As part of its contributions to National Skilled Trades and Technology week, the Government of Ontario has launched an online trades hub.

The new website offers visitors the chance to explore the trades and learn how to become a trades worker. It also features resources for employers and current trades workers, such as information about recent changes to the skilled trades and apprenticeship system.

According to information released by the province, about 20 percent of the new jobs created in Ontario in the next five years is expected to be in trades-related occupations.

"There's a problem on our horizon: Ontario is facing a shortage of workers in the skilled trades," said Monte McNaughton, Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development. "The solution is clear. We need to let young people and their parents know that a career in the trades is exciting, fulfilling, and lucrative. These are well-paying jobs. We also need to transform our apprenticeship system to make it easier to use."

Through the first six months of 2019, Ontario employers had, on average, 200,000 job openings across all occupations and industries. Of these, 13,000 were in the construction sector alone.

What’s more, retirements in the skilled trades are a main driver of the need for more skilled workers. In 2016, 31 percent of skilled trades journeypersons were aged 55 years and over, compared to 22 percent of all workers in Ontario.

"Our government knows that there are tremendous opportunities in the skilled trades in our province," said McNaughton. "By creating a one-stop shop that makes it easier for people to explore career opportunities in the skilled trades and for employers to hire apprentices and tradespeople, we can help build the workforce Ontario needs to be open for business and open for jobs."

The new website, at Ontario.ca/trades includes lists of trades, success stories, and information about the paths prospective workers can take into the trades, including apprenticeships, college programs, and direct employment. The site also provides information on changes to the skilled trades and apprenticeship system, the advisors who are currently reviewing the system, as well as current job listings, and ways employers can take on apprentices.

The launch of the site comes on the heels of several trades-related announcements by the provincial government, including the expansion of the Specialist High Skills Major program to include an additional 122 new programs aimed at high-school students; reducing journeyperson-to-apprentice ratios to 1:1 default for restricted trades, including construction trades; and the ongoing dissolution of the Ontario College of Trades, including the elimination of the college's annual renewal fees for apprentices and the reduction of journeypersons’ fees by 50 percent. 

"Our economy is evolving and the skilled trades are evolving with it," said McNaughton. "We want young people and their parents to know that trades are using new and modern technology in these exciting careers."