5.6 Sample Oral Presentation

You were previously asked to practice your listening and note-taking skills with “Is Ontario Still a Major Manufacturing Powerhouse?” (https://www.tvo.org/video/is-ontario-still-a-major-manufacturing-powerhouse). A sample presentation of the broadcast is written out below.

Sample Presentation

Welcome,

My name is xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx and I am here today to explain why manufacturing still plays a key role in Ontario’s job economy.  My talk is based on information obtained from  the December 4th episode of TVO’s The Agenda entitled “Is Ontario Still a Manufacturing Powerhouse”.

In the episode, moderator, Steve Pakin, discussed the issue with three panelists who presented different perspectives. Details about the panelist are included as an attachment to this presentation.

My talk will take about 10 minutes.  In it, I will demonstrate that Ontario is still, a player in the manufacturing sector and that Ontario has the potential to expand its manufacturing.  I have divided my talk into three parts.  First, I will review Ontario’s perceived manufacturing decline.  Then I will discuss some of the panelists’ comments. Finally, I will highlight how Ontario can grow its manufacturing sector.

To begin, manufacturing in Ontario has been quite volatile during the past 50 years. For example, in the 1960s manufacturing thrived in Ontario, largely due to the automotive industry. Big players such as Ford and GM have manufacturing plants in Ontario.  At  that time, Ontario, as a member of the Commonwealth, enjoyed special trade agreements with other Commonwealth countries.  However, increased competition from foreign car makers and more open trade agreements resulted in job losses in the 1970s and 1980s.  Similar to the auto industry, other manufacturing industries also experienced decline largely because of off-shoring production to countries where labour costs were cheaper.

Having established that fact, I’d now like to move on and discuss some of the panelists’ views about the decline.  While all panelists agree that traditional manufacturing jobs are in decline, Linda Hasenfratz explains that productivity has increased and new indirect jobs have been created.  She explains that automation has made many traditional direct manufacturing jobs obsolete.  Nevertheless, new indirect jobs in logistics and administration required to support technology and automation have been created. Tom Fortin, also explains that Ontario has some of infrastructure and labour skills to support an expanding manufacturing economy. He is, however, concerned about the off-shoring of production and job losses due to automation. Nevertheless, he explains that automation and technology must be embraced, offering examples of how mines in Sudbury use technology to allow mines to do deep mining and extend the life of mines. He also provides examples of other successful industries in Sudbury that have embraced technology and have become more innovative.

Now that I have discussed some of the panelists’ views, I’ll highlight some possibilities for growth in Ontario’s manufacturing sector.  First, as labour costs increase in countries such as China where most products are manufactured, some businesses are returning or “re-shoring” to Ontario. Wayne Lewchuk thinks that Ontario has the potential to capture some re-shoring.  He, however, states that governments need to play a significant role in helping to grow the manufacturing sector. First, he suggests that a stronger link between the manufacturing and education sector be established so that workers will possess the skills required for the new automated manufacturing sector. Panelist’s Tom Fortin’s Discovery Lab  which trains and encourages young people to develop careers in advanced manufacturing is an example of strengthened link between the manufacturing and education sector.  Second, Lewchuk maintains that all governments – municipal, provincial, and federal- must work together to facilitate smooth and welcoming investment procedures. Currently investors have to deal with various levels of government individually. Lewchuk explains that building trust with potential investors is key to success.  Lewchuk uses the example of Toyota, which located its plant in Woodstock, Ontario. Lewchuk notes that Toyota “trusted” stakeholder to ensure that water and electricity would be available to run the plant and that a skilled labour force would be available to work the jobs.

I’ll conclude by recapping three key points: 1) in the past 50 years, Ontario has seen a decline in jobs in its manufacturing sector, (2) diverging opinions on how the job-rate statistics can be interpreted exist, and (3) to expand its manufacturing sector, Ontario will have to address some challenges.

Thank you for your attention and I hope you’ve found my presentation informative..  For your convenience, I have attached a link to the original episode and short biographies about the participants.

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https://www.tvo.org/video/is-ontario-still-a-major-manufacturing-powerhouse

Tom Fortin is the director on Ontrack Control Systems.  He is also the director of Fortin Discovery Lab. Ontrack produces integrated drilling systems used in mining operations. “The Fortin Discovery Lab was conceived, designed and built by Tom Fortin, founder of Ontrak Control Systems, and opened on November 5th, 2014.  The mandate of the facility is to promote the development of commercial and industrial products that are to be manufactured in Canada, and further, to encourage graduate engineers to consider entrepreneurial efforts in manufacturing. Initial capital funding was provided by The Fortin Foundation and FEDNOR.” (Fortin Discovery Lab. (2021). Fortin Discovery Lab. Retrieved October 23, 2021, from http://www.fortinlab.com/about/

Linda Hasenfratz is the CEO of Linamar Corporation.  Linamar makes automobile parts.  In 2019, Linamar’s revenues were 7.4 billion. TVO.  (2020, December 3). Is Ontario Still a Major Manufacturing Powerhouse? The Agenda. episode.

Wayne Lechuk is a “Professor Emeritus at School of Labour Studies in McMaster Unversity’s Economics department”. (2020, December 3). Is Ontario Still a Major Manufacturing Powerhouse? The Agenda. episode.

Comments about the sample

Please note that phrases such as “First Steve said” and “Then Lechuk replied” and later Hasenfratz countered” were not used. Using such ineffective structure and phrases will give your presentation a boring, he said-she said quality.