Drilling, like many trades, has seen its pipeline of fresh talent slow to a trickle as high schools put heavier emphasis on white-collar career paths. Jim Smith and other professors at Fleming College have done their share of work to open up that spigot.
Smith has taught at the Lindsay, Ontario, college’s Resources Drilling Technician Program for more than 15 years. He trains up-and-coming drillers and takes pride in the crop of candidates the school produces — for work around the world, not just in Canada.