shop assistant

VAW SYSTEMS

I started at VAW in 2019 as a shop helper making a few bucks above minimum wage. Within a few months, I got almost a 50% raise, and with no experience whatsoever, was given a Metal Fabricator position. I rapidly grew to adore the CNC machinery, and within about another year, I had received another promotion and was essentially acting as my department lead hand in the extended absence of our usual lead hand. The main hurdle preventing me from moving up even further by that time was that I struggled to operate one of the machines, and due to the contract language I could not be moved up to the next level for that reason. ((There was probably a case for calling my immense clumsiness a handicap, but I enjoyed the job too much to bother complaining.)). By the end of 2021, I had been offered, and taken, the position of Product Designer at VAW. No education to speak of, no experience other than what I figured out on my own. I'm happy to be bringing the mindset of metal fab into the engineering department, and honestly I never see myself leaving this company.

My path at VAW is not the normal, I definitely lucked out big time. I found a job that interested me and drove me to be the best I could be, and the company noticed that.

Time at this place just flew by most days, in the shipping department anyway.
The job keeps you busy enough where you’re never looking at the time, and you’re always busy, usually too busy to finish all your tasks for the day, so you just finish up the next day.
I learned different forklift loading techniques, and was even trained on the overhead crane, which was a first for me.
Like most other fast pace jobs out there, you can sometimes get overwhelmed or stressed out, but it wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle.
For the most part there’s no pressure from senior employees or management, but then again I was moved into shipping because of my previous experience, so I was a self starter.
I got along with all the employees there, and management was the kind that would say good morning to you with the tipping of their hard hat and a smile.
There were some grouchy employees there, but let’s face it, we all deal with stress and pressure in different ways.
From what I recall the pay was fair, but it’s been 13 years since I worked there, so not sure what is the same anymore.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The management team is great, the work environment is good, there are opportunities to grow. The compensation and benefits are very good.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Working in sales, the most stressful part of the job can be handling several projects at once. You need to have good time management capabilities in order to meet the (sometimes) demanding timelines from the customers. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The environment is pretty healthy, the work-life balance is good, it's not normally stressful, and everyone respects each other regardless of their position in the company. People sometime gets together for playing board games during lunch, there's e-mail Trivia games, summer walks around the company, BBQs once or twice a year, and many more perks that enhance the experience of working at the company.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Participate in sales meetings, meet up with colleagues from different areas, visit the shop sometimes, but mostly working on my computer using different types of software.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The people and the collaborative work environment make it a great place to grow and contribute.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
There is nothing specific to VAW that stands out to me. If I had to point to something, coordinating across teams and managing deadlines can be demanding during busy periods. That said, this is common in most office environments.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Collaborative and supportive, with a strong focus on teamwork and practical problem-solving.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
No two days are the same. It usually involves coordinating with different people, managing ongoing projects, and adjusting priorities as new tasks come up.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Great team. Great projects. Lots to learn and opportunities to grow a career

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Most of the communications are by virtual meetings which may delay the learning curve a bit. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Simply great. Everybody is super collaborative and respectful.  

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Comply with deadlines to present quotes. Revision of technical information and customer requirements. Cost analysis. Team meetings for proposal approval.

front office staff are segregated from the working staff like they are slaves. The company seemed like they were working hand to mouth with their resources. The management specifically are rude and couldn't train people given their best shot. The training is non existent and a lot of it was just "find it yourself" - portions of the job that were never mentioned in the phone interview / 2 follow up in person interview, were important and should have been addressed prior to hiring someone. The culture is one of the assemblers being slaves and the front office staff being superior.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Great place to work for, super friendly colleagues, making a difference each day!

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Mostly maintaining the Quality of our products.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Open Minded people and super flexible work culture.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Smooth for the most part. Helping each other is always an initiative that all the team members take.

Arrogant, Narcissistic management. Ownership puts profits before safety. Union does a very poor job, it’s like they don’t exist but they like your money. Dangerous equipment that never is properly maintained, or repaired. Plant staff are intimidated and threatened with their jobs, forced to break there backs due to a broken system. Old school crack the whip, do as i say not as i do negative culture. Collective agreement is a complete joke. This company defines double standards.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Very interesting and complex type of manufacturing with high profile global customers. Great team of people to work with at VAW and just a positive enjoyable atmosphere.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Manufacturing in general can be stressful, nothing out of the normal at VAW 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Great work environment, very kind and patient people and multicultural.

There is a good competitive nature to the office, the team does a great job motivating each-other to work smart and efficient.  Overall the office has a positive environment to a healthy lifestyle, this month of January there is a "step challenge" for anyone who wanted to sign up.  We are given the option to have a stand-up desk, and gym benefits have all helped me live a healthier lifestyle.

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