Skilled Trades Ontario Leadership Announced
With the official launch of the much-anticipated crown agency Skilled Trades Ontario (STO) earlier this month, Labour Minister Monte McNaughton has revealed the leadership at Skilled Trades Ontario. An independent Board of Directors will lead the agency in delivering on the government’s Skilled Trades Strategy which aims to break the stigma surrounding the trades, simplify the system, and encourage employers to hire more apprentices.
The new STO Board of Directors are as follows:
○ Michael Sherrard, employment lawyer at Sherrard Kuzz LLP (Chair);
○ Karen Renkema, Ontario vice-president, Progressive Contractors Association of Canada;
○ John Breslin, national director of skilled trades, Unifor;
○ Lindsay Engel, dean of applied science and technology, Sheridan College;
○ Michael Gallardo, president and CEO, Merit Ontario;
○ Lee Greenberg, former PC staffer-turned-principal at Policy Concepts Inc.;
○ Ronald Kelusky, Ontario's former chief prevention officer;
○ Kenneth Scott Player, former financial executive;
○ Christine Wellenreiter, director of strategy and market support for Canada Life’s group retirement area;
○ Industry representatives Jason Ottey, Shaun Scott and Melissa Young, whose appointments were made public in May.
This announcement comes as tradespersons across the province begin to explore the newly launched STO website which offers new online services that will help apprentices conveniently manage their careers in one place with an online one-stop shop for scheduling classes and exams, submitting forms, paying fees and more. These changes aim to make the process of entering the trades easier by reducing processing and registration times for applicants from 60 days to 12.
HRAI is pleased to see these new online services as this was one of the key recommendations made by HRAI during the STO stakeholder consultations that were reflected in the final legislation. Other HRAI recommendations that were also included in legislation were increased interprovincial alignment and labour mobility and the development of a continuum of compliance tools used by inspectors.
HRAI is committed to keeping our members informed of the most up-to-date information on the implementation of Skilled Trade Ontario and how it will inform the way the trades operate in Ontario.
For more information, contact Chelsea Goberdhan at 1-800-267-2231 ext. 236, or email cgoberdhan@hrai.ca.
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