Apprenticeship issues on agenda at Toronto Summit

According to a local tradesman, gaps are prevalent in the trades. CTV Windsor's Stefanie Masotti finds out more.

Industry leaders in the skilled trades sector will gather in Toronto for the 2025 Ontario Apprenticeship Summit on Thursday, where they are scheduled to discuss issues CTV News Windsor has covered in depth.

On the agenda, workshops promoting apprenticeships and certification, improving public perception and identifying system gaps.

“It’s a way to actually jumpstart their career and test the waters,” said Jason Lepain, coordinator for the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program (OYAP) at the Greater Essex Country District School Board (GECDSB).

He is part of a new pilot program offering hands-on electrical training to high school students thanks to a partnership between the public school board and the Carpenters union.

“The big questions we get often from employers and co-op teachers is…how will this affect their journeyperson to apprentice ratio.”

Under the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development, to become a licenced electrician, you must complete 9,000 hours as a registered apprentice. The current ratio of journeypersons to apprentices for electricians is generally a 1:1 ratio.

But the Building Opportunities in the Skilled Trades Act details OYAP students, sponsored by a business, do not count for that ratio.

“In essence, a sponsor can take on a student and also have an apprentice as well,” Lepain confirmed. “Having said that, when a student graduates from secondary school and they become a full-fledged apprentice, it would change that ratio.”

“There is some interconnection now,” said Jeff Keyeux, a master electrician, small business owner and former teacher St. Clair College. “I take this 16-year-old…that doesn’t even know how to work for somebody. Doesn’t know how to show up on time, hasn’t gone to the program at the college, and yet they can be registered.”

He says there are college graduates who are more invested in the industry but can’t lock down an apprenticeship partly because of the ratio requirements.

The Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development did not provide comment as of this time.

More to come.