Backgrounder


Strengthening Ontario's Skilled Trades System

September 16, 2008

A strong and modern skilled trades sector is vital to Ontario's economic well-being. The government is taking steps to promote the skilled trades as a career choice and modernize the apprenticeship system.

The creation of a new College of Trades was one of the key recommendations of the Compulsory Certification Review (Armstrong Report), released in May 2008. The proposed College would help ensure Ontario's skilled trades sector can meet the growing needs of the economy.

The government intends to introduce legislation in spring 2009 to establish the College of Trades.

Implementation Advisor

Kevin Whitaker, chair of the Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB), has been appointed to develop the College's governance structure, scope and mandate. Mr. Whitaker's work will address a number of issues that affect the skilled trades sector, including compulsory certification, apprenticeship ratios and enforcement functions.

  • Biography
    Mr. Whitaker served as an advisor to the Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities on a Review of the Colleges Collective Bargaining Act in 2007.

    He is a lawyer and labour law specialist who has practised in a large national law firm and was a founding and managing partner of his own firm, Ryder Whitaker Wright and Chapman from 1989 to 1995. He also served as counsel to the Worker's Compensation Appeals Tribunal and as a senior legal policy advisor at the former Ministry of Consumer and Commercial Relations. In May 1995, Mr. Whitaker was appointed vice-chair of the OLRB. He has worked as a labour arbitrator and mediator in both rights and interest matters in all sectors and was named chair of the OLRB in 2001. Since 2005, he has chaired the College Relations Commission and the Education Relations Commission, through the OLRB. Mr. Whitaker was appointed to the Minister's List of Arbitrators in Ontario and is a former executive member of the Ontario Labour Management Arbitrators Association. He has written and lectured widely on labour relations issues and is past editor of the Labour Arbitration Yearbook.

  • Mandate
    Mr. Whitaker will consult broadly with stakeholders to make recommendations on the governance structure, scope and mandate of the College of Trades, and will provide a detailed implementation plan.

    He will consider the College's role, responsibilities and powers, and advise how to establish its arms-length relationship with government. The College's internal organizational structure would recognize Ontario's four apprenticeable trades' sectors: construction, industrial/manufacturing, motive power and service.

    Mr. Whitaker will develop a detailed work plan in consultation with an inter-ministry committee that includes representatives from the Ministries of Training, Colleges and Universities; Labour, Small Business and Consumer Services, Education, Transportation, Citizenship and Immigration and other affected ministries.

Expanding Apprenticeships

The 2008 Ontario Budget committed $560 million over three years to New Skills for New Careers. That includes $245 million to expand skills training centres and to buy state-of-the-art training equipment to achieve the government's goal of increasing registrations to 32,500 annually over the next three years.

This investment supports projects and programs such as:

  • Apprenticeship Enhancement Fund
    $40 million over three years for new equipment for colleges – $10 million this year, $15 million in each of years two and three.

  • Ontario Skills Training Enhancement Program
    $15 million over three years to help training centres modernize equipment, build and update facilities and train more workers. Training centres include union training centres, employer training centres, and union-partnered training centres.

  • Apprenticeship Expansion
    $75 million over three years – $12.5 million this year, increasing to $50 million in year three, to expand the apprenticeship system and increase registrations and completion rates through:
    • Expanding Co-op diploma: $6 million allocated to colleges for seat purchase.
    • Expanding Pre-apprenticeship: Approval of new proposals in September
    • Increasing Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program participation: Additional $2 million to school boards
    • Enhanced Apprenticeship per diem: two per cent increase effective April 1, 2008
    • Support for apprentices with disabilities: up to $1.8 million to colleges to accommodate apprentices with disabilities.

See also: