Canada’s residential construction industry is facing an acute shortage of skilled trades in the next decade, but Ontario has a plan – The Focused Apprenticeship Skills Training program, which will allow Grade 11 and 12 students to participate in apprenticeship learning through co-operative education credits while completing high school.
To ensure we have enough skilled trades workers to build the millions of homes that will be needed in future, we must tap into new pools of talent – particularly students in secondary schools. A new fast-track plan announced by the provincial government in Ontario will permit high school students who want to pursue a career in the trades to spend up to 80% of their time on training and 20% on academics. The new program is scheduled to start this fall.
The program runs two to five years and those who finish their apprenticeships will be able to apply to graduate high school as mature students. The idea hasn’t been embraced by everyone. Some critics are worried that teens will miss out on fundamental learning in English and math. Unifor, meanwhile, has expressed concerns the initiative could water down apprenticeship requirements and lead to lower completion rates.