Apprenticeship changes could help tradespeople work close to home

Go west, young person: for years, that's been the advice to many tradespeople in Atlantic Canada.

Despite the demand for the skilled trades on the east coast, federal Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour Patty Hadju said as many as 120,000 jobs in the trades go unfilled at any given time across Canada.

New changes to apprenticeships announced Friday could make it easier for some in the Red Seal trades to work closer to home, she said.

Six types of professional tradespeople — truck and transport mechanic, heavy-duty equipment technician, automotive service technician, sprinkler system installer, construction boilermaker, and industrial mechanic — are being added to the list of 16 harmonised trades in the region.

Increased mobility

Harmonisation means those trades can work anywhere in the Atlantic provinces without needing upgraded certification. Trade schools in Atlantic Canada will also use the same curriculum materials and testing programs.

The federal government is investing $960,000 in the initiative, which is intended to promote "increased mobility across the region so if something happens in their workplace or province."

This will give more tradespeople opportunities to travel within Atlantic Canada, while employers will be able to pull talent from other provinces in the Atlantic regions, Hadju said. 

"It doesn't make any sense if you have someone who is a sprinkler system installer that can work in Nova Scotia, that they couldn't work in the same way in Newfoundland. [Harmonization] is a way to keep that talent within the Atlantic region," she said. 

"When one province is getting a professional from another province, they can be sure that they have the same level of skills." 

'Nothing is more tragic'

The move is intended to boost interest in the trades from historically-underrepresented groups in those careers, including women, Indigenous people, people with disabilities, and newcomers.

"Nothing is more tragic to me than when we have people looking for work, and professions that can't find the kind of labour they need," said Hadju.

"They should be able to find the training they need and jobs close to home."