TORONTO, March 15, 2019 /CNW/ – The Ontario Skilled Trades Alliance (OSTA) is thrilled with this morning’s announcement from Minister of Education Lisa Thompson about upcoming changes to the province’s education curriculum; specifically, those related to the skilled trades.
“These are important changes that will help to close the skills gap in the province,” said Patrick McManus, Chair of the OSTA. “We are very happy the government is listening to the needs of businesses in the province, as these are changes that we have long-been advocating for.”
Included in this morning’s announcement are changes to the elementary and secondary school curriculum that focus on bringing back experiential learning into schools and educating students, parents, and guidance counselors on the excellent and varied career opportunities that exist across the skilled trades.
“Getting involved in the skilled trades can offer a very rewarding career path, yet many people are either unaware or discouraged to follow these paths from a young age due to widely held misconceptions about working in these industries,” McManus said. “These curriculum changes will go a long way toward helping address these misconceptions. And this is important because we know that these jobs are going to be here in the future, so it’s important that we are educating and encouraging students to seek out and pursue these careers now.”
The Ontario Skilled Trades Alliance represents companies that employ over 400,000 skilled tradespeople acrossOntario who build transit, hospitals, bridges and homes and provide professional and personal services like hair-styling and automotive repair. OSTA members are united by the common goal of closing the skills gap in Ontario.
