On February 5th, HRAI and ORAC representatives met with policy advisors to Ontario Minister of Government and Consumer Services Lisa Thompson to discuss options for the introduction of a gas technician apprenticeship program. For many years, contractor members in Ontario have been asking for an apprenticeship program that would aid in the development of competent gas technicians, relying on the “earn as you learn” model of training that works so well for other trades.
About a decade ago, HRAI, ORAC and other industry advocates succeeded in persuading the Ministry of Training Colleges and Universities (MTCU) to strike a partnership arrangement with TSSA under which MTCU would oversee the apprenticeship process and TSSA would set and administer the technical training standards that technicians would have to meet (consistent with TSSA’s regulatory authority), including the competency standards, exams, etc. This arrangement resulted in the publication in 2009 of an Apprenticeship Training Standard for Gas Technicians (the 636G designation) and in-school curriculum standards for three levels of training.
With the formation of the Ontario College of Trades a year later, the lines of responsibility blurred, the implications of the proposed new designation became less clear as questions arose about whether the apprenticeship component should be compulsory or not, and the MTCU’s arrangements with TSSA were called off.
But the industry’s interest in seeing such a program did not diminish.
With the recent legislation that transfers responsibility for trade licensing and apprenticeship back to the MTCU, HRAI re-opened discussions, specifically with Minister Lisa Thompson’s office, and the response from the discussion on February 5th was very encouraging. Though concrete steps will probably have to await the roll-out of the new administrative model that will replace OCOT, background work can begin, building on the training documents that were developed in 2009.
For more information, contact Martin Luymes at 416-453-5899 or email mluymes@hrai.ca.