A newly-formed Apprenticeship Futures Commission will engage the public and industry to make recommendations on enhancing and expanding Manitoba’s apprenticeship and certification system to better meet the needs of the province’s labour market, Competitiveness, Training and Trade Minister Jim Rondeau announced today.

“The commission’s work will build upon the province’s current accomplishments, with a 52 per cent increase in apprenticeships since 1999,” said Rondeau.  “However, as the availability of skilled labour remains critical to maintaining growth, we must find new ways to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the system to attract more workers to the provincial apprenticeship program.”

Leonard Harapiak has been appointed chair of the commission which is comprised of 12 members from key strategic sectors such as construction, manufacturing, transportation services, northern industry, labour, education and equity.

“This new commission will build on the strong foundation and tradition of excellence in trades training in our province,” said Harapiak. “A highly-skilled workforce is vital to the overall economic future of Manitoba. The input of various stakeholders will create employment opportunities for skilled trades people through a renewed apprenticeship training system that focuses on the needs of individual workers, employers and the public.”

The commission is mandated to consult with the public and stakeholders regarding existing apprenticeship and related training and certification systems to identify opportunities and challenges with respect to meeting the changing and evolving needs of the Manitoba labour market.

It will engage key stakeholders to develop creative, innovative and practical solutions and approaches focusing on flexibility, enhancement and/or expansion of the existing apprenticeship training and certification systems and make recommendations intended to achieve improvements to and expansion of the apprenticeship system and its service delivery mechanisms.

Rondeau noted that while Manitoba does a good job training and certifying skilled tradespeople, every province in the country is feeling increased labour market pressures. The province will continue to work with its partners including employers, government educational institutions and employees to increase opportunities for young people in the trades.

 “The government of Manitoba is working hard to meet the challenge of increasing training capacity to match the high demand of the labour market,” said Rondeau. “During the next four years, the government of Manitoba will work to add an additional 4,000 apprenticeship training spaces and we believe this commission will help government in this regard.”