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Apprenticeship Support Project addresses the coming skilled trades shortage

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This article was published 25/08/2023 (829 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Brad Johnson knows the importance of being given an opportunity, and now through the Apprenticeship Support Project offered by First People’s Development Inc. (FPDI) he’s able to pay it forward.

“I was in a really bad place when I got into this trade and someone gave me an opportunity,” he says. “I’ll never forget that, because it really did change my life. I’m 53 and hopefully [going to] retire at 55, and I would never been able to do that without someone giving me the opportunity. So I always hire apprentices. I hire guys that no one would hire – I give someone an opportunity like someone gave me.”

As someone who already believed in the value of apprenticeship, Johnson’s company Heritage Mountain Heating and Cooling based in Maple Ridge, B.C. applied for an Apprenticeship Support Project grant through FPDI. The grant provides a $5,000 incentive for small and medium employers, of up to 499 employees, to hire first-year apprentices in one of the 39 Red Seal trades.

“In some ways I feel like I’m a coach,” says Johnson, when asked about his title. “You could put owner slash coach because, really, that’s what we’re doing. We’re coaching the younger generation.”

Johnson explains that because his business in B.C.’s climate is seasonally dependent and the cost of living is among the highest in the country, the grant helped offset a competitive salary for an apprentice. He also recognizes the importance of finding and retaining new talent interested in trades.

“If there was anything that I could share with someone reading this, [it] would be to really look at hiring apprentices and giving them an opportunity. Such a massive amount of people are going to retire and we’ve got nobody to fill those shoes,” he says.

According to BuildForce Canada, nearly 22 per cent of the country’s current construction workforce is expected to retire by 2030. Not only are not enough younger workers entering the trades to fill the gaps that will be left by retirees, but the ones that do may not be getting enough training due to the volume of work.

“Everyone says it’s a trade problem but it’s really an everybody problem,” says Johnson. “Because if you don’t have refrigeration, you’re going to have rotten food. If you don’t have heating, you’re going to have burst pipes in a cold house. If you don’t have proper builders, you’re going to have a really poor building to live in.”

Launched in June of 2022 the federally funded Apprenticeship Support Project aims to introduce a new and much-needed generation of apprenticeship-holders to the skilled trades, with a specific focus on empowering people not typically represented in Canada’s skilled labour force. Employers receive an additional $5,000 when the apprentice belongs to an equity-deserving group, including women, persons with disabilities, Indigenous people, members of the LGBTQ2+ communities, newcomers and visible minorities. Under the program, an employer can hire two first-year Red Seal apprentices per year, and apply for a grant of up to $20,000.

Johnson says his experience with application process was seamless, easy and very professional, with a quick response time. To find out more about the Apprenticeship Support Project or to apply, visit takeonthetrades.ca.