Skills Space: Ontario gov. announces funding to build, renovate skilled trades training centres

Toronto, Ontario — It can be tough to teach a trades course from a parking lot, so the Ontario government announced Tuesday that it will be investing about $300,000 to build and upgrade training facilities in the province, in the aim of giving future tradespeople better facilities to hone their skills. By late spring, organizations […]
Fair Trade: Free Centennial College, Tropicana introductory auto body course to kick off in April

Scarborough, Ontario — If you live in the Toronto area and have always wanted to try your hand at the trade, a new collaborative program between Tropicana Community Services and Centennial College seeks to give prospective auto body technicians a chance to see if collision repair is the right fit, completely free of charge. Set […]
Welding Wave: Welding apprenticeship program coming to Fanshawe College this September

London, Ontario — A class of future welders will finally be able to make use of Fanshawe College’s recently renovated welding lab, as the college announced Wednesday that it will launch a new welding apprenticeship program ahead of the coming fall semester. Ontario’s Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development Monte McNaughton was on […]
Signed, Cecile-d, Delivered: Cecile Bukmeier named chair of NAIT autobody program

Toronto, Ontario — Albertan autobody extraordinaire Cecile Bukmeier says she plans to strengthen student-industry connections while promoting diversity in trades, as she heads into her three-year term as the new chair of NAIT’s autobody program. “I’ve worked at NAIT for six years now, starting out as an autobody instructor in 2016,” Bukmeier told Collision Repair […]
Celebrating Certs: Humboldt-based painter wins Outstanding New Journeyperson at SATCC awards

Regina, Saskatchewan — Saskatchewan’s collision repair industry received some well-deserved recognition at the Saskatchewan Apprenticeship and Trade Certification Commission’s (SATCC) award ceremony last month, as an up-and-coming auto body technician from Muenster came away with some hardware. Shane Hersack is a journeyperson technician and now one of the 30 new recipients of the SATCC’s Outstanding […]
A Foot in the Door: Northwestern Polytechnic opens 80 trades program seats thanks to government investment

Edmonton, Alberta — Thinking of enrolling in an apprenticeship program at Northwestern Polytechnic? Why not invite 80 of your closest friends to join you, as recent investments into the Alberta 2030: Building Skills for Jobs initiative promises to open up new seats in trade school classrooms. This latest government investment of $341,800 is expected to […]
Balancing the Scales: Canada leads G7 in share of degree-holders as trades workforce dips further, StatsCan says

Toronto, Ontario — A report published by StatsCan on Wednesday showed that Canada boasts the largest share of college and university graduates among G7 nations, but is still leaving a lot of talent on the table when it comes to skilled trades. The study, which addressed education levels of working-age people (25 to 64) in […]
Putting it on Paper: B.C. to reinstate mandatory certifications for tradespeople

Victoria, British Columbia — The province of British Columbia is proud to announce more details in its plan to re-launch the provincial certification process for skilled tradespeople, under the name SkilledTradesBC. The province says the new organization, renamed from the Industry Training Authority, will work to “raise the profile of skilled trades, modernize trades training […]
Experience Points: Ontario to kick off ‘Level Up!’ skilled trades career fair next week, Mississauga

Toronto, Ontario — In the ongoing fight to attract new skilled trades workers to Canadian industry, the government of Ontario has announced the launch of a new traveling, skills-focused, career fair geared toward students from Grade 7 to 12, with its first stop in Mississauga next week. With its debut event scheduled to run from […]
The Power of People: Aftermarket employment ‘continued to show strength’ over past year, DesRosiers report says

Toronto, Ontario — The automotive aftermarket appears to be leading the pack among the many other industries seeking out highly in-demand skilled trades workers, as the latest employment report from DesRosiers Automotive Consultants Inc. (DAC) shows that employment in the sector is up 4.2 percent since June 2021. “The aftermarket especially continued to show strength, […]