Electrical Engineering Technician

Post-Secondary Programs
Credential Earned: College Diploma (2 Year)
Campus: Timmins
Program Length: 4 Semesters

Program Codes
T007 (PC) – Timmins Campus

Featuring extensive hands-on instruction in our state-of-the-art labs, Northern’s two-year Electrical Engineering Technician diploma will prepare you for tomorrow’s economy.

With a broad focus that includes computers, digital circuits and renewable energy, you’ll install, test, operate, repair and maintain modern industrial, electrical and electronic systems. Along the way, you’ll master all the tools and instruments that are your ‘eyes’ on the job.

As a skilled technician, you’ll find work in just about any industrial sector, from residential construction to power generation. You can pursue your dream job or stay at Northern for an extra year to graduate with an advanced diploma in Electrical Engineering Technology to make you even more sought after by high-paying employers.

There’s also the option of a university degree. So, whatever direction you choose, it’s definitely a solid career move.

Technicians maintain power generation stations and transmission lines and work in areas such as protection, industrial telecommunications, electrical maintenance and installation, and control systems.

They will learn how to select, design, install, maintain, program and troubleshoot modern industrial, electrical and electronic systems. Graduates from our Technician or Technology programs may obtain certification through the Ontario Association of Certified Engineering Technicians and Technologists (OACETT).

Career Opportunities
Northern College graduates currently work in positions ranging from apprentice electricians to electrical department superintendents in all industrial sectors including public and private power utilities. Graduates can expect to find employment in the following fields/positions: quality control, electrical drafting, research and technical laboratories.

 

Contact Information

For questions about being admitted into the program, please contact Northern College Admissions at admissions@northern.on.ca or by phone at 705-235-3211 ext. 7222.

For questions about the content of the program, contact the Program Coordinator.

Marc Veilleux
Program Coordinator
Tel: 705-235-3211 ext. 2116
Email: electrical@northern.on.ca

Admissions Information

Admission Requirements

  • Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD)
  • Grade 12 English (C, U)
  • Grade 12 Math (C, U) (MCT4C preferred; MAP4C is accepted with a minimum GPA of 60%)

Or equivalent

Academic prerequisites for this program may be obtained free of charge through Academic Upgrading.

Applicants who do not have a high school diploma or equivalent and will have reached the age of 19 years on or before the start of the program must undergo academic testing and may be required to complete Prior Learning Assessment & Recognition (PLAR) process to demonstrate equivalency of admission requirements prior to admission into a program.

For more details, please contact the Admissions Office at 705-235-7222 or admissions@northern.on.ca.

Additional Requirements for International Students

In addition to the admission requirements, international students must have proof of English Proficiency and meet the requirements below.

1. Proof of Senior High School Diploma/Certificate

2. English Proficiency (we will require one of the following):

  • IELTS Academic International English Language Testing System a minimum overall score of 6.0 must be achieved with no individual band score under 6.0; however, we will accept one band at 5.5.
  • TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) – Internet Based Test (iBT) overall minimum score of 79
  • PTE (Pearson Test of English) Academic – Graduate Diploma: 58+

If your country of citizenship has English as its official language, we may accept alternate proof of English Proficiency.

All educational documents must be submitted in English and will be dependent on the country of citizenship.

For more information, please contact admissions@northern.on.ca.

What You Learn

The program synopsis with course descriptions can be found below.

Please note, course information are based on current offering and are subject to change. Current students can find more information on courses in their student account.

For questions about the content of the program, please contact the Program Coordinator.

Semester 1

Communications I is a practical course designed to help strengthen essential oral and written communication skills. Students will be exposed to a variety of learning methods and communication formats. Emphasis will be placed on the use of appropriate structure, writing conventions, tone and style as well as the enhancement of interpersonal, teamwork and presentation skills. Students will also develop discipline-specific documents, practice proper business etiquette and learn the importance of ethical behaviour and professionalism in the classroom and workplace. Attention to detail is emphasized.

This course is the learner’s first introduction to the world of electricity. Fundamental concepts are covered which are essential to the understanding of all concepts in the Electrical Engineering Technician and Technology programs. The course begins with an overview of physical quantities and measurement systems. The nature of charge, current, voltage, and resistance are then investigated. The relationships between these values are used to develop circuit analysis techniques for both AC and DC circuits. This course is the learner’s first introduction to the world of electricity. Fundamental concepts are covered which are essential to the understanding of all concepts in the Electrical Engineering Technician and Technology programs. The course begins with an overview of physical quantities and measurement systems. The nature of charge, current, voltage, and resistance are then investigated. The relationships between these values are used to develop circuit analysis techniques for both AC and DC circuits.

This is an introductory course for third semester Technician and Technology students. Most common measuring instruments, including voltmeter, ammeter, ohmmeter, wattmeter, meggers and oscilloscope will be studied and some will be designed. Measuring Instruments are the eyes of the electrician. An understanding of how measuring instruments operate is very important to anyone working in the electrical field. They provide the electrician with the ability to evaluate problems in the job through the use of technical tools. They also enable an electrician to correctly determine electrical values of voltage, current, resistance, power and many others. In this course, D’Arsonval meter movement and digital display will be used to design different types of meters. Loading of different instruments and their high frequency characteristics will be discussed.

This course introduces the student to health and safety in their home, in society and within an occupational setting. Students learn about the social and personal benefits of safe work practices and the methods to best prevent accidents or injuries. Students will review the role, right and responsibilities of an individual in today’s health and safety conscious world. Students also learn how to read and interpret the Occupational Act and Regulations.

This general education course will provide students with an introduction to Canadian Indigenous Nations’ history, sovereignty, land titles, cultural history and current critical issues. Topics addressed include the content of Indigenous rights, economic and social development, community and political processes, and business law and policies, justice & social services. Canadian Indigenous History and Relations is a general education course that has been incorporated into all programs at Northern College.

This course is an introductory course into the study of physics. It consists of 6 theory units and a corresponding laboratory component. The topics covered include: measurement, motion, forces, work and energy, fluids and heat. The lab component gives students the opportunity to connect with the acquired theory.

This course covers basic algebra properties, graphing the straight line, basic geometry and trigonometry, and solving a system of equations graphically and algebraically. It also covers vector addition by components and by the cosine and sine laws.

Semester 2

Communications 2 is a one-semester course that applies the oral and written communication tools learned in Comm1 to specific business/technical applications as required by industry today. The student will enhance the writing skills acquired in COMM1 and learn to produce effective documents including business letters, emails, employment documents as well as reports applicable to their field of study. Students will also learn how to plan and participate in meeting situations and participate in mock interviews (as applicable) so that they are prepared to transition into the competitive employment market. Students will continue to learn and apply proper language and grammatical structures and apply editing strategies to business/technical documents through both in-class/online activities and through the usage of the customized Mylab online grammar tool. As with COMM1, the content will be inclusive and reflect the diverse workplace that students will experience in the future.

*Students for whom English is not their first language will receive additional language support through the concurrent delivery of CM2933 (Enhanced Comm2) which continues to focus on the foundational grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure skills introduced in CM1933.

This course introduces students to the installation & design of various residential circuits used in a common household. Also, students will be working on actual installations of basic household circuits and electrical services used in the workplace. Topics include: introduction to the electrical code, symbols, service calculations, & installations, wiring methods, grounding.

This is an introductory course in electronics in which students learn the operation of electronic devices and their application in basic electronic circuits. Devices studied are diodes of all types, bipolar junction transistors, silicon controlled rectifiers, TRIACs, operational amplifiers, and field effect transistors. Students will construct, test and analyze basic electronic circuits such as power supplies and basic amplifier circuits.

General Education Courses are selected online each semester by the student from a list provided and exposes students to a related area of study outside of their immediate academic discipline. Certain programs have predetermined electives. 

This is an introductory course designed to teach students the basics of using the AutoCAD drafting software to create 2 dimensional drawings. Lessons include using the draw, modify, layering and annotation commands.

MA2104 is the second course in the math stream for students in an Engineering Technician / Technology program.  The emphasis of this course is on solving equations relating to quadratics, logarithms, exponentials, with sections on factoring, fractional equations, manipulating exponent and radical expressions, and complex numbers, and for some programs studying systems of linear equations and determinants.  Applications of the basic concepts, to particular fields of study, will be covered.

The second semester Mathematics course is designed to give the student the mathematical tools required to function in his/her special field of study.

Students are encouraged to seek help after class hours if problems are encountered in the course.  Every effort will be made to identify problem areas to the student, but in the final analysis, it is the responsibility of the student to ask for help.

Prerequisite:   MA1100 – Mathematics I  (with 60%)

Semester 3

The concepts involved in Digital Circuits are fundamental to the understanding of our digital world. Familiarity with different numbering systems and logical operations is key to understanding a broad range of topics including PLCs, digital communications, protection and control, electrical motor control, and others. This course will prepare the student to use the tools of logic to solve problems and optimize their solutions.

This course extends upon the concepts learned in Electrical and Electronics Fundamentals and establishes the core material required for power systems and protection & control courses. The course covers fundamental concepts in AC power, transformers and three-phase circuits. Topics include a review in complex numbers; three-phase theory ideal transformer, transformer losses and testing methods, special transformers such as distribution transformers, autotransformer, current and potential transformers and three phase transformers. The course is 50% theory and 50% practical.

This course is intended to help the students understand the principal operation of many control components and circuits used by industry. This course will provide the students with the basic knowledge required for the PLC course being delivered in the winter semester.

The first part of this course introduces the learner to the fundamentals of computer and how they are networked. Topics include a basic overview of computer/network equipment, networking fundamentals and standards, and network design. The second part of the course provides the learner with an introduction to computer programming using embedded systems. Topics covered include syntax, variables, equations, data types, loops, conditional statements, logical statements, and ADC interfacing.

This course covers topics such as: graphs of trigonometric functions; trigonometric identities and equations; the study of analytic geometry and the study of inequalities. The students will also be introduced to the rate of change and its relation to graphs and the tangent line.

Prerequisite: MA2104

General Education Courses are selected online each semester by the student from a list provided and exposes students to a related area of study outside of their immediate academic discipline. Certain programs have predetermined electives. 

Semester 4

This course covers the fundamental principles of operations of DC and AC motors and generators. Topics include; DC generators, DC motors, efficiency and heating of electrical machines, electrical machine maintenance, three-phase induction motors, synchronous motors/generators, and single phase motors.

The course focuses on cabling issues related to data, voice, video communications and provides an understanding of the industry and its worldwide standards, types of media and cabling, physical and logical networks, as well as signal transmission. Cabling and networking equipment and consumable bundles are used to teach the hands-on portion of the curriculum. This provides the student with a basic understanding of networking and telecommunication cabling, communication standards, and how to properly plan and understand the different uses of technology examples (Power over ethernet, understanding connecting wireless  networks, Fiber networking), install and test the data/telecommunication mediums and different types of networking equipment.

This course will introduce the student to the control of motors, through the use of programmable logic controllers. The course will demonstrate the differences between mechanical relaying and computer relaying. It will show the student why this type of motor control is in such demand in industry. The student will gain exposure to PLCs through troubleshooting and design exercises.

This course course builds a profound understanding of various utility power systems and renewable energy systems used in Ontario. The students will learn the principle operation and components of the generating stations followed by learning the fundamentals of low voltage distribution systems and high voltage distribution system and its challenges. Then we look at the cost of electricity and DC transmission systems. This course introduces the student to electrical power systems and is designed to cover generation, distribution and transmission of electric power.

This is an introductory course in instrumentation and process control. Transducers and their application in pressure, flow, level and temperature systems is discussed. Basic instrumentation theory, equations and calculations are introduced in order to understand the interaction between physical processes and their transducers.

This is a basic introductory course in Calculus. Students learn the language of calculus and apply the rules to simple engineering problems. The course includes the derivative of algebraic functions with applications to trajectory motion and minimum and maximum problems. An introduction to integration, with algebraic functions, is also taught with some basic applications to area, volumes of revolution, displacement-velocity-acceleration and other applied engineering problems.

Prerequisite: Mathematics III (MA3105 or MA3033) with 60%

The skyrocketing demand for clean, abundant energy has resulted in a need for comprehensive information that can be used by builders, technicians, energy industry professionals, and anyone else that wants to learn about alternative forms of energy and their everyday uses. This course explores solar, wind, and other sources and the technology available to harness them. Students will gain a better understanding on how these systems work as well as how they are put together.

Tuition & Fees

Tuition and fees are updated yearly for the upcoming Academic Year by May 1.

Current amount may be based on last years amounts and are subject to change. Ancillary fees vary by campus and program.

If the tuition and fee information for international students does not appear on this page, visit northerncollege.ca/international/tuition to see amounts for general programs.

Please refer to your Student Account for the most up-to-date information.

Student Year Campus Program Code Tuition Ancillary Fees Total Fees
StudentDomesticYear1CampusTimmins - PCProgram CodeT007Tuition$3,002.92 Ancillary Fees$899.50 Total$3,902.42
StudentDomesticYear2CampusTimmins - PCProgram CodeT007Tuition$3,002.92 Ancillary Fees$811.50 Total$3,814.42
StudentDomesticYear1CampusTimmins - PCProgram CodeT007WTuition$3,002.92 Ancillary Fees$843.99 Total$3,846.91
StudentInternationalYear1CampusTimmins - PCProgram CodeT007Tuition$14,382.00 Ancillary Fees$1,422.58 Total$15,804.58
StudentInternationalYear2CampusTimmins - PCProgram CodeT007Tuition$14,382.00 Ancillary Fees$1,334.58 Total$15,716.58
StudentInternationalYear1CampusTimmins - PCProgram CodeT007WTuition$14,382.00 Ancillary Fees$1,422.58 Total$15,804.58
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