Skilled Trades Ontario to replace OCOT
The focal point of Ontario’s plan to replace the College of Trades is a new Crown agency that aims to cut red tape and make the skilled trades and apprenticeship system more efficient, accessible and easier to navigate.
Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development Monte McNaughton introduced the Building Opportunities in the Skilled Trades Act in Queen’s Park on May 6. If passed, the legislation would create a new body called Skilled Trades Ontario.
The organization would become the province’s industry-informed training authority that will lead the promotion, research and development of the latest apprenticeship training and curriculum standards. It will also provide a seamless, one-window experience for services such as apprentice registration, certificate issuance and renewals, and equivalency assessments.
The Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development will oversee the system, and be responsible for regulatory decisions and financial supports. It will also assume responsibility for compliance and enforcement of the skilled trades using its network of inspectors.
“Under the current system, responsibilities are shared between OCOT and the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development, causing confusion and added burden for people wanting to pursue a career in the skilled trades, which leads to employers struggling to find qualified skilled trades workers,” said McNaughton. “That is why our government is building a skilled trades system that attracts more people into well-paying and meaningful careers that are truly life-changing.”
The proposed legislation is the culmination of years of work to replace the current system. The province wound down the College of Trades in 2018. In October of last year, it created a five-member expert panel led by labour lawyer Michael Sherrard to recommend ways to better manage the training of skilled workers—including construction. The creation of a new Crown agency to oversee Ontario’s 144 skilled trades was one of the panel’s recommendations.
“We heard loud and clear from apprentices, journeypersons and employers alike that OCOT is not working,” said McNaughton. “Following our expert panel's recommendations, we are taking a thoughtful and measured approach by launching Skilled Trades Ontario, a new agency that will put the trades first.
Data suggests that the need to replace retiring workers is greater for skilled trades workers than for other occupations. Recent labour-market forecast data released by BuildForce Canada further show that by 2030, Ontario will need to hire and train more than 116,000 new construction and maintenance sector workers to keep up with demand growth and the expected retirement of some 92,500 workers—or about of 21 percent of its current labour force.
As well, several of the province’s 21 largest construction trades are projected to be at risk of undersupplying required numbers of new journeypersons, including bricklayers, glaziers, industrial electricians and welders.
Reaction to the province’s proposed legislation was generally positive.
Stephen Hamilton, chair of the Ontario Skilled Trades Alliance, said he hoped the new organization would help to promote the skilled trades and, “encourage employers to play a greater role in mentoring aspiring tradespeople from the start to finish of their apprenticeship.”
Patrick Dillon, business manager of the Provincial Building and Construction Trades Council of Ontario, meanwhile, said he welcomed the legislative direction, but cautioned more work would need to be done
“This is a positive move away from the government’s previous legislative approach which included the introduction of skill-sets,” he said. “There are a number of areas requiring further work. For example, scopes of practice, compliance and enforcement, and the establishment of trades training boards to name a few, which the Building Trades will be advocating for since trades training is the lifeblood of our industry.”