You can complain about the shortage of qualified labour and the bleak outlook for the future employee base, but unless you step up to the plate and start registering employees into the provincial apprenticeship program, we’re doomed. This message comes from Terry Murphy, manager of Education, Training and Human Resources at Landscape Ontario (LO). While it may sound dire, the fact is that a great on-the-job training program exists and is underutilized to the point where two of its Training Delivery Agents (TDAs) must cancel their in-school training due to low enrolments.
Humber College in Toronto and Algonquin College in Ottawa had to cancel their programs earlier this month because only a very small number of people registered for the program.
It’s especially sad, says Murphy, because both the provincial and federal governments support apprenticeship wholeheartedly, to the point where one is willing to dish out Employment Insurance (EI) benefits during the industry’s off-season and the other is willing to cover 85 per cent of the training costs.
Modeled after the much successful apprenticeship programs run throughout Europe for years, the apprenticeship program in Ontario, organized by the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities works a two-part system: on-the-job training delivered by the employer and two in-school training portions, an eight-week program delivered in the off-season of the first year and a more advanced 12-week session in the second year. Employers deliver the on-the-job training, banking the employee’s hours to reach the 6,000 needed for full apprenticeship. At the end of the in-school and practical training, the employee would receive his Certificate of Apprenticeship. “Employees (or in some cases, the employer) pays for a small portion and the rest is covered by the provincial government.” This translates into the employee paying for $400 out of $2400 (for the eight-week in-school program) and $600 out of $3600 (for the 12-week session). And, if you’re registered in the apprenticeship program, the federal government says they will provide EI benefits for the time the employee is off work and enrolled in the program, says Murphy.
“I don’t understand why more people don’t take advantage of the program, and the fact that we must cancel programs at our TDAs, like Humber and Algonquin says that people can complain about the labour issue but will not take the steps to ensure a stocked pool of qualified labour. We have reams of help wanted ads coming into the LO office. The problem is apparent, but when a great program like this goes under utilized, I have to question the industry’s commitment to really solving the problem,” he says.
One of the solutions is to get them young – LO goes to the high schools to promote the industry as a potential career. The Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program (OYAP) has been established in some high schools and sees employees and employers matched up, with the hours the employees work going towards the 6,000 hours needed to qualify for full apprenticeship.
Murphy suggests getting them at an even younger age, targeting elementary schools to place the idea in their head and spur youth’s interest in the whole environment movement. A volunteer program gets students in and a promise of a part-time job in high school entices them to think of a possible career.
At the present moment, however, employers hiring for this season can suggest to their most promising employees a chance to enroll in the apprenticeship program and start working towards their certificate. And, in the winter months, the TDAs should be filled to capacity. “Our goal next year is to fill these programs.”
“I know the apprenticeship is not a new program – it’s been around for years, and in Europe, for a much longer time. I also know that we can be doing more to promote the program, either through advertising its existence at each TDA well in advance of the program start or through LO initiatives, but the key is to get the employers thinking ahead about those employees who they would like to see involved in the program,” Murphy explains. “You may not know two weeks into their employment, but you will sure have a good indication a month or two into their employ. Take the initiative and sign them up. Otherwise, we will have an even dire outlook for the next 10 years.”
