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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.”

GAM wrote:I tell my kids all the time PLUMBING.

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

Sandy

mr x wrote: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

mr x wrote: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

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.