Frequently Asked Questions

Do electrical contractors in Ontario have apprenticeship opportunities for Ontario’s young people?

Yes! Ontario’s electrical contractors have numerous apprenticeship job openings right now, likely numbering in the thousands. They’re ready to hire.

Unfortunately contractors are forced to turn job-seekers away because of a requirement, practically unique to Ontario, that all but the smallest contractors must have three certified electricians for every one apprentice. By comparison, in almost all other provinces, only one certified journey person is needed for each apprentice.

Do many young Ontarians want to become electricians?

Yes. The electrical trade is a well-respected, well paid, trade which provides rewarding, attractive careers to many young Ontarians. Contractors across the province receive numerous calls every week from young Ontarians wanting to become electricians.

What are Apprenticeship Ratios?

Before qualifying as an electrical journeyperson, candidates must first complete the five-year apprenticeship period, which includes testing and studies. The Government of Ontario has authority over the apprenticeship system, including the “ratio” of apprentices to journeypersons in regulated trades, including the Construction & Maintenance (C&M) Electrical Trade.

Are there any exceptions that permit a 1:1 ratio in Ontario?

Yes. But the 1:1 ratio applies only to very small electrical contractors, with up to two journeypersons on staff.

Who enforces this regulation?

The Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities is responsible for enforcing the journeyperson-to-apprenticeship ratios in Ontario.

How do Ontario’s ratios compare to other jurisdictions in Canada?

Ontario has the highest ratios for the electrical trade in Canada – tied with Prince Edward Island. Across Canada and across the United States, 1:1 ratios are the norm.

Ellis Chart

Education/Entrance Requirements

Ratio – Journeyperson/Apprentice –
Indicate Actual Ratio or Variable (V)

1:1

1:1-3:1

1:1

2:1

1:1-3:1

1:1-2:1

1:1

Source: www.ellischart.ca

Since the above chart was compiled in 2004, British Columbia has shifted to a one journeyperson to four apprentice ratio (1:4) in order to rapidly train a large number of new electricians in the face of a severe shortage.

Is the 1:1 ratio safe for the electrical trade?

Yes. The direct experience in Ontario, which corresponds to the experience of jurisdictions all over the country, demonstrates that the 1:1 ratio is very safe in practice. The longstanding allowance of 1:1 ratios for small contractors in Ontario has a proven safety record.

Is there a shortage of electricians in Ontario?

Yes. There is currently a shortage of the electrical trades across Ontario, and it is growing worse every year.

Independent research conducted for Ontario’s Workforce Shortage Coalition found that 13% of companies surveyed reported difficulty hiring electricians and 8% reported problems retaining them. The findings are detailed in the Coalition’s 2007 report, “The Challenge Ahead: Averting a Skills Crisis in Ontario”.

Like other skilled trades, Ontario’s electricians are aging and are not being replaced by younger workers. This is expected to accelerate over the next several years as baby boomers retire. According to the Canadian Electricity Human Resource Study, published in 2004 by the Canadian Electricity Association, it is estimated that over 17% of the sector’s workforce will be eligible for retirement by 2010 and 37% by 2014.

Ontario’s independent electrical contractors consistently report that they have difficulty finding qualified journeypersons in communities across the province.

Is the Government encouraging young people to become electricians?

Yes. The shortage of skilled trades in Ontario is so substantial that the provincial government provides a multitude of expensive and exhaustive programs to encourage Ontarians to enter the trades. Examples of these programs can be accessed at the following websites: www.apprenticetrades.ca and www.careerintrades.ca.

The provincial government also funds an extensive network of applied arts and technology colleges across Ontario, most of which provide electrical training programs.

The government is so concerned about the this issue that it made the expansion of apprenticeship programs a centerpiece of a $1.5 billion, three-year employment training program announced in the 2008 Ontario Budget. The “Skills to Jobs Action Plan” will expand apprenticeship programs by 25 per cent over three years. A specific component of this plan includes $75 million in funding over three years to expand apprenticeship training.

Despite this, the government continues to block the path to employment in the electrical trades by imposing a 3:1 journeyperson-apprentice ratio.

Are there any exemptions from apprenticeship ratios?

Yes. There are temporary exemptions for some students, though ultimately the same roadblocks apply. Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program (OYAP) students, who perform the same tasks as apprentices, are specifically exempted from Ontario’s apprenticeship regulations while they are enrolled in the program. In fact, they are not subject to any ratio restrictions whatsoever. OYAP was created by the Ontario Government to encourage high school students to enter the trades.

Is it true that OYAP Electrical Trade Apprentices are often terminated immediately on graduation from high school?

Regrettably, yes. This is because once OYAP students leave high school, they also lose their exemption from apprenticeship ratios.

Consequently, there is a perverse problem whereby completion of OYAP electrical trade studies most often results in the student’s termination from their apprenticeship position. Electrical contractors, who typically have the maximum number of apprentices allowed on staff already, have no other alternative.

Are internationally trained electricians encouraged to immigrate to Ontario to become electrical journeypersons?

Yes. The shortage of electricians is so severe that the Federal Government fast-tracks electricians through the immigration system. With minimal approvals, landed immigrants with journeyperson status in foreign jurisdictions can gain rapid access to journeyperson status in Ontario. New Canadians are already a significant and growing part of the workforce in Ontario’s electrical trade. Yet, for young Ontarians wanting to work in this field, their path is blocked by unfair apprenticeship ratios.

How does Ontario’s Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities respond when asked to change apprenticeship ratios?

The Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities, John Milloy, often argues that the current ratio is in place to ensure safety. He repeated this rationale to the Toronto Sun in an April 4, 2008 report.

But this argument doesn’t stand up to scrutiny when set against the facts. From coast to coast to coast, in Alberta, Nova Scotia, the Northwest Territories and five other provinces and territories, the journey person-apprentice ratio is 1:1. Even in Ontario, small electrical contractors with up to two electricians are permitted a 1:1 ratio.

In none of these places is safety an issue. In fact, some electricians argue that a narrower ratio would give apprentices the opportunity to obtain better on-the-job training by linking each one with a single experienced journey person.

Safety, it appears, is little more than an excuse for inaction.