Take a moment to think of some younger people wih university degrees. Did they find a job in their field? Are they currently looking for a job? I would venture to guess that you can name at least one person who regrets the 4 years and thousands of dollars they wasted in university. I can name several.
Now let's do an experiment. Pick up the phone and call a person in the skilled trades. Try to get that person to visit your house for a small project. Good luck. If you don't have a personal connection, you won't get a skilled tradesperson to visit your house for a small project. They are too busy making money on more lucrative projects.
Now let's do an experiment. Pick up the phone and call a person in the skilled trades. Try to get that person to visit your house for a small project. Good luck. If you don't have a personal connection, you won't get a skilled tradesperson to visit your house for a small project. They are too busy making money on more lucrative projects.
For decades governments in Ontario poured more and more money into universities. This was supposed to be part of the "knowledge economy" of the future. Kids with university degrees were supposed to get jobs. That didn't happen. There was a mismatch between what the education system was producing and what the job market wanted. We were training kids for jobs that didn't exist.
In the meantime, the skilled trades languished. The result: 200,000 skilled trades positions are currently begging to be filled in the Province of Ontario.
That's why it was music to my ears to hear the Province of Ontario announce support for 4,000 skilled trades positions in manufacturing. Minister of Labour Monte McNaughton made the announcement at Cavalier Tool in Windsor (how appropriate) on January 28, 2020.
Here's how it works: The government will pay a maximum of $3,000 to a business that can provide a paid work placement in the skilled trades. It's called the Career-Ready Fund Auto Stream. Click here to read the press release and comments from Flavio Volpe, the president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers' Association. Also included are comments from Tim Galbraith, Sales Manager at Cavalier Tool and Manufacturing.
You know what's going to happen? Manufacturers will find talented young people to work for them for one to four months, and train them on the job. Then those young people are going to complete their formal education. Once that's done, those young people are going right back into the industry, trained and ready to be productive, filling the 200,000 jobs that are begging for candidates. They will get jobs the day they walk out of school.
And that's the way it should be.
One final thought: GM is investing $2.2 billion in Hamtramck. Who is going to have the skilled trades people ready, willing and able to do what GM needs?
In the meantime, the skilled trades languished. The result: 200,000 skilled trades positions are currently begging to be filled in the Province of Ontario.
That's why it was music to my ears to hear the Province of Ontario announce support for 4,000 skilled trades positions in manufacturing. Minister of Labour Monte McNaughton made the announcement at Cavalier Tool in Windsor (how appropriate) on January 28, 2020.
Here's how it works: The government will pay a maximum of $3,000 to a business that can provide a paid work placement in the skilled trades. It's called the Career-Ready Fund Auto Stream. Click here to read the press release and comments from Flavio Volpe, the president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers' Association. Also included are comments from Tim Galbraith, Sales Manager at Cavalier Tool and Manufacturing.
You know what's going to happen? Manufacturers will find talented young people to work for them for one to four months, and train them on the job. Then those young people are going to complete their formal education. Once that's done, those young people are going right back into the industry, trained and ready to be productive, filling the 200,000 jobs that are begging for candidates. They will get jobs the day they walk out of school.
And that's the way it should be.
One final thought: GM is investing $2.2 billion in Hamtramck. Who is going to have the skilled trades people ready, willing and able to do what GM needs?