Program Will Push Skilled Trades Into 21st Century: McNaughton

The provincial government will announce details of the new Skilled Trades Ontario Crown agency including its digital portal which will make it easier to pursue a career in the trades, Labour Minister Monte McNaughton says.

McNaughton told the Toronto Sun that the agency — which replaces the controversial Ontario College of Trades (OCOT) — will focus on promoting the trades and simplifying the apprenticeship system.

“Everything I’m doing is about ending the stigma around the trades, simplifying the apprenticeship system, and getting employers to bring on apprentices,” McNaughton said in advance of Tuesday’s announcement. “And what we’re doing with the new agency and the new portal will do that. It will really simplify the apprenticeship system.”

The Minister said one in five jobs in the province will be in the trades by 2025, and there are not enough skilled workers to fill those positions.

“So, it’s imperative that we promote the trades as a first career choice for young people,” he added. “For far too long, governments have told kids that the only way to be successful in life is by going to a university, and that’s simply not a truth.”

OCOT was launched in 2013 but was almost instantly criticized by some tradespeople as expensive, complicated, and conflicted, although some large unions supported the program.

Apprenticeship registrations fell by 17,000 or 40% with OCOT, McNaughton said.

The paper-only process at OCOT — it could take 60 days to process an apprenticeship registration — will be replaced with a fully digital portal, he said.

“The biggest difference between OCOT and Skilled Trades Ontario is that this going to be a one-stop shop for tradespeople, so it really will bring the skilled trades into the 21st century,” he said. “Under OCOT and the Liberals, the trades and apprenticeship system was as complex to navigate as the Tokyo subway map.

“It was confusing because of the ping pong co-delivery between OCOT and the (Labour) Ministry. So everything will be handled now by Skilled Trades Ontario,” added McNaughton.

The government has eliminated apprenticeship fees at Skilled Trades Ontario and cut a journey person’s fees by half, he said.

“One of the other challenges with OCOT is that they also had a team of inspectors that became really politicized,” he said. “And we’ve scrapped their enforcement arm, and we brought all of the inspections into the Ministry of Labour. So that’s a big difference, as well.”

Source: https://torontosun.com/news/provincial/program-will-push-skilled-trades-into-21st-century-mcnaughton