Our World

Teachers, guidance counsellors and parents all need to learn about the opportunities that exist for their children and students. Our education system doesn't always produce people who are equipped to work in many of the jobs that need to be done. That is in part because people don't know what is needed in the job market and school boards do little to address that knowledge gap. And that is because many educational administrators, school board trustees, teachers and guidance counsellors don't really know much about other industries and the opportunities that exist. This book was inspired by that need. It is written largely for children and intended to be tool for the school boards, teachers, guidance counselors, and even parents, who can use it to teach those children. It's intent is to generate curiosity, to show how industries are interconnected and how important they are to our society. It encourages children to ask about everything they see around them, and learn to appreciate what it takes to deliver much of what we simply take for granted. We would struggle to live without many of those industries. Another intention is to show that those industries offer some terrific career opportunities to open young eyes to the many possibilities they not yet be thinking about. In doing that, It should help to shatter some old industrial images with an honest portrayal of what those industries are like today.

James is a management consultant and a mechanical engineer. He works in heavy industries, and often in out-of-the-way locations, helping them improve the performance of their physical plant and equipment. He has worked in the navy, petrochemicals, oil refining, ship-building, aircraft maintenance, avionics, and as a consultant in resource industries, pulp and paper, facilities management, health care, logistics, mining, mineral processing and refining, electric and gas utilities, packaging, food, automotive, water and waste water utilities.