Getting an earlier start in the skilled trades
Province to make curriculum changes that will require high school students to get a technological credit
A WATERLOO BASED ORGANIZATION THAT WORKS
to educate Ontario teenagers about jobs in the skilled trades sector is praising the recent steps taken by the provincial government that provide high school students with an earlier introduction to the field.
The Ministry of Education announced earlier this month that, starting September 2024, all students entering Grade 9 will be required to get a technological education credit in either Grade 9 or 10. According to the ministry, the technological education curriculum covers various fields, including construction, transportation, manufacturing, computer technology, hospitality and communication.
“We’re really pleased with what the government is doing. We’ve been long stating that there should be more exposure to skilled trades in school. So we think this is a great move,” said Skills Ontario CEO Ian Howcroft.
The province had previously announced on March 8 that it will allow students in Grade 11 to transition into skilled trade apprenticeship programs. The apprenticeship programs take from two to five years to complete. Once students achieve their certificate, they can then apply for their Ontario Secondary School Diploma as a mature student.
While there was no start date for this program, the province said that it will begin consultations this fall with “employers, unions, education stakeholders, trainers, parents, and others,” which could potentially lead to the lowering of entry requirements for 106 skilled trades that currently require a high school diploma.
“We think that any opportunity that will help access and accelerate someone going into an apprenticeship is certainly worth exploring,” said Howcroft.
“We also don’t think people should not get a high school diploma. You can do both. But this will allow somebody who may be struggling or looking for their future to maybe [get] an apprenticeship… so they can get access to the apprenticeship to start that and also continue and complete your high school diploma. It’s just another way to engage youth that may not be already engaged,” he added.
These announcements come at a time when skilled trades are facing challenges with filling jobs. According to the province, the construction industry alone will need 72,000 new workers by 2027 because of retirements and job growth.
A Statistics Canada report from last year showed that in 2021 the percentage of working-age Canadians – those 25 to 64 – who held apprenticeship certificates either declined or remained stagnant in three key fields since 2016.
That includes construction trades, which went up by 0.6 per cent, mechanical repair technologies, which went down by 7.8 per cent and precision production, which fell by 10 per cent overall.
The average age of those starting a new apprenticeship program in Ontario is 28-29, Howcroft said.
“So if you start young people off with more information, more opportunities to have hands-on experience. We think it’s a better chance of someone starting to enter an apprenticeship or pursue skilled trade at an earlier age,” he said.
According to Darryl Spector, president of the automation manufacturing company Promation, one challenge is that there is still a negative stereotype around having a job as a tradesperson.
“Skilled trades, especially, is one of those areas [where] there’s still a lot of stigma and paradigms that exist, and we need to unwind and deconstruct those to what the actual truths are behind them,”