Education/training
Federal budget boosts apprenticeshipLast week's federal budget delivered good news to the skilled trades by introducing tax credits and incentives that will support apprentices and encourage businesses to hire them. LINDA WHITE |
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 [ 2006-05-10 ] |
Durham College president
In his budget speech, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty noted that one of his government's priorities is to encourage apprenticeships and support apprentices in their training. He pledged to invest more than $500 million over the next two years in the Apprenticeship Job Creation Tax Credit and Apprenticeship Incentive Grant, which he says will benefit 100,000 apprentices.
The federal government will also invest $155 million over the next two years for the cost of tools deduction, which Flaherty says will benefit about 700,000 employed tradespeople in Canada.
The tax credits and incentives are earning praise. "We're very positive about all those initiatives," says Scott MacIvor, CEO of the Ontario Construction Secretariat, which represents both organized labour and organized management. But perhaps most importantly, he believes the budget sends an important message about the value of skilled tradepeople.
"The trades don't get the respect they deserve, though they're worthwhile, interesting, challenging and also quite lucrative," MacIvor says.
"The person who goes into apprenticeship starts earning from day one. Once a journeyperson ... they're able to go anywhere and earn a living at their craft. We welcome that the skilled trades are getting a higher profile."
That's why the Construction Secretariat hosts Future Building (www.futurebuilding.ca), an annual hands-on career exhibition that highlights skilled trades in the industrial, commercial and institutional sector of Ontario's construction industry. It was held in Toronto in February and will be in Ottawa next year.
The tax credits and incentives announced in last week's budget are also earning rave reviews among educators.
"We're facing a major shortage of skilled tradespeople in today's workforce," says Leah Myers, president of Durham College. It's delivering education and training to 2,000 registered apprentices.
"(Last week's) announcement of apprenticeship tax credits and incentives is an important step toward helping Canada develop a better skilled and educated workforce that is able to compete in today's global economy," Myers says.
The budget has something for both apprentices and their employers, notes Peter Woodall, chairperson of Automotive and Motorcycle Programs at Centennial College in Toronto. "The emphasis is on supporting employers and new apprentices, which is what the industry really needs," he says.
"When employers call (the college) looking for apprentices, they usually want fourth- or fifth-year apprentices someone else has largely trained because accepting new apprentices ... will cost them for a year or two. The job creation tax credit and incentive grant for apprentices is sort of a wage subsidy on both ends."
The budget comes on the heels of a study released in March by the Canadian Apprenticeship Forum and Skills Canada that shows that fewer than one in five employers (18%) in the manufacturing, transportation, construction, and services sectors currently employ apprentices in Canada.
According to the study, 55% of employers have never hired apprentices. It comes at a time of heightened awareness over the shortage of skilled trades in Canada due to declining birth rates and an aging workforce.
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APPRENTICESHIP AND THE BUDGET
Last week's federal budget included tax credits and incentives to boost the country's skilled trades, including:
- a new Apprenticeship Job Creation Tax Credit of up to $2,000 per apprentice, for each of the first two years of their contract;
- a new $1,000 Apprenticeship Incentive Grant for the first two years of a Red Seal apprenticeship program and other programs;
- a new $500 tax deduction for tradespeople for the cost of tools, in addition to the $1,000 Canada Employment Credit.
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