Education/training
The complete Second Career skilled trades solutionEstablished in June 2008, the Youth Apprenticeship Standards Council (YASC) came onto the scene just as the Ontario government launched its Second Careers program. PRE-APPRENTICESHIP TRAINING INSTITUTE |
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YASC is a non-profit organization established to provide access to skilled trades and safety training and to link member employees with potential employers.
For those with no experience in the trades, individuals receive tools, safety equipment, safety training and hands-on training through YASC's only approved training facility -- the Pre-Apprenticeship Training Institute (PAT).
PAT currently trains people in Electrical, Plumbing, HVAC, Network Cabling and Small Appliance Repair and graduates meeting the YASC standards will be linked with employers in the industry including contractors, distributors and manufacturers.
Together, YASC and PAT have set the standard for entry-level workers into the skilled trades and have become recognized by the industry as the place to hire from and the place to train.
Historically, apprenticeships were secured by obtaining employment with a company and by apprenticing with a journeyman. More then ever before, employers are hiring people with strong foundational skills that can be obtained through a recognized pre-apprenticeship program.
THE INDUSTRY STANDARD
PAT was founded in 2005 because there was a desperate need for skilled people in the industry and no one was providing the solution for employers. As Rui Cunha, the facility's director of operations, was quoted as saying in the industry's Network Cabling magazine (Jan/Feb 2008): "We don't function like a traditional school. We're more like the employer's Human Resource and Training Department." Cunha went on to say that employers who hire from PAT see the institute as a partner that helps them grow their businesses with good people.
The response to PAT and YASC has been outstanding. Their industry partners include companies such as Bell Technical Solutions, O'Neil Electric and Hubbell (whose support of PAT has included donations of materials for their Network Cabling Specialist program and product demonstrations by Hubbell's Yves Thibodeau). Manufacturers such as DeWalt, Napoleon and Moen proudly sponsor tools and materials and are looking forward to being scholarship sponsors with YASC in the near future.
Industry associations have also become strong supporters. The PAT Institute is a proud member of the Ontario Electrical League (OEL) and has gained the League's full support and as quoted in their industry magazine, The Dialogue, in August 2008, "stands behind the training and recruitment efforts of this Institute and encourages members to consider PAT Institute pre-apprentice graduates for employment."
The electrical industry represents a large percentage of employers who now hire through the YASC and PAT.
"To date, our company has 12 (PAT Institute) former students working full-time," said John Greco, president of a large electrical company in Toronto. "We have found that the apprentices who graduate from the Pre-Apprenticeship Institute program fit into the real work environment easily and are productive from day one. We look forward to accepting Pre-Apprenticeship Training Institute graduates in the future."
More than 300 employers are already experiencing the many benefits of hiring PAT Institute graduates. The institute and their partner YASC work with both union and non-union employers.
Unions like the Christian Labour Association of Canada (CLAC) recommend the PAT Institute as the preferred recruitment and training facility for their contractors and have been quoted (Dialogue - August 2008) as saying, "We have been impressed with the Institute's quality training and dedication to promoting the skilled trades ... They have built an impressive training program where participants receive their training in a hands-on, practical manner. Their large training centre allows for participants to put into practice everything they have learned. Further, we appreciate the integrated role that safety plays in all aspects of their curriculum."
In Ontario, where thousands of jobs have been lost in the last year, many individuals are taking advantage of the government's Second Careers program and looking to YASC for their link to both training (through PAT) and employers/contractors.
Radcliffe Dixon, a former employee of Johnson Controls (a Tier 2 supplier to the automotive industry, and GM in particular) was one such individual. Upon receiving notice that he was to be laid off, Radcliffe starting looking into options and came across the Youth Apprenticeship Standards Council.
"It was a perfect fit t for me! YASC's approved training facility, PAT, offered a three-month training program in plumbing -- a trade I was always interested in," Radcliffe said. "They (PAT) provided me with my tools, safety equipment, safety training and all the materials I needed to learn as much as I could in those three months to really be productive when I went out to work."
Radcliffe said that PAT and YASC had the reputation of being the place "where industry hires."
"PAT is the only training facility approved by YASC and it was through them that I landed my first plumbing job with a prominent plumbing contractor. I am now out working in the trade, earning a living and well on my way to becoming a licensed plumber," Radcliffe said.
"With the professional way Youth Apprenticeship Standards Council promotes PAT graduates and the training I received at PAT, it's no wonder contractors are hiring exclusively from these organizations," he said.
Radcliffe graduated last August and has been working steadily with a commercial plumbing company that works all over the GTA.
Dwight Matthews is another PAT graduate who tells a similar story. "I was working for a large national company with little room to grow. I decided it was time to look for a second career and after looking around at different career paths and training facilities, I picked the PAT Institute and their electrical program because of its recognition in the industry as the standard for the industry. After three months of intensive hands- on training my company hired me the day I graduated. I had no need to look for a job because this is where employers in the industry come to hire.
"My entire class graduated on Friday and was working on Monday," Matthews said. "That was two years ago. Today I have bought a house and I'm currently the union steward for my company."
At a time when jobs are being lost and people are feeling displaced and without hope, industry leaders like YASC are bringing the skilled trades industry together -- contractors, distributors, manufacturers and associations are working together to provide job opportunities to those transitioning from one lost career into one with direction and growth.
YASC is part of the industry's answer to making trades accessible. Through their efforts to promote lesser known trades such as Appliance Service Technician, Network Cabling and Lift Truck Mechanic, and well-known trades like Electrical, Plumbing, and Heating & Air Conditioning, YASC is opening the door to more trades to more people than ever before. With industry partners that include the Electro-Federation of Canada's Installation, Maintenance and Repair division (IMR); Bell Technical Solutions and the CLAC, YASC is a strong supporter of the PAT Institute's new Appliance Service Technician program and the Network Cabling Specialist program. Both new programs provide people with an opportunity to gain the needed hands-on skills, tools, safety training and industry connections to get a solid start in these lesser known trades.
YASC holds an open house monthly for interested individuals (the next one is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 26 at 6 p.m.). The open house is a perfect opportunity to find out more about the trades and how someone with no prior training can begin a career in the skilled trades. Industry partners come out to speak about their companies and the different sides to the skilled trades world (contracting, distributing, manufacturing), and recent graduates from the PAT Institute are on hand to share their experiences. Instructors from PAT are on hand to answer questions. For anyone considering a career in the trades but unsure which one would be for them, the YASC open house is a great starting point.
Members of YASC not only believe in the importance of being involved in their industry but, more importantly, in the need to give back to their industry and they are doing this in different ways. For those needing training, there are now scholarships available to offset the cost of tools and materials; for those with skills, there job opportunities with employer members looking to hire on skilled people.
Second Careers - A New Beginning
More than just training, YASC and the PAT Institute are offering individuals such as those hard hit by the automotive industry layoffs a chance at a second career. With the average age of students ranging between 22 and 40, they are now enrolling more mature students who are anxious to be working and who realize that the trades are a stable and secure career option -- a career that will be less impacted by the economic climate than other sectors.
With an ever growing number of employers hiring through YASC, all students achieving the standard of 75% in their trade and employability skills are promoted by YASC to member employers and find work.
As well, YASC provides job links for experienced apprentices and licensed trades people.
Visit the website at www.youthac.ca or call 416-636-8218 and book a seat for the next open house.
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