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Skills Training
December 18, 2006
Skilled Labour
Sault area welcomes apprentices
A boost in funding will assist northern industry
SAULT STE. MARIE
Students who want to become skilled tradespeople are getting a financial boost from the Ontario government, and the Sault Ste. Marie Construction Association couldn’t be more pleased.
“It’s important that young people are attracted to our industry and we need to give them the tools to do that,” said Rick Thomas, president of the Sault Ste. Marie Construction Association.
“It’s hard to get them to understand the construction industry is a legitimate, reliable career path.”
The Ontario government is investing in apprenticeship training for high school students to provide them with an opportunity to gain valuable experience and develop important skills which will help prepare them for a career in the skilled trades.
In Sault Ste. Marie, the province is injecting $186,035 into school boards to continue running the program. The school to work transition program will accept students 16 years of age or older in Grades 11 and 12. Students can earn co-operative education credits through work placement.
The construction industries noted the number of skilled tradespeople is declining in Ontario and in high demand in many trades, due partly to an aging workforce and the costs of training young workers.
Thomas said that in Sault Ste. Marie, apprenticeship acquisitions have been traditionally hard to achieve, especially in a down market because they take too long to complete and trainees move to other jobs or fields.
“This timing couldn’t be more perfect,” Thomas said. “This is the perfect opportunity to attract young people because we now have work here for years to come and the retention problem is solved.”
Thomas said contractors also need to move forward and see training as an investment. The tradition seems to be to “poach” tradespeople from other contractors, and Thomas said employers need to view training as an investment.
“It’s important that young people are attracted to our industry.”
Rick Thomas
SSMCA
The Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program will help 24,000 students take part on the program in 2006-07, almost double the number of participants in the 2002-03 year.
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