Diploma in Digital Media and IT - Visual Communications Concentration (Co-op Optional)

at Northern Alberta Institute of Technology Canada

The Electrical Installations Technology diploma is your pathway to apprenticeship, and a unique opportunity to get the technical and career essential skills you need to succeed in the electrical industry.

The program focuses on theory and hands-on training required for the installation, repair and maintenance of electrical systems in residential, commercial and industrial environments. This program also teaches career essential skills such as communication, professionalism and collaboration, which will help you pursue a career in the Electrical Installations Technology field.

The Electrical Installations Technology diploma offers a direct pathway into trades training at NAIT without having to first be a registered apprentice.

Industry-approved training
A career in the electrical industry calls for an understanding of both technical knowledge and career essential skills. Learning outcomes for this program include:

• Understanding of industry standards, legislation, policies and practices
• Ability to:
  • Identify safety hazards
  • Explain, discuss and apply electrical theory and mathematics
  • Install, analyze and maintain rotating, static and solid-state electrical equipment and controls
  • Design, interpret and convert drawings and schematic diagrams for electrical installations
  • Communicate effectively using written, verbal and graphical means
  • Navigate, interpret and apply applicable sections of the Canadian Electrical Code Part 1 for electrical installations

The program content and structure aligns with Alberta Credential Framework expectations. This 2-year diploma program provides you with immediate opportunities for employment in the field of electrical installation. After completing the program, you will be eligible to enter into an apprenticeship and complete apprenticeship hours to receive a journeyperson’s certificate.

With help from the Applied Financial Services certificate program, you could fast track your way into the financial services industry. In less than a year, you’ll be prepared for a career in financial services firms through a combination of technical and interpersonal skills development that builds your confidence and provides you with the skills you need to succeed.

Our courses focus on in-class business simulations that combine financial service with foundational business knowledge. As you progress in the program, you will learn to integrate the complexity of managing business processes with excellent service skills.

What You Will Learn
Hands-on, industry-relevant skills
The Applied Financial Services program will show you how to advise clients on their day-to-day financial needs. In addition to communication, financial and information technology training, our program will show you the ins and outs of general business administration.
You will discover and master:

• Financial advising
• Commercial banking services
• Business software and technology
• Introductory accounting principles
• Professionalism and business ethics
• Marketing basics

The Digital Media and IT (DMIT) program is multi-disciplinary in its approach. Spanning a range of career opportunities from business analyst to visual designer, this innovative program allows you the ability to meet industry demand while developing skills aligned with your individual talents and inclinations.

In the Visual Communications area of emphasis, learn how to create high-quality, eye-catching products by applying advanced design principles.

What You Will Learn
Hands-on, industry-relevant skills
The Visual Communications area of emphasis will give you the skills you need to be a professional graphic designer. Courses will focus on 2 core software tools that will help you accomplish this goal: Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator.

Supplemental courses will teach you the practical and theoretical sides of visual design, such as colour theory, typographic history and the art of telling a story using characters and images. To round out the program, you will also take time developing a portfolio and learning the business side of this industry.

Look around you – virtually every printed, silk screened and digitally-rendered display you see every day has moved through the hands of a graphic communications professional.

NAIT's intensive 1-year Graphic Communications certificate program will prepare you for entry into the creative and rapidly evolving digital, print and publishing industry. You'll take projects from the creative planning stage through graphic design, digital file creation, customer proofing and final output. You can also expect to gain practical, hands-on experience with industry-standard software and equipment, and get the opportunity to complete a wide range of projects you're likely to encounter in industry.

Before all this, you'll develop a firm understanding of theoretical concepts and methods that are critical in the various press, bindery and large-format processes that follow digital file creation. This technical knowledge is what sets NAIT's Graphic Communications program apart from other technical institutions.

What You Will Learn
Hands-on, industry-relevant skills
The program has an excellent reputation among the Capital Region’s business community; classroom projects often involve design assignments relevant to their current ventures. Direct industry experience is gained through the program’s two-week professional experience component, allowing eligible students the opportunity to apply their technical and interpersonal skills effectively within a workplace environment.

The graphics industry is constantly undergoing change, whether it is new software developments, updates in output equipment and technologies, or trends in design elements. The program is in constant contact with industry and supply representatives to be sure the training demands are being met and grads have the skills necessary for employment. Skills acquired in this program have allowed our graduates to seek employment opportunities all across North America.

In the Millwork and Carpentry program, you will gain hands-on skills in the design and construction of wood structures, cabinets, shelving units and furniture. This certificate program will explore the two traditional woodworking trades of Cabinetmaker and Carpenter, with an emphasis on tools and safety.

Students specialize in either the cabinetmaking or carpentry stream. Each stream emphasizes materials and techniques relevant to that trade specialization.

The Cabinetmaking stream (Millwork), introduces students to construction of both upper and lower casework, complete with doors, drawer, mouldings, hardware and exposure to a variety of different materials used in the trade.

The Carpentry stream provides an introduction to residential home construction in foundations, framing and finishing carpentry.experience related to their stream.

What You Will Learn
Hands-on, industry-relevant training
Successful Millwork and Carpentry certificate graduates display the following attributes.

• Safety conscious
• Work well with tools
• Work well within a team environment
• The ability to stand, crouch and kneel for long periods of time
• Manual dexterity
• The ability to lift heavy loads
• The ability to solve arithmetic problems accurately
• A positive and professional learning attitude, with an interest in woodworking

Technology like computers, robots, lasers, fibre optics, artificial intelligence and satellite communications all use microelectronic technology.

In this program, you will gain the ability to solve technical and scientific problems with these and other technologies, while learning principles of electricity, embedded systems, communications, industrial electronics and problem solving skills. You'll also learn fault and failure isolation (troubleshooting) skills that are applicable to the immediate needs of employers.

The program emphasizes practical skills and state-of-the-art applications to ensure immediate applicability to the needs of industry.

Hands-on, industry relevant skills:-
Through an emphasis on practical skills that you can take straight to industry, the Electronics Engineering Technology will help you gain a comprehensive understanding of the principles of electricity, microcontrollers, communications, control systems and industrial electronics. You'll be given the opportunity to design and develop complex electronic systems and find solutions to real-world problems. 

Petroleum Engineering Technology is a two-year diploma program that prepares the graduate for employment in the upstream petroleum industry. The expanding oil sands development sector also provides tremendous opportunities for Petroleum Engineering Technology graduates.

The Petroleum Engineering Technology program was profiled in Project President, where NAIT President Dr. Glenn Feltham was shown how to start up and operate the pilot plant, which resembles a real-life natural gas sweetening plan, typical activities that students will do.

NAIT's Bachelor of Technology degree is the only program of its kind in Alberta and one of just a few similar programs in Canada. If you've graduated with a recognized 2-year technology diploma, the BTech program offers the opportunity to earn a baccalaureate degree with 2 additional years of study.

The BTech degree has been developed to help you bridge the gap between the job you started as a technologist and a career in management. We've received industry demand for leading-edge technologists who have the technical theory, innovative skills, and ethical and social awareness required for sustainable industry. We have also been challenged to prepare critical-thinking practitioners who are able to address technological challenges in today's economy.

What You Will Learn
Hands-on, industry-relevant skills
In the Bachelor of Technology (BTech) program, you'll build on your strong technical background, adding leadership and critical-thinking skills you'll need to take on management and supervisory roles. You'll gain a global perspective, focusing on social, economic and environmental issues.

You'll also develop skills in:

• Innovation, transition and change management
• Effective multi-media communications
• Planning and strategy development
• Staffing and supervision
• Critical thinking and problem-solving

You want to learn the skills and knowledge of conventional machining operations to utilize drill presses, lathes, milling machines and various grinding machines, including using Computer Numerical Control (CNC) programming, set up and operation. You will also receive introductory CAD/CAM training, as well as inspection and quality control training.
Successful completion of this 1-year certificate can allow you to challenge the first year apprenticeship exam for the Machinist program.

What You Will Learn
Hands-on, industry-relevant training

• Graduates of the Computer Numerical Control (CNC) Machinist certificate are responsible for manufacturing components for the oil and gas, mining, forestry, construction and transportation industries. A CNC machinist will demonstrate trade specific skills in programming, setup and operation of computer controlled tools. Graduates will also perform competently when working with manual machine tools.
• Machinists are able to work efficiently on their own and/or in team environments where problem-solving skills, critical thinking skills and current knowledge of technological trends and quality practices are essential to daily work. A graduate with a CNC Machinist certificate may be given the opportunity to apprentice in the machinist trade. This program has both fall and winter intakes.

Is this program for you?
To be successful as a machinist, you must have:

• Good hand-working skills
• Good problem-solving capabilities
• Mechanical inclination
• An ability to work well with others
• Competence in math
• Mature attitudes towards learning and work
• During the first semester of the CNC Machinist certificate, you will receive training on manual machines such as engine lathes, milling machines, drill presses and grinders.
• In the second semester, you will receive training on the operation, set up and programming of CNC (computer numerical control) turning and milling centres.
• The final component is an 8-week  work placement, which gives you an opportunity to apply your skills and knowledge in an industrial setting by working in a machine shop.

Architectural technologists assist in translating design concepts into graphic images, and then converting those images into technical drawings and specifications that result in creation of the built environment. Students in the Architectural Technology program learn freehand sketching techniques, but the program's main emphasis is on manual and computer-aided drawing skills.

What You Will Learn
Hands-on, industry-relevant skills

Throughout the program, you will study theoretical concepts and learn how to:

• Create and coordinate a full set of working drawings to industry standards
• Participate in all aspects of the design process, including the presentation of design solutions
• Research and apply various codes, standards and systems used in design and construction
• Visualize and communicate design in both 2 and 3 dimensions
• Use current architectural tools and software common
• Contribute individually and as part of a team in a professional architectural environment

Architectural technologists must possess superior presentation and communication skills in order to present drawings and plans to clients, workers and management teams. Throughout the program, you will develop your word processing, visual presentation and business communication skills.