Comments on: Industry Perspectives: Time to make Ontario a leader on apprenticeships and training

By: Vic A. Bodnar

Vic A. Bodnar — Thu, 17 May 2018 14:54:57 +0000

Guarantee that the journeyperson that an apprentice will be apprenticed to has not only the multi skills that you say are required but also has the capability to actually teach and pass those skills along and a lower ratio may be viable. But unfortunately there are few if any true mentoring programs out there. Not everyone can be a skills mentor.
What happens to the apprentice who gets paired with a journeyperson that because of industry demand has acquired only a limited skill set? The apprentice gains only a limited amount of skills. Worse yet they may not be employable by these contractors requiring people with a full skill set. You now have ruined the livelihood of this unfortunate apprentice because of your short sightedness and desire for a quick fix. Let’s consider the analogy of an intern studying to become an M.D. But we’ll only give him a two year program and he can intern to only one doctor who happens to specialize in appendectomies. Would you want them to treat you for an eye infection? This kind of gets away from that multi skilled model.
By giving an apprentice numerous journeypersons to learn from they have a more rounded and multi-faceted skill set.
There are numerous jobs especially government jobs that don’t require that the contractor hire apprentices even if they could simply because they don’t want to bother training apprentices even though it has been proven that apprentices generate more revenue than it costs to have them on site and train them. If the government is serious about apprenticeship make it mandatory to hire them.
The right skills that an apprentice needs come from their in-field experience, that means the business owners and contractor that they work for. Is there a chance of poaching of apprentices from other companies? Yes of course. But if everyone is doing it, it means the company that wants the best will pay for it. What goes around comes around.
Competencies are recognized by minimum standards. For example no one says you can’t pay an exceptional apprentice more than the going rate if you feel they deserve it. I would suspect that an incentive like that would encourage more people to come into the trades.
Why isn’t compulsory certification mandatory for all trades? It is not about fees but about a minimum standard of competency. How many times have we seen and heard about so called trades people working out of the truck of their car doing work that they have little or no experience nor training in? Ask Mike Holmes. Not to mention all required safety issues that go quickly to the curb when the job is behind schedule. This minimum competency is the safety and economic insurance for the consumer.

So before you look at only one area of the problem consider the whole thing right from the financial restrictions of the training facilities, the restrictions within the curriculums, all the way up to the perceived demands and commitments of employers.

By: malcolm mac donald

malcolm mac donald — Wed, 09 May 2018 13:16:37 +0000

I am a 70 year old welding instructor working in a vocational school in Ontario. after years of beating my head against this problem I am retiring next year. there is no easy fix to this mess because the people who control the system refuse to allow any change that takes control out of their hands. we need to step back and consider an old way of training, bring back the trade guild system. each trade would be in charge of training their own apprentices with the responsibility over standards etc. let the government keep a distance and their hands off. schools in Ontario have a bad habit of being dismissive of trades, that needs to change. when in high school 55 years ago I was told that by a teacher that being in a vocational school meant that I was a second string student and had a limited future. what a way to inspire kids but I fear that attitude is still there. I will be gone before this is fixed so good luck, you will need it.

By: Tim Cross

Tim Cross — Wed, 09 May 2018 12:24:36 +0000

I am a retired secondary school Sheet Metal teacher. When I Started teaching in 1980 there were individual trade shops. Now there are only a couple left in Waterloo region. I was the OYAP co-ordinator for Sheet Metal ( HVAC ). I also taught night school for registered apprentices. Many of my students became journeymen. I was the Technology Director at my school and acknowledged budget cuts and shop closures for lack of funding and a teacher shortage. I ran a liaison program with feeder schools for grade 8 students. The students would spend a day touring the individual shops and making a hands on project to take home to show their parents. We need to invest in the trades again.

By: Mark Mitchell

Mark Mitchell — Wed, 09 May 2018 11:40:31 +0000

Great article. Finally someone recognizes that its excessive bureaucracy and over-regulation that is holding back new opportunities in the skilled (and construction) trades. Apprenticeship ratios should be 1:1, or like Alberta, 1 journeyman for 2 apprentices. This will help counter the attrition rates of people that start out in a trade, and either don’t finish the apprenticeship, or move on once they have their ticket. We in the HVAC trade have an impossible time getting people started, as we are regulated by two bodies. I can sign up an apprentice air conditioning mechanic, but he can’t help me on a heating job unless he has a Gas fitters license, and vice versa. Ontario needs to let business decide who can work where. Gone are the days of hiring a few helpers, and then picking the best one to move into an apprenticeship. If there are no trial opportunities to get started, then there are less opportunities. The argument from Ocot and Tssa is always the same. Safety. We have enough health and safety rules nowadays that all new employees are aware of the hazards before they step onto a jobsite, and the MOL is there to enforce that too. If Ontario really wants to promote skilled trades, they need to BACK OFF