The province has announced changes aimed at getting more people into skilled trades.<\/p>\n
New apprentices need to have close supervision under a journeyman which limits the number of people entering a trade.<\/p>\n
Amendments to the Apprenticeship and Trades Qualifications Act General Regulations announced Wednesday include increasing the number of apprentices a journeyperson can train from one to two for most trades; exempting youth apprentices from the journeyperson-to-apprentice ratio to remove barriers to youth apprenticeship while still providing direct supervision; and adding flexibility for virtual supervision.<\/p>\n
To be certified in a skilled trade in Nova Scotia someone must first work as an apprentice with an employer to receive required on-the-job training. The training is done by certified journeypersons, with a limit on the number of apprentices they can train at a time.<\/p>\n
Employers must show they have enough certified journeypersons to train apprentices. The ratio of journeypersons to apprentices varied from trade to trade prior to this announcement.<\/p>\n
For clarity and consistency, the amendments remove all references to the ratio in specific trade regulations, except for trades that have a ratio of other than one-to-two.<\/p>\n
The Nova Scotia Apprenticeship Agency consulted with industry before recommending the changes.<\/p>\n
Many sectors had identified ratio requirements as a barrier to growth and recruitment.<\/p>\n
The province is aiming to double the number of apprentices to 22,000 by 2030 in order to meet current trends.<\/p>\n