MPP GILL HOSTS ROUNDTABLE WITH MINISTER ROMANO AND FIXAUTO IN MILTON

The government is making the province open for business and open for jobs by building a skilled workforce to support the economy now and in the future. To grow our economy and return to our rightful place as the economic engine of Canada, we need to make Ontario open for business again. To do so, we need to help employers get the workers they need, and help workers gain the skills needed to obtain good quality, available jobs.

MPP Gill’s roundtable helps to layout the government’s vision for a modernized, client-focused apprenticeship and skilled trades system, which will be implemented through the following initiatives:

• Establishing a new governance framework through proposed new legislation to replace the Ontario College of Trades and Apprenticeship Act, 2009;
• Encouraging employer participation in the apprenticeship system through a new financial incentive program to support employers, especially small- and medium sized enterprises, to come together and train apprentices;
• Modernizing service delivery in apprenticeship by developing a new client-facing digital system, including a one-window digital portal for apprentices; and
• Promoting apprenticeship and the skilled trades as a pathway choice for all students from kindergarten to Grade 12.

• Part of this modernization approach includes a new flexible framework to enable training and certification in a full trade or in a portable skill set, which would allow training and certification within and between trades.
• This integrated, multi-phased and sustainable approach highlights the Province’s commitment to equipping more people with the skills needed to get quality jobs through apprenticeships.