Bringing on new apprentices is the only way to alleviate the shortage of journeypersons across the skilled trades. Despite the demand, trades companies cannot afford to train someone to be a good technician unless that person already has the skills to be a good employee and understands the nature of the work they will do.

To help solve this shortage, as a college we need to do more than hand out certificates or diplomas. We need to give students what they need to take The Apprenticeship Pathway from education to employment. This means they need two main things.

Students need the so-called “soft skills” or “professional skills” that every industry is screaming for, and exposure to the nature and cadence of trades work.

1. Our students learn the transferable professional competencies and self-mastery skills that modern labourers and pre-apprentices require, regardless of trade. And they learn these skills while attending class from 7:15AM to 4:05PM Monday to Friday to get used to the schedule of trades work. We do not put students into highly artificial workshops to perform tasks usually reserved for upper-year apprentices, because we don’t build false expectations regarding the work students will do in their internship.

2. Every student must have the opportunity to get signed as an apprentice.
After two months of in-class courses, our students complete an internship with local, pre-approved trades companies. We ask each company to commit to holding one apprenticeship position for every student they take on an internship. Students are explicitly told that the apprenticeship is not guaranteed, but it can be earned during their internship.