Report calls for emulating Germany's dual vocational training system
Ontario needs to take steps to reform apprenticeships, according to a report from the Human Resources Professionals Association (HRPA).
It found a skilled trades shortage is costing the province $24 billion a year, and is also occurring at a time when youth unemployment in Ontario is hovering around 17 per cent.
Among the recommendations for reforming Ontario’s College of Trades, the report recommends:
• robust performance metrics and reporting on the economic impact of Ontario’s new College of Trades
• adjusting the current journeyperson-to-apprentice ratio to ensure it’s competitive with other provinces
• fair, consistent and transparent classification of compulsory trades (and providing clear rationale when deciding to make a trade compulsory)
• emulating Germany’s dual vocational training system that sees government, business and schools partner to produce apprentices and apprenticeship programs that meet the country’s skill needs
• government promotion of skilled trades careers among young Ontarians.
The six-page report is available for free online at www.hrpa.ca/HRThoughtLeadership/Documents/2014_WhitePaper_ApprenticeshipReform.pdf
