Chris Bentley, Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities: Statement to the Legislative Assembly


Helping More Students Access Skilled Trades

December 11, 2006

Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, high school is a time when Ontario's youth make big decisions about their futures. Some choose to go to university. Some choose the skilled trades. And some, unfortunately, leave without graduating.

The McGuinty government wants to help all Ontario's students reach their potential.

Of course, it's harder to do that if you drop out: over 70% of all new jobs require some form of postsecondary education or enhanced skills training. So one of the main things we're doing as a government – thanks in large part to the hard work of my honourable colleague the Minister of Education - is trying to help more of Ontario's students graduate from high school.

In fact, we've set a goal to have 85 per cent of students graduating by 2010-11. That's a significant increase over the 68 per cent who graduated in 2003-04.

At the same time, building a skilled workforce is one of the main elements of the McGuinty government's economic plan.

Mr. Speaker, Ontario can't compete on the basis of cheap oil, and we don't want to compete on the basis of cheap labour. To succeed in a competitive global marketplace, our economy needs a steady supply of skilled and experienced workers.

That's why the McGuinty government set an ambitious goal to increase the number of new apprenticeship registrations to 26,000 annually by 2007-08. And we're currently on track to meet that target.

Today I am pleased to announce the latest milestone to show the progress of the McGuinty government in meeting both our goals – for more high school graduates and more apprentices.

Mr. Speaker, OYAP is the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program.

OYAP lets students in grades 11 and 12 earn co-op credits through work placements in the skilled trades. In some cases, employers may formally register students as apprentices while still in high school. This means OYAP students can graduate with their Ontario Secondary School Diplomas plus part of their apprenticeship already completed – giving them experience, direction, and a great head start on a promising new career.

OYAP has always been a successful program, but today I can announce that the program has reached a new high. A record 24,000 students are expected to take part in OYAP in 2006-07. This is almost double the 12,700 participants in 2002-03. More than 19,000 employers participated last year.

What this means is that our investment of $8.25 million in OYAP is producing better results every year, in large part because we've been refining the program to make it even better.

Mr. Speaker, today I visited the automotive technology classroom at Waterdown District High School, where I was joined by my colleague Ted McMeekin. We met students who are getting hands-on experience through the OYAP program, by first learning how to repair vehicles in the automotive technology classroom, and then going on to get on-the-job training from employers who partner with the school and provide co-op placements through the OYAP program. Many of these students will go on to apprenticeships, and some may even start their own businesses. All of them will come away with skills that they can use throughout their lives.

Our government is helping boost the skilled trades in other ways too.

We introduced the apprenticeship training tax credit, to encourage employers to hire and train apprentices in certain skilled trades.

We introduced the Apprenticeship Scholarship and Employer Signing Bonus.

And just a couple of weeks ago, I announced that the McGuinty government is creating close to 800 pre-apprenticeship spaces across Ontario, to help people qualify for skilled trades training.

And of course there's Employment Ontario, our new integrated training and employment network, bringing together all of Ontario's training, apprenticeship and labour market services.

Mr. Speaker, for today's students, this is a great time to be entering the skilled trades. Demand is high, and will grow even more as large numbers reach retirement age and make way for the next generation of skilled workers.

Our government knows that when we invest in programs like OYAP we benefit everyone – students, their hard-working families, and the economy as a whole. We're working to ensure everyone in Ontario has the tools they need to prosper in the economy of the 21st century.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.