July 21, 2008

Construction Sector Council

More Ontario workers register as apprentices, but rate of completion declines

VINCE VERSACE

staff writer

Ontario apprenticeship findings in a recent labour market forecast for the province reveal polar opposite results in building the industry’s training capacity through apprenticeships.

“The positive is that registrations are on the rise but the negative is that completions are on the decline,” explains George Gritziotis, executive director, Construction Sector Council. “There are so many players in this that need to come together. Creating training capacity is not just about community colleges, but also what happens in the workplace.”

According to construction apprenticeship program data supplied to the CSC, from the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, there has been a 7.8 per cent increase in registrations since 2004. Over the the same period, there was a 9.6 per cent decrease in completions. This is the first year CSC’s “Construction Looking Forward” labour forecast for 2008 to 2016, has reported data from this Ontario ministry.

“We have to do a better job in selling employment in construction as a career and not just a job,” says Gritziotis. “Apprenticeship should be about the long term and the long haul. We need to build the apprenticeship infrastructure for that.”

The reasons for a decrease in completions vary, from apprentices being lured away by higher wages elsewhere to apprenticeship experiences not meeting skill and career development.

“One complaint we have seen is the inability to move apprentices from employer to employer in a seamless way,” says Gritziotis. “After an apprentice works at one place for three to six months, they may run into a period of no work and inability to move. There is a disincentive in that.”

For the period of 2005 to 2007, construction boilermaker apprenticeship completions suffered the greatest decline with 80 per cent fewer completions. Terrazzo, tile and marble setting apprenticeship completions were next with a 71 per cent decline, followed by insulators (63 per cent), domestic and rural electricians (62 per cent) and steamfitters (55 per cent).

Registration data for 2005 to 2007 indicates that heavy equipment operators for excavators experienced the largest jump in registration at 229 per cent with 56 registrants in 2006-2007. Cement/concrete finisher registrants were next with a 209 per cent increase thanks to 34 registrants during that same period. Tower crane operator registrations hit 125 per cent (27 registrants) followed by mobile crane operator with a 113 per cent increase (32 registrants) and roofer with a 97 per cent increase (61 registrants).

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