CAREERS
Painter
A colourful career!
You’ve probably already painted a miniature model plane with a small precision brush, haven’t you? Painters and coaters in aerospace as masters at handling brushes and spray guns to apply paint, enamel, lacquer or other coatings. They are responsible for mixing paint, making sure to clean, wash, strip, sand, remove rust, fill hollows or otherwise prepare objects before painting them. They also use computer-created stencils.
“I’ve faced challenges, because I was the first woman in the painting workshop! I had to prove that I had just as much right to be here as the guys. Today, I’m no longer the only girl. My integration went well,” says Tamiko Blais, a painter at Bombardier Aerospace. I like what I do, although my job can be physically difficult. There are constraining positions, from the heat due to the ceiling made of coal . . . We have a special outfit and breathing mask. ”
Schooling
For aircraft painters, a high school diploma and specialized training or college-level courses are usually required. Several months of on-the-job training is usually provided.
Tamiko Blais first went to college in fine arts but eventually drifted toward an automotive body course . . . and now she is painting planes! “The last day of my course, the recruitment agency came to see us. I found out about ‘Bombardier’ and wanted to give it a try. I didn’t know anything about aeronautics. I find the field very stimulating. The planes are superb, and the interior is extremely luxurious,” she says.
