September 6, 2007

Letter to the Editor

COCA's position on apprenticeship ratios clarified

Dear Editor:

I am responding to your article published Sept. 4, 2007, ‘Apprenticeship changes bode well for industry’. 

I wish to clarify comments attributed to myself and reaffirm Council of Ontario Construction Associations’ position on apprenticeship ratios.

On behalf of COCA I was simply referring to those specific trades (i.e. Architectural Glass and Metal Trade), that via their specific PAC’s came to an agreement between labour and management to move forward and suggest ratio changes to the MTCU.  These trades identified ratio changes as essential for future workforce growth for their particular trade. 

However, as Daily Commercial News and its readers recognize, each trade within the industry is unique and it would be an extreme generalization for one to refer to ratio changes needed throughout the industry as a whole. 

Therefore, COCA supports those members that were successful with their recent ratio changes and only intended to re-iterate the reasoning for the ratio changes in these specific trades; and furthermore had no intent to and did not make any generalization on apprenticeship ratios for the entire construction industry.

Best regards,

Karen Renkema,
Vice President, Policy and Government Relations
Council of Ontario Construction Associations

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