA will always be devoted to manufacturing in the tooling and machining sectors in Canada.

There are many benefits to becoming a member of the CTMA:

1. Networking Opportunities. The CTMA hosts several networking opportunities throughout the year, including its annual golf tournament, annual general meeting and dinner, plant tours, and networking and information sessions.

These events are a great way to make new relationships and foster existing ones.

2. Annual Wage & Business Survey. CTMA members receive access to the Annual Wage & Business Survey, which is conducted from mid-October to mid-November each year.

This is a valuable human resource and business benchmarking tool specifically designed for the tooling and machining industry. The survey includes percentile wages, geographic breakdowns, detailed wage graphs, and job descriptions for more than 140 hourly and salaried positions.

This survey is recognized as an integral benchmarking tool because of its specific focus on the machine, tool, die, mold, and automation industries. It also provides the CTMA with statistical information that can be shared with governments in support of our recommendations on issues that affect our members.

This year’s survey will open in mid-October.

3. Career-Ready With CTMA: Expanding Opportunities Program. The successful Career-Ready With CTMA: Expanding Opportunities program is designed to help more people develop and increase their skills for great job opportunities in the precision metalworking sector, while providing funding to eligible employers to assist with costs of hiring and training.

Eligible employers who participate in this program could receive 50 per cent of wages paid up to $5,000 for a single placement, up to $10,000 for two placements, and up to $15,000 for three placements—depending on start date.

“We know that most of our members are training new employees or upskilling existing ones at their workplace, and this training comes at a cost,” said Robert Cattle, CTMA's executive director. “With support from Ontario’s Skills Development Fund through Minister McNaughton’s ministry, the simple premise of this program is to get some capital back to the companies that are incurring these training costs on a daily basis.”

The program supports experiential learning opportunities, which is a hands-on learning model in which participants learn by doing. The CTMA provides up to 300 experiential work placements for candidates that meet the program’s eligibility requirements. The work placements run from 10 to 16 weeks, and consecutive placements are permitted if they can be completed by March 22, 2024.

The other half of this program currently provides new, high-tech machine equipment for more than 30 high schools throughout Ontario. The CTMA has partnered with the Ontario Council for Technology Education (OCTE) to provide classrooms with equipment such as CNC milling centres, lathes, and plasma cutters, as well as CNC desktop milling machines, high-precision conventional milling machines, lathes with digital readouts, tool kits, and cutting tools.

When added together with previous rounds of this program, the CTMA has provided equipment to 97 high schools throughout Ontario.

4. Machine Outsourcing Portal. Our Machine Outsourcing Portal allows members to outsource work or simply browse for machine time wanted by fellow members. This beneficial online tool can save you time and money.

5. Members-Only Forum. The CTMA recently revamped its website, keeping many of the benefits members have come to appreciate, while also incorporating new ones.

For example, the CTMA’s website now offers a Members-Only forum where members can post and respond to member inquiries.

Have a question about something taking place on your shop floor and looking for input from other members of the industry? With the forum, you can write a post and other CTMA members who are subscribed can respond instantly, providing solutions or recommendations. It’s quick and easy to use.

6. Marketing for Members. CTMA members receive free marketing on our website, social channels, in our monthly e-newsletter “Bits & Pieces,” and in our magazine CTMA View. The winter issue of the magazine includes our annual Buyers’ Guide, which provides the opportunity to have your company logo and information displayed in the directory of Canada’s tooling and machining manufacturers.

Register for CMTS here.

Sarah Grandy is the marketing and communications specialist for the Canadian Tooling & Machining Association (CTMA), 140 McGovern Drive, Unit 3, Cambridge, Ont. N3H 4R7, 519-653-7265, www.ctma.com.