5. Promoting skills utilization

Develop a Jobs Strategy

Increasing access to and improving the completion of bona fide apprenticeship training in Ontario will mean little if there are no decent jobs available for skilled trades people.

Ontario must play a leadership role in developing a jobs strategy that takes into account the unique needs of Northern and rural communities and develops a broader vision for long-term, sustainable jobs.

Promoting and Enforcing Trades Qualification

Enforcing the regulations set out by the Trades Qualification and Apprenticeship Act is crucial to ensure that employers hire qualified, certified trades people, to ensure that standards are being respected and that health and safety is promoted in the workplace. Government enforcement measures will help to reduce the underground economy, ensure that employers hire skilled workers, and improve the mobility of the workforce.

This is particularly important in the area of Provisional Certificates issued under the TQAA. There is little follow-up after a provisional certificate has been issued so many provisional certificate holders do not go on to either write or pass the trade exam.

By enforcing this aspect of the TQAA – ensuring that provisional certificate holders write the trade exam – the integrity of the trades can be maintained and again, the underground economy can be minimized.  Moreover, those who do not pass the trade exam should be slotted into an appropriate level of apprenticeship.  This in itself would provide a valuable opportunity to make effective use of the skills brought into Ontario by a variety of workers, such as temporary foreign workers, landed immigrants, refugees, unregistered workers and workers from other provinces.

Respectfully submitted,

ONTARIO FEDERATION OF LABOUR