Ontario East Economic Development Commission’s Post

The Ontario government is launching new initiatives to attract young people to the skilled trades, including a new apprenticeship pathway and an online job matching platform. As I've discussed with many students facing challenges finding apprenticeships, these measures aim to address the growing demand for skilled workers. ❓What are your thoughts on these initiatives and their potential impact on the trades? https://lnkd.in/gBYd-tP3

The House of Lords' recent debate on the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education Bill marks a significant moment in the ongoing efforts to reform and strengthen the United Kingdom's vocational training landscape. This comprehensive legislation aims to address longstanding challenges in the technical education sector, with far-reaching implications for students, employers, and the broader economy. Read more: https://zurl.co/M4Pe #UKApprenticeships #TechnicalEducation #VocationalTraining #HouseOfLords #SkillsEngland #EducationUK #ApprenticeshipsAndTraining #UKEducationPolicy #TechnicalEducation #Employment #UKParliament #EducationBill2024 #ApprenticeshipReforms #TechnicalEducationBill

The House of Lords' recent debate on the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education Bill marks a significant moment in the ongoing efforts to reform and strengthen the United Kingdom's vocational training landscape. This comprehensive legislation aims to address longstanding challenges in the technical education sector, with far-reaching implications for students, employers, and the broader economy. Read more: https://zurl.co/M4Pe #UKApprenticeships #TechnicalEducation #VocationalTraining #HouseOfLords #SkillsEngland #EducationUK #ApprenticeshipsAndTraining #UKEducationPolicy #TechnicalEducation #Employment #UKParliament #EducationBill2024 #ApprenticeshipReforms #TechnicalEducationBill

Exploring the Importance of Vocational Training and Apprenticeships for Grade 10 Learners in South… https://lnkd.in/ev3MMuKn

Really enjoyed this post from Gary today. Especially as ConCOVE Tūhura prepares a short submission on the Ministry of Education New Zealand's consultation on changes to school board objectives and removing the national education and learning priorities (NELPs) from legislation. Gary's post highlights the same challenges we have in NZ. The average age of people entering construction and infrastructure in NZ is 35, in Germany it is 19. We view school to work as a transition, not a seamless integration. Removing the requirement for schools to collaborate with industries and employers to ensure learners have the skills and knowledge to succeed in work, will, in our view, further exacerbate the sole focus on achievement, and has the potential to further reduce vocational education pathways. We're focussing on the wrong inputs and still expecting a different outcome. #vocationaleducationandtraining #futureofwork #constructionandinfrastructure

Apprenticeship Ratios. Playing Politics with Training. Yesterday a gentlemen called me concerned that his son, a first-year apprentice, would be laid off.  If the proposed changes to apprenticeship ratios go ahead, layoffs will be the result. It is unfortunate the government refers to an industry fatality in 1999 and attempts to tie that to the ratio discussions.  The victim was a labourer, changing light ballast on live fixtures – a dangerous situation and a horribly tragic accident. In response, in 2006, the government passed a Regulation making Construction Electrician a designated trade so going forward, no one can work on electrical unless they are a journeyperson or a registered apprentice. Again, a tragic accident but not related to ratios. We work very closely with the Construction Safety Association of Manitoba (CSAM) and we can see no evidence that the injury rates or incident frequency increased after the ratio was changed to 2:1 in 2021. It has also been suggested that since the apprenticeship system is in such “disarray” that we should reduce the number of apprentices in the system.  Let’s try to unkink the hose rather than turning the tap off!  Offered as evidence of this disarray are poor completion rates, and the difficulties getting into a college for the in-school component.   Completion rates across Canada hover around 50% and have for many years. The reasons are many but include lack of journeyperson mentors particularly in rural areas, inadequate work / hours, and difficulties in completing the school component. Getting apprentices signed up for the “school call” has always been a challenge for the Apprenticeship Branch, but I have been told repeatedly by the training institutions that they will always accommodate the request for seats from the Branch. Changing the ratio to 1:1 is a step backward in Manitoba. It will limit our ability to grow our workforce, and cause job losses for many apprentices already in the system.    

⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️ We are letting our young people down! Over the past decade, I have had the privilege of working with numerous apprentices. However, a common narrative has recently emerged, suggesting that young people and school leavers are no longer interested in entering the construction industry. Based on my own experience, this is simply NOT true. There is a significant appetite among young people to enter the construction industry. During our most recent recruitment drive, we received over 50 applications for just two apprenticeship positions! Many eager and motivated young people are waiting to join the industry and pursue careers in scaffolding and other construction trades. This indicates that there is a strong demand for apprenticeships, and the problem lies not in the lack of interest, but rather in challenges related to education and training resources. The Training Bottleneck The key issue preventing us from welcoming more young people into the business is the severe shortage of funded apprenticeship spaces in college. In the scaffolding industry, these college spots are highly sought after and, unfortunately, incredibly scarce. In the Central Belt of Scotland, there is an approximate 12-month waiting list for a scaffolding apprenticeship funded by CITB. This bottleneck in training availability poses a significant challenge for businesses like ours. We cannot bring new apprentices on board until we have placed our current apprentices at college. This results in a waiting game for both employers and prospective apprentices. The ongoing skills and labour shortages in the UK construction industry are well-known, and the lack of adequate training opportunities only exacerbates the issue. Estimates indicate that the UK will need 244,000 apprentices by 2032 to meet industry demand. Yet, in Central Belt Scotland, CITB only offers 99 funded scaffolding spaces per year—a woefully insufficient number to support the growth required in our industry. To address the skills shortage in the construction industry, it is essential to expand access to funded apprenticeship programmes. There is no shortage of motivated young people eager to enter the field, but until training institutions and funding bodies can increase the availability of apprenticeship spots, businesses will continue to face challenges in meeting their labour needs. We need to: 💸Increase funding 👷🏼♂️Expand college capacity ⏱️Shorten waiting periods By addressing these issues, we can ensure a sustainable pipeline of skilled workers entering the construction industry, securing its future in the years to come!

In a recent executive order, President Joe Biden has directed federal agencies to prioritize hands-on skills over traditional education when selecting candidates for government jobs. Here are the key takeaways from the article: 1. Shift from College Degrees: Agencies have been striving to move away from college degree requirements for federal positions. Now, the White House is urging them to go a step further by embracing apprenticeships. 2. Labor Department’s Apprenticeship Program: Agencies will tap into the Labor Department’s registered apprenticeship program. This initiative offers paid positions, classroom experience, and other benefits. On average, 90% of apprentices who complete the program retain employment with an impressive annual salary of $80,0001. 3. Mission-Critical Skills Gaps: By converting apprentices into full-time federal employees, agencies aim to address critical skills gaps. Let’s build a workforce that thrives on practical expertise! Question for You: What federal jobs do you think could benefit most from this skills-based approach? Share your thoughts! https://lnkd.in/e5zAA5FV #SkillsBasedHiring #FederalJobs #Apprenticeships #WIN #YAI U.S. Department of Labor Workforce Development Board of Middlesex County CareerOneStop AmeriCorps

Have you checked out this article from my mate Prof Tom Bewick: Latest reforms to American Apprenticeships signal new opportunities for British training providers: Following Tom Bewick’s involvement in the inaugural conference of #ApprenticeshipsForAmerica, in Washington D.C. (March 12th-13th, 2024), here he outlines how the planned expansion of registered #apprenticeship in the USA could more fully open the door to independent training providers and universities from the UK, who may themselves spot a business opportunity to get involved. Some really interesting stuff in here about the Apprenticeship system in the USA and Apprenticeships in different states. Those who have known Tom for a while, will know he has had an interest in American Apprenticeships for a long while now. Tom highlights some interesting points: 🏢 The US labour market is made up of 132 million full-time employees, more than four times the size of the British workforce of 31.7 million. 🗽 Penetration of apprenticeship numbers, the UK trains around 2.5% of apprentices as a ratio to its full-time workforce, compared to just 0.32% undertaking apprenticeship in the US. In other words, the US should be training about 4 million apprentices per annum to match the position in England, compared to only 600,000 American apprentices that currently take advantage of this pathway. 💲Things are growing re Apprenticeships in America re funding: Just under a decade ago, the US Department of Labor’s (US-DOL) Office of Apprenticeship (OA), received an annual budget of $30 million to distribute as grants. In the current year, US-DOL’s apprenticeship budget has increased nearly eight-fold, to $235 million. Sooo many really cool golden nuggets of information in here... grab a cup of Joe ☕ ... or tea 🍵 .. depending and check it out: https://lnkd.in/eBmAgMSf #OfficeofApprenticeship #Apprenticeship #Skills #AmericanApprenticeships

Apprenticeship programs are great at training the next generation of construction workers. More of these are required across the country to keep with demand and growth. #construction #constructioncosts #projectmonitoring #constructionloan #constructionfinancing #inflation #cre #constructionmonitoring #skilledworkers #laborshortage