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Contact: Rod Jerred Phone: 9 0 5 -8 4 5 -3 8 2 4 (ext. 5 5 5 9 ) Fax: 9 0 5 -337-5567 e-mail: rjerred@haltonsearch.com B U SIN E SS W EDNESDAY, F e b ru a ry 5 , 2 < X )3 · I ' a g e C 4 Businesses honoured for boosting skilled trades By Robb Swybrous SP EC IA L TO THE B EA V ER Despite the reality that many trades employees can earn good money doing rewarding work. Gord Lindsay, of Burlington's North America Construction Ltd., doesn't foresee a quick solution to the shortage of skilled labourers in Canada. ``No. definitely not," he said. " I think it has a lot to do with the perception of skilled jobs. Everyone wants to be a lawyer or a doctor. They don't realize the opportunities that are there in the skilled jobs." Lindsay said experienced, trained labourers can earn in the neighbourhood of $75,000 per year. " I've got guys in Victoria (B.C.) work ing on a rig in the ocean, cutting wood everyday, out in the sun - and making a good dollar." he added. Lindsay is one of many local employ ers hoping to entice more students into skilled trades jobs. His company, along with five other Halton employers, were awarded last Honour Roll 2(H)2 Award recipients are (left to right) Terry Murphy, of Landscape Ontario, Ciord Lindsay, of North America Construction, M argaret Spence, of Georgetown Chrysler, Louie Leomhruni, of Dofasco, Henry Brinke, of Milton Machine Shop, and Bernie Torchia, of M attamy Homes. week for increasing the awareness of skilled trades in the region. The companies were each recognized Thursday at the Burlington Convention Centre by the Halton Apprenticeship Advisory Council (H A A C ) during its third annual Honour Roll breakfast. Three awards were given to compa nies with fewer than 50 employees, and three were given to companies with more than 50 employees. The awards are based on apprentice ship employment opportunities, connect ing with various school boards and col leges and support of government-based apprenticeship programs. " We are hoping that the companies we are showcasing today will inspire others by their examples," said Elaine Holding, chair HAAC. The three winners in the fewer than 50 employees category are Georgetown Chrysler (dealership) Ltd., Milton's Landscape Ontario Horticultural Trades Association and Milton Machine Shop. Lindsay's company picked up one of the awards in the more than 50 employees category as did Dofasco Inc. (Burlington) and Oakville's Mattamy Homes Ltd. It's the second time in three years, Mattamy has picked up a HAAC honour. " Mattamy is very philanthropic in the community and I think (having a strong apprenticeship program) means even more than handing over a cheque to a foundation," said Bernie Torchia of Mattamy. "We're providing career paths here." Torchia said the housing industry in particular needs to do its part to better promote skilled trades as viable career options. " There's nothing wrong with an edu cated plumber or an educated carpenter." he said. "We need these people. Housing is essential - like food." HAAC is a committee of the Halton Industry Education Council (H IEC), a joint venture between area industry, edu cation and community partners. More information about HAAC is available by phoning HIEC at 905-6342575. Prospective apprentices can learn more about available programs and jobs by logging on to www.apprenticesearch.com. Oakville's D-Link keeping an eye on technology By Liz Campbell SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER It's been 40 years since Jane Jetson chatted on her video phone during the popular `60s cartoon show. It sparked a debate about whether video phones were possible or even desirable - after all. sup pose you were in the shower when some one called! In 1964, A T & T's introduced the first videophone at the World's Fair in New York. The image was small and the con cept never took off. Fast forward to 2003. an age when the Internet is a matter of normal life for most of us. and through this medium video phones have become a reality. Videoconferencing technology for com puters has been used by companies for a number of years. But it took an Oakville company to offer the first practical and affordable home as well as business appli cation. D-Link has been around since 1987. The little Oakville company began by offering networking solutions for small businesses wanting to connect all the computers in their office to one another and to the Internet. What started with three people in the Canadian head office of the original Taiwan-based company has grown to nearly 60 people. More impor tantly, the company has made significant inroads in the technology scene. Indeed, the D-Link name has become synony mous with technological excellence. D-Link is an official supplier for Bell Sympatico's home networking solutions, producing products that enable consumers to link several home computers to one another as well as to the Internet. " We like to think we've evolved with the technology," says Canadian president and CEO. Wai Lee. "Our first products were for large companies. Then we moved to small businesses, and now we're designing for home consumers too." Their latest device is the i2eye DVChandstand, or model their latest hockey gear, in real time as they talk. And. it should be noted, that because the system is using the Internet for the connection, there is no long distance charge for the call, making it very affordable. "It gives people the freedom in deciding how they connect with family and friends else where." says Lee. The D-Link device, which has an adjustable lens and microphone, connects to a television's audio-video inputs with standard RCA-type cables and sends the video across a broadband connection at high speed - that means no jerky images. Designed to sit on top of the television. i2eye features an adjustable tilt/focus camera lens and integrated microphone to capture full-screen video and wide-coverage sound. The smooth and clear i2eye picture " is streamed at up to 30 frames per second so video images can be viewed with minimal frame loss." Connect the VC R and you can record the video calls. Or you can use a comput er to archive the calls digitally to enjoy again and again. The whole point is that, apart from the device itself, the system uses existing hardware such as your ana logue phone and television set. It's highly accessible technology. Still worried about the shower sce nario? Privacy controls are set at various levels using i2eye's simple onscreen menus. Video Privacy allows callers to hear, but not see the receivers, Audio Privacy allows callers to see. but not hear receivers and Do Not Disturb will reject incoming calls altogether. When an inbound call is detected by i2eye. the incoming caller's information is dis played on screen and the user can then accept or reject the call, which is dis played full screen or picture-in-picture. The D-Link i2eye phone costs about $469 and will be available in Canada in March. For more information on this new technology, check their Web site at www.dlink.ca. D-Link's i2eye DVC-1000 VideoPhone 1000 VideoPhone. " Videoconferencing used to require several phone lines to get a decent picture." says Lee. " With the DVC-1000 and a broadband connection (such as Sympatico High Speed or cable), anyone can turn their television into a video conferencing center. They don't even need a computer." 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