Apprenticeship unification price tag - WTF

[mr x]

Apprentice system unified

http://thechronicleherald.ca/novascotia ... em-unified" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The Atlantic provinces have reached a deal to streamline East Coast apprenticeship programs, but work remains to remove barriers for Nova Scotians apprenticing out west.

On Wednesday, Premier Stephen McNeil said the deal gives flexibility to employers hiring apprentices and allows those apprentices to get the training they need no matter where they are and where their hours are logged.

Programs are fairly similar in Atlantic Canada but varied enough to create difficulties, McNeil said.

“What’s happening now (is), in essence, we have four provinces doing their own thing virtually doing the same thing.”

The new agreement, which he said would be up and running soon, co-ordinates training in the four provinces and makes it easier for employers to get workers when they need them.

The federal government will put up $4.3 million for the program, while the Atlantic provinces will kick in $3.5 million in staff time and operational support. McNeil said Nova Scotia’s share amounts to $1.5 million.

The project will focus on 10 trades, the first four being bricklayer, cook, construction electrician, and instrumentation and control technician.

Trent Soholt, executive director of the Nova Scotia Construction Sector Council, said the agreement is significant for workers looking to be mobile in the Atlantic region.

Soholt said it also holds promise for further work with the federal government to see the program expanded nationally.

“Anything that assists the apprentices in acquiring trades training will help in their mobility in Atlantic Canada, and it’s great for workers and employers and the economy.”

Soholt said the agreement is also an effort toward addressing the challenge that some Nova Scotians apprenticing in Alberta have getting their hours recognized when they attempt to return home.

“It’s actually putting some good processes in place so we’ll be able to do a better comparison of programs and a better alignment of programs, and that’s fundamentally what’s going to be needed.”

McNeil said the government is still working on the Alberta issue, something he raised as leader of the official Opposition and during the provincial election campaign.

“We’re in the process of addressing that issue, but we’re not quite there yet.”

$780,000 per trade? That's insane.

[Jmac00]

I'll be watching closely to see what pans out with this....would be nice if the 'out west' hours were recognized here.

[Tony L]

Trying to get people back into the trades in a real problem that has to be addressed, and it only makes sense to allow the hours to be transferable between provinces.

[GAM]

I tell my kids all the time PLUMBING.

No matter how poor you are if you need a plumber you'll get one.

Sandy

[Tony L]

I tell my kids all the time PLUMBING.

No matter how poor you are if you need a plumber you'll get one.

Sandy

In short supply here though. You might get one, but they charge Doctors wages for a house call,

[Jmac00]

Announcement made today in regards to the apprenticeship....need less hours now(6000 instead of 8000), and 3 apprentices allowed per JM now. We're getting there...lol..still no word on out of province hrs being recognized yet.

[mr x]

I don't think that's all trades though, just metal workers for now. Most likely due to the shipbuilding contract.

[Jmac00]

Aawww crap!!! you're right....heard it on the radio but missed the first part of it....Just read the article to confirm.

[jherbin]

I can speak a bit to trying to find reliable, available and 'affordable' trades people in HRM being pretty challenging with some work we've needed done at the brewery. I'm sure depending on where the work is, the apprenticeship program can cut some slack. When my brother moved from NS to NWT, he wrote and passed his JM certificate mostly with hours from NS, having never had to do the school parts of the program. Apparently the JM to apprentice ratio is really enforced here now? When I was an electrical apprentice after highschool we would have 3 JM and 20 apprentices on a job site, haha.

[mr x]

That ratio can be fudged to spread over multiple work sites. So long as there is a 1 to 1 ratio on paper, it's impossible to enforce on the job site. As far as qualified trades work , you pretty much get what you pay for.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 4

[LeafMan66_67]

That ratio can be fudged to spread over multiple work sites. So long as there is a 1 to 1 ratio on paper, it's impossible to enforce on the job site. As far as qualified trades work , you pretty much get what you pay for.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 4

We enforce it on our sites.

[mr x]

Yes, individual companies can if they choose, but the government does not have the resources to watch every company.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 4

[LeafMan66_67]

Yes, individual companies can if they choose, but the government does not have the resources to watch every company.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 4

Correct.

[mr x]

Apprenticeship programs underfunded and under utilized
CEO of the Nova Scotia Apprenticeship Agency testified before the Standing Committee on Human Resources

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scot ... -1.2849556" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Premier Stephen McNeil is in Edmonton today signing a deal to make it easier for those learning a trade, to complete their on-the-job training in either Alberta or Nova Scotia.

The head of the new agency responsible for apprenticeships calls it a big deal but Margorie Davison is also worried about a number of other problems plaguing the system.

The CEO of the Nova Scotia Apprenticeship Agency testified before the Standing Committee on Human Resources Tuesday morning.

She told the all-party committee that many people who complete their basic training at the community college level simply don't sign up for apprenticeships. Of those who do, only 47 per cent actually complete their apprenticeships and are granted full trade certification.

Davison called that dangerous.

"We have a lot of students going into community college who are not furthering their training through certification," she said. "In a regulated trade that's just giving them enough training to be dangerous and to work in the underground economy."

Speaking to reporters outside the committee room, Davison said only a small percentage of college students actually sign up for apprenticeships.

"It may be 16 per cent for a particular course that actually go on to an apprenticeship," she said. "It could be as high as 25 or 30 per cent but it's usually not much higher than that."

Davison also called the system "chronically underfunded" despite a recent infusion of money by the governing liberals.

She said right now the province can only afford to train 40 per cent of those in apprenticeships. The rest have to wait until money is available in their specific trade to continue their training.