Lots of questions????

Thanks to everyone that came out to see us at the Civic Centre. I had a great time fielding many questions about the skill trades. It was great to see so many young people intersted in a career path that includes apprenticeships. Thanks to the organizing group and my fantastic hosts for the day. See you soon.

See you Wednesday

We are looking forward to seeing everyone in Brantford on Wednesday. Bring us a bunch of questions. You might even get to sit in the race car. See you at the Civic Centre.

Safety first

Lately there has been a big shift towards health and safety in the construction sector. Companies are finding that they actually save money for having a safe workplace. Decreased W.S.I.B. premiums, happy and healthy workers are part of a smart business plan. At work I am on the Health and Safety committee. We have monthly meetings and bring new ideas to our employer. Getting involved is the best way to help protect yourself and other workers. I try to be a leader at work, just like on the track. Every time I climb through the window of my race car, we are prepared for what ever may come at us. Crashes, fires and other drivers are some of the dangers. Helmets, fire suits, extinguishers and radios help us with the first two. Any suggestions on what to do with the drivers? Come out and see the car and it's safety features at the Brantford Civic Centre on Nov 26 from 9:30am to 3:30pm. Look forward to seeing you there. Be safe, work smart, finish first. Safety first.

Maybe next year

The season came to an abrupt stop on the front stretch at Sunset Speedway. I will give you one guess why........ Imagine that, more rain!!!!!! We managed to do some practice and that was fun, but we really want to go racing. Thanks to everyone at apprenticesearch.com for the tremendous support all season long. We look forward to next year and some fall shows. Thanks to all the fans from Norris Racing.

Finally we get to RACE!!!

For a change the weatherman worked with us. The track was fast and we had lots of fun. Second place in the heat race and a fourth place starting spot in the feature. The car was good and we made it into second place by the half way mark. A couple of cautions and some interesting restarts. Contact with the 71 car allowed the leader to pull a two car length lead on us. We finished second and gained a few points. A great way to start back racing after so many rain outs. Next stop Sunset.

Rain Rain Go AWAY!!!!!!!!

The sun was warm, the beach was packed and we were fast in practice. We drew the second last qualifying spot and had our plan set. That is about the same time the wind picked up. Tents, chairs, coolers and small animals (not really) went flying by. Then the rain came and put a damper on everyone. Maybe next time. See you at Flamboro, rain or shine.

National Champion???

After weeks of rain and another off weekend we went back to our roots. Racing motocross at the Trans Canada Nationals. I know race car drivers are not supposed to be able to ride on two wheels, let alone win. With the support of apprentice search we tested well and set some very good lap times. A holeshot and the lead of every lap. The toughest competition was my brother Tom Norris. He was jumping the huge double (I was chicken) and gaining ground on me pretty fast. I made it past the lapped riders better and held on for the win. Yeah I know it was the Heritage class, but a win is a win. See you at the beach for 50 laps. I hope I remember to keep it out of the dirt.

Is that Rain????

We raced the weatherman and he beat us real bad. The Barrie area had a downpour that lasted over an hour prior to race time, forcing the cancellation of the races. Flamboro is next for our series and we hope to see you there.

From the backyard to the beach

Three week in a row is tough on any team. We did well at Flamboro in qualifying and the feature, 2nd place, still showing improvements. At Sauble beach we battled all night long with the 99 car. He did a great job holding us behind him. For most of the race he was sideways. It was tough to get past when you don't know where he is going. We drove by him on the restart and with 5 laps to go we were passing into third. We could only get up to the front wheel of the 71 car and did not make the pass stick. The last lap the 71 was rubbing the decals, paint and fibreglass off the side of the apprenticesearch.com car. He held us off by about 1 foot. Anyone know a good paint guy? Decals? 50 laps to go next time by.

In Car Footage of #88 Pro Challenge Winner Tim Norris

Fan Appeciation Night

Mosport speedway is one of the fastest tracks we race at. This years fan appreciation night was very special. Our series got together for a photo with the fans to send to our troops. Rob Dehaan was kind enough to ask us to take part and put the Apprenticesearch.com car up front with his car. Oh yeah the racing went great as well. Our team ended up finishing third in the heat and the feature. We moved up into fourth spot heading to our home track. We are looking to move into third within a couple of races. Dave called a great race and all we need to do is change the Oil and Tires. See you at Flamboro.

One spin and a big WIN

Thanks Dave. What else can I say. Our hard work paid off with a big win at Sunset Speedway. Once again we were very fast in practice. The heats were hectic with one car leaking gas all over the track in front of us. We were first to spin out and missed everyone in the pack. The next corner was not so good for some others. Dave made some adjustments and into the feature we went starting fourth. We drove hard and made the winning pass near half way. The car worked great and we look forward to our 50 lap race coming up. A slight improvement in points to 6th place. Top five next time by.

Lucky # Seven

After 40+ hours in the shop we roll into Kawartha Downs. We should have bet on the horses. We had a night much like Big Brown did last race out. We ended up watching the races from the infield. Cool spot to watch from but not much fun factor involved. It turns out that our battery was failing every time we went into a corner, something inside would make contact and short it out. With no voltage going to the coils we lost spark and the engine failed to run. Bad luck comes in threes, now were placed lucky # seven in points. Expect good things to come.

Zip ties, Duct tape and a Race Win

What a team!!! At Flamboro we unloaded the car and set the pace for others to follow. Dave, Jim and Scott had the car all tuned up and flying. Our starting position of 10th had us making a charge to the front passing 1 car per lap. The plan was working until lap #2 when a car came from the outside pushing us into the infield. We drove the best we could from last to 9th at the checkers with some major vibrations. We only had 30 Min's to piece the car back together, we aligned the front wheels and used zip ties and duct tape to hold the front end on. Starting on the pole we went flag to flag for the heat win. The feature was next and we started in 8th. Trying hard all race long and passing into 4th position with 1 lap to go, more contact from another car turned us into a third car. We ended up pushing a car across the finish line sideways. The fans loved it and said it was an exciting finish. We finished in 7th. Up this week is ,welding, electrical, body work, alignment and lots of new parts. Thanks to all who pitched in to get us back on track so quickly. See you at the shop for some quality O.T.

2008 Starts off with a Bang

The apprenticesearch.com team rolled into Sunset Speedway expecting great results. First heat action had several cautions in which we sustained front end damage. We kept the car on the track and pushed hard for a 9th place finish. After repairs in the pits we came back in heat #2 with a strong 2nd place finish. The feature event went by with a blur. We passed several cars en route to another 2nd place finish. At the checkered flag we were all over the leaders rear bumper. We head to Flamboro 4th place in points.

Ask the experts "About Skilled Trades" on the radio

It was great to get on and discuss the trades with such a large listening audience. As a racer it’s great to get exposure from outside the usual racing radio and magazines. For those of you who didn’t know, my race team uses skilled trades people throughout the year as a pit crew and general race support. Whenever we go testing, each individual brings different skills to the track. From our welder, electrician, machinist, small engine tech, bricklayers and even our hairdresser everyone helps out. (I forgot that my mom was a hairdresser) Probably the most important part of the team is that they are all professionals, when a problem comes up (crashes etc) they all jump right in and go to work. We communicate well and are back on the track in a very short time, and the car works the same even after heavy damage.

Big Plans for Tim Norris this Summer..........

Tim is prepared to keep balance with his work and family life. In the midst of all of Tim's activities he will be building a new shop this summer..... Check back for updates and see the progress.

Tim Norris 2007 Pro Challenge Series WINNER!

Tim is looking forward to this season's busy race line-up and is psyched after last years win.

This is the 2008 Pro Challenge -Schedule - If you see Tim at the track don't be afraid to say Hi, and tell him you saw his info on our blog.

Who Can Use It?

Registration on the database section of the website is limited to employers and job seekers in Peel-Halton-Dufferin-Hamilton-Kitchener/Waterloo, Niagara and Haldimand-Norfolk-Brantford areas only at present. Anyone can access information on the website.

apprenticesearch.com provides a template that could be used in any community in Canada. The website is unique because it contains both information about apprenticeship and a matching database.

How can we bring it to our community?

In most communities there are non-profits and other organizations (training institutions, local boards, boards of education, employer groups/associations, Industry-Education Councils) with an interest in working together to alleviate skill shortages. In order for apprenticesearch.com to be effective in a community, the network needs to be in place and be supportive of this initiative. Although one group may take the lead in becoming a local champion (and local administrator) for the website, they will need the cooperation of all parties in the community served to be successful.

If you are interested in investigating how the apprenticesearch.com solution could work for your community, contact the Halton Industry Education Council at 905-634-2575.

Why apprenticesearch.com?

Skill shortages are a persistent problem in the labour market in Canada. The high number of skilled trades people who will be retiring within the next decade will only make the problem worse. This has serious implications in terms of labour market productivity, growth and competitiveness at home and abroad. Ironically this is happening at a time when there is a high number of unemployed youth - who may lack skills or the awareness of where to get them, and how to link up to employers who want to hire people with the right attitude and good skills.

As a result of recommendations made at a December 1998 Apprenticeship Symposium in Halton, the Halton Industry Education Council in partnership with Human Resources Development Canada spearheaded the development of apprenticesearch.com. The website is designed to help connect apprentices and employers. The website has recently expanded to Peel-Halton-Dufferin, Hamilton and Kitchener/Waterloo (includes Cambridge, Guelph, Listowel, Mitchell, St.Mary's and Stratford), Niagara and Haldimand-Norfolk-Brant.

Tim Norris sponsored by apprenticesearch.com

This is Tim Norris. He is a Skilled Tradesperson and also a race car driver. Our website sponsors Tim. By doing this we are trying to spark awareness of skilled trades and our programs and services @ www.apprenticesearch.com .

How can we help you?

Please check out our website for resources and full details on how you can take advantage of our free service.

www.apprenticesearch.com