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The Apprenticeship Connection, a Newsletter Dedicated to Apprenticeship in Ontario
Apprenticeship is just as interesting as college or university studies. It can lead to challenging and rewarding careers in the skilled trades. Canada and Ontario depend on skilled workers in many ways. These are the individuals who build and repair the homes we live in, build and maintain the electrical systems that power our computers and heat our homes, build and maintain our schools, hospitals, roads and provide many of the services we rely on every day.
As apprentices, students learn their trade by working under an experienced worker known as a sponsor, while being paid. In addition, two or three times during their training, they are required to complete an academic program at a recognized institution, such as La Cité. Each level of training normally lasts eight weeks. After having completed all the hours of training provided for in any given apprenticeship program, passing the entrance exam to the trade allows them to become certified.
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The shortage of professionals specializing in skilled trades in Ontario is a concern. A whole new generation of skilled workers will need to be trained to meet labour market needs. To address this shortage, each year the Ontario Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development provides La Cité with the opportunity to offer pre-apprenticeship programs. These 36 to 52-week programs assist individuals who are interested in a skilled trade but lack the skills and experience to obtain employment as an apprentice.
Over the years, La Cité has offered various pre-apprenticeship programs in the areas of electrical, masonry, automotive maintenance and carpentry. This year, La Cité is planning to offer three pre-apprenticeship programs in the areas of early childhood and child development, electrical, and automotive maintenance, with a projected start date of June 2022.
For more information on La Cité’s programs, please contact the team by phone at 613-742-2493, extension 4502, or by email at IMET@lacitec.on.ca. ■
THE APPRENTICESHIP CONNECTION,
Asked how her network came up with the idea of publishing a newsletter dedicated to apprenticeship in Ontario, Stephanie Hobbs, Facilitator with the Simcoe Muskoka Workforce Board and Literacy Network in Barrie, answered by first stating that apprenticeship is an important goal path for LBS learners to know about and pursue. However, the apprenticeship system is vast, undergoing transformations, and it has many moving parts. As a result, it is challenging for LBS programs and instructors to keep abreast of critical information. The Apprenticeship Committee of Learning Networks of Ontario (LNO) decided to use a series of newsletters to disseminate information on skilled trades and apprenticeship resources, trends and initiatives, and to illustrate how LBS can support apprenticeship. We opted for a newsletter because we wanted to provide information to LBS programs in digestible chunks and having a series of newsletters helps us to share emerging information on apprenticeship and apprenticeship-related initiatives with our programs.
Asked about the type of information that will be made available in future issues of the newsletter, Stephanie answered that their main goals are to raise awareness of how the Literacy and Basic Skills (LBS) providers can support apprentices, and to provide LBS practitioners with current information and resources to do so. Some topics they would like to cover include:
› Newcomers and apprenticeship › Incentives and special programs › New resources and targeted training around apprenticeship › Partnerships between LBS and apprenticeship/preapprenticeship › Updates from Skilled Trades Ontario and MLTSD
Three issues of The Apprenticeship Connection are currently available on the dedicated web page: https://learningnetworks.ca/the-apprenticeship-connection ■
