PROOF IS IN THE PLASTIC
You’re a tradesperson; you’ve worked hard to get where you are and you deserve something to carry with you that proves how talented you are—Skilled Trades Ontario agrees, announcing that more than 200,000 certificates and wallet cards will be given out. To serve both as proof of qualifications, as well as a symbol of pride. These certificates will be sent out this summer to about 17,500 tradespeople who earned their initial certification after January 1, 2022. The wallet cards, on the other hand, will be distributed in the fall to certified tradespeople and apprentices alike.
CRISIS MODE
The skills shortage in automotive trades has reached a “crisis” level, says a new study outlining Ontario’s industry employment data. The study, title The Labour Market for the Automotive Trades in Ontario, commissioned by the Motor Vehicle Retailers of Ontario (MVRO), delves into employment and apprenticeship data across compulsory trades. In Q1 2016, there were 830 job vacancies across automotive trades in Ontario. By Q3 2022, there were 4,350 vacancies. That’s a 424 percent increase. In Q1 2023, the latest data from MVRO, there were 3,125 job vacancies. On average, automotive service technicians and mechanics account for 81 percent of job vacancies; auto body collision repairers and estimators make up the remaining 19 percent of vacancies. The report also goes into age distribution of auto body and glass technicians and estimators in Ontario. In 2016, there were 435 workers in this category that were over the age of 65. In 2021, there were 655 auto body and glass techs or estimators aged 65+. Between 2016 and 2021, the number of workers aged younger than 24-years-old grew by less than 100 (860 workers aged under 24 in 2016; 935 in 2021). The number of auto body and glass techs/estimators aged between 25 years and 54 years dropped by 440 people between 2016 and 2021.
