Clean Slate: Ontario launches new one-stop skilled trades platform
Toronto, Ontario — With the unceremonious send-off of the Ontario College of Trades (OCOT) two months in the past, the provincial government has announced that the new Skilled Trades Ontario agency has officially launched. The Ontario government is viewing this new institution as a step toward better aligning the province with a model that addresses […]
Ford’s Failure: Ontario has not enforced mandatory credentials in skilled trades since 2018, CBC reports
Toronto, Ontario — Since 2018, the government of Ontario has not enforced its law requiring skilled tradespeople to maintain the mandatory credentials needed to do their job, CBC News reported Wednesday. Yes, you read that right. For three years now, the Ontario government has allegedly failed to make sure tradespeople are actually licensed to be […]
John Norris wins OCOT Prize of Excellence
By Erin McLaughlin Toronto, Ontario — July 11, 2017 — John Norris, Executive Director of CIIA, received the 2017 inaugural Ontario College of Trades Award of Excellence. This prize acknowledges both the work he has done with Collision Industry Information and Assistance (CIIA), and CIIA’s efforts to both enhance apprenticeship completion and help working techicians […]
Ontario apprentice numbers swell to over 700
Toronto, Ontario — February 20, 2017 — Continued heavy growth by new, interested and motivated young people in the collision repair industry has again propelled the apprentice numbers upward. Ontario reported that as of February 1, 2017 a total of 700 auto body and collision damage repair apprentices had registered with the Ontario College of […]
Ontario College of Trades holding online consultations
Toronto, Ontario — February 5, 2017 — The Ontario College of Trades (OCOT) has announced it will hold an online consultation on a number of topics related to the College and its mandate. The online consultation covers Journeyperson to Apprentice Ratios, OCOT’s Compliance and Enforcement Policy, Trade Classification Review Referrals and Program Evaluation Process. The […]
New Certificate of Qualification prep course set for January
Hamilton, Ontario — December 22, 2016 — Collision Industry Information Assistance (CIIA) has scheduled a new class to help unlicensed techs successfully complete Ontario’s provincial trades license exam. “The impact of trades license enforcement by the Ontario College of Trades and the fact that most of the exam challengers failed the trades exam on their […]
Ontario updates auto body curriculum to include new materials, fundamentals of PDR and electronics
Toronto, Ontario — September 21, 2016 — The repairs and component replacement of motor vehicles has evolved and so have the ways in which we teach those skills to apprentices. The world of automotive repair has come a long way in the last 150 years. Technological advances, safer vehicle construction and better fuel efficiency are […]
CIIA to offer Certificate of Qualification prep courses in Toronto and Burlington
Hamilton, Ontario — July 1, 2016 — Collision Industry Information Assistance (CIIA) has scheduled two new classes to help unlicensed techs successfully complete Ontario’s provincial trades license exam. “The impact of trades license enforcement by the Ontario College of Trades and the fact that most of the exam challengers failed the trades exam on their […]
CIIA workshop looks at shop financials, top health and safety concerns
Vaughan, Ontario — June 20, 2016 — Collision Industry Information Assistance (CIIA) held an evening workshop recently to discuss a number of topics, including updates on apprenticeships, new grants incentives and new technology for the shop. The workshop took place at Monte Carlo Inn in Vaughan, Ontario. One of the presentations during the event focused […]
CIIA offers basic estimating and Certificate of Qualification prep course in May
Hamilton, Ontario — April 11, 2016 — Collision Industry Information Assistance (CIIA) has announced new training opportunities taking place in May. CIIA plans to offer both its basic estimating collision repair training course and its Certificate of Qualification prep course in Cambridge and London, Ontario. Now in its twentieth year, the basic estimating course is […]
