Archived News Releases

Competitiveness, Training and Trade Minister Andrew Swan today received the consensus report of the Apprenticeship Futures Commission on modernizing and expanding Manitoba’s apprenticeship system to better meet the needs of the province’s growing labour market. 

 

“I would like to thank the members of the committee for their dedicated work on developing a comprehensive list of recommendations for change,” said Swan. “I will be looking closely at their suggestions for updating and expanding the apprenticeship system in forthcoming weeks in order to attract more workers to the program and increase the availability of skilled labour to meet the growing demand.”

 

The 12-member committee, chaired by Leonard Harapiak, consulted 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 needs of the Manitoba labour market.

 

The report provides 22 recommendations including:

·         increasing the capacity of the technical training system to meet the projected need for skilled tradespeople including better partnerships with the public school system;

·         creating a comprehensive public promotion and education campaign about apprenticeship in Manitoba;

·         exploring the introduction of a variety of incentives to encourage increased employer participation in the apprenticeship system;

·         enhancing the financial support to apprentices during in-school training and pursuing discussions to significantly reduce the waiting period for apprentices;

·         significantly increasing the participation of under-represented groups in the apprenticeship system in Manitoba (Aboriginal people, new Canadians, women and the disabled); and

·         reviewing existing provincial legislation and regulations to support the growth of technical training spaces.