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New support for apprentices
October 03, 2008
Conservative economic plan includes measures to address skilled trades shortage Saint John, NB – Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced today that a re-elected Conservative Government will help address Canada’s skilled trades shortage by providing a new completion bonus to apprentices who finish their training. “Skilled workers are an essential element of Canada’s future economic success,” said Prime Minister Harper. “We need carpenters, mechanics, welders, chefs, pipefitters and other skilled workers to build the roads, bridges, schools, hospitals and other infrastructure that keep our economy growing and our country strong.” Citing provincial officials and business representatives from across the country indicating that Canada needs hundreds of thousands more skilled tradespersons, Harper said that a re-elected Conservative Government will provide a $2,000 completion bonus to apprentices who finish an apprenticeship program in a nationally recognized trade. The Prime Minister said the new apprenticeship completion bonus will provide an added incentive for Canadians to finish their training and launch rewarding careers in the trades. These steps to address Canada’s skilled labour shortage are part of the Conservatives’ plan to protect our economy from effects of the U.S. financial crisis. Harper said that the new completion bonus complements several measures already undertaken by the Conservative Government during the last two and a half years to help apprentices and tradespersons, including:
“Between now and October 14, Canadians will choose between our real plan to protect the economy from the U.S. financial crisis and an opposition with no plan and with policies that will take our economy in the wrong direction,” Prime Minister Harper said.
Backgrounder NEW SUPPORT FOR APPRENTICE TRAINING The Issue The Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper understands that skilled workers are an essential element to Canada’s future economic success. Our country needs a skilled, adaptable and inclusive work force, one that can respond to the challenges of our aging population and the need to compete in the global marketplace. Canada faces acute shortages of skilled tradespeople in certain regions and certain sectors and the shortages are expected to worsen due to demographic trends. The fertility rate has fallen below the minimum replacement rate and the baby boom generation is aging. By 2020, almost 18 per cent of Canada’s population will be 65 or over, compared to 12.5 per cent in 1999.[1][1] In its 2005 report “Taking Action on Skilled Trades”[2][2], the Ontario Chamber of Commerce assembled estimates of current and impending labour market shortages from various Canadian industry associations, including:
In the next two decades, 40 per cent of new jobs will be in the skilled trades and technologies, according to skillswork.com. In 1998, that number was less than 20 per cent. According to the Conference Board of Canada, the country could be short one million workers by 2020. There were 13,306 Red Seals issued in 2006 to fully trained apprentices, almost 1,000 more than in 2005, but many people who enrol in apprenticeship programs leave before they complete their training. During 2005, nearly 294,000 Canadians were enrolled in apprenticeship programs, but just over 20,500 Canadians completed apprenticeships that year.[3][3] Conservative Record on Supporting Skilled Trades Stephen Harper and the Conservative Government recognize that one of the best ways to help Canadians find the rewarding employment they expect and deserve is to encourage them to participate in apprenticeship programs. That is why we created the Apprenticeship Incentive Grant. The Apprenticeship Incentive Grant is a taxable cash grant of $1,000 per year (to a maximum of $2,000 per person) to registered apprentices in the first two years of a nationally recognized Red Seal trade program. (The Interprovincial Standards Red Seal program aims to facilitate the mobility of skilled tradespeople by harmonizing trade requirements and certification in 49 different trades accounting for 88 per cent of all apprentices and is administered by the Canadian Council of Directors of Apprenticeship. The Red Seal allows qualified tradespeople to practice their trade in any province or territory without having to write additional examinations, thus improving labour mobility in Canada and eliminating the need for multiple examinations.) The Apprenticeship Incentive Grant creates an incentive to encourage more people to enter the trades and helps apprentices pay for costs such as tuition, travel and tools. In addition to the Apprenticeship Incentive Grant, the Conservative Government has launched several initiatives during the last two and a half years to address Canada’s skilled labour shortage, such as:
The Plan A re-elected Conservative Government will do more to protect Canada’s economy from global economic uncertainty and to prepare the country for future prosperity by expanding current support for apprenticeship training in the skilled trades. Building on the Conservative Government’s Apprenticeship Incentive Grant, we will enhance it by providing an additional $2,000 completion bonus for apprentices who complete their training in a nationally recognized Red Seal trade program. This new bonus will provide an added incentive for Canadians to finish their training and launch rewarding careers in the trades. We have budgeted up to $60 million per year for this initiative, although the actual cost will depend on the take-up rate. The Choice Industry groups and think tanks have been raising concerns about skilled labour shortages in Canada for years. The Liberals had over a decade to invest in Canadians and train them for the global marketplace, but failed to act. The Liberals believe in creating large government bureaucracies to tax Canadians and redistribute their money rather than in investing in Canadians to help them realize their full potential. In contrast, the Harper Conservatives know that Canadians have the capacity to be the most skilled, productive, and competitive people in the world. We believe that, by unleashing our full potential, all Canadians will benefit – and we will achieve a better, more prosperous Canada. The choice is clear. The Liberals believe in big, ineffective, centralized programs. We believe in investing in Canadians so that we can build a stronger, more competitive Canada. List of “Red Seal” Trades [4][4] Agricultural Equipment Technician Appliance Service Technician Automotive Painter Automotive Service Technician Baker Boilermaker Bricklayer Cabinetmaker Carpenter Concrete Finisher Construction Craft Worker In Development Construction Electrician Cook Electric Motor System Technician Electronics Technician (Consumer Products) Floorcovering Installer Glazier Hairstylist Heavy Duty Equipment Technician Industrial Electrician Industrial Mechanic (Millwright) Insulator (Heat and Frost) Instrumentation and Control Technician Ironworker (Generalist) Ironworker (Reinforcing) Ironworker (Structural/Ornamental) Lather (Interior Systems Mechanic) Machinist Metal Fabricator (Fitter) Mobile Crane Operator Motor Vehicle Body Repairer (Metal and Paint) Motorcycle Mechanic Oil Burner Mechanic Painter and Decorator Partsperson Plumber Powerline Technician Recreation Vehicle Service Technician Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Mechanic Rig Technician Roofer Sheet Metal Worker Sprinkler System Installer Steamfitter/Pipefitter Tilesetter Tool and Die Maker Transport Trailer Technician Truck and Transport Mechanic Welder [1][1] http://www.careersintrades.ca/media/backgrounder_eng.pdf [2][2] http://occ.on.ca/Policy/Reports/39 [3][3] These numbers refer to all apprenticeship programs, not just Interprovincial Red Seal Programs: http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/071115/d071115b.htm [4][4] Interprovincial Standards Red Seal Program. www.red-seal.ca |
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