For those who want to work in the skilled trades

By MPP Toby Barrett

To The Haldimand Press

Last winter I hosted a roundtable for local businesses. Attending was MPP Michael Parsa, then Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation, and Trade. One common theme prevailed: there is a lack of skilled labour and, in many cases, a lack of work ethic. This is something I realized several years ago during a whirl-wind tour of 50 businesses across Haldimand Norfolk.

When we look at the jobs available in Haldimand Norfolk, there are a tremendous number of skilled and unskilled positions. For example, during the growing and harvest season, there are many unskilled labour positions available at farms. As well, there are a lot of business owners, large and small, who need people in the trades – plumbers, electricians, welders, maintenance mechanics, and the list goes on. There is no shortage of work here, but rather a shortage of workers. As a result, we hire offshore workers for the seasonal positions at farms and subcontract workers for the skilled jobs. And the question remains, when the work is here, why do we have so many people without jobs?

We have people with post-secondary degrees and diplomas who are unemployed and secondary school students who do not work full-time summer jobs. Again, I ask the question why the unfilled jobs and why the unemployment?

For the past 15 years, tradespeople, employers, and apprentices have been burdened by a mismanaged skilled trades system. In June, during Question Period, I asked Premier Doug Ford how the Ontario Government plans to modernize the skilled trades framework.