The governments of Ontario and Nova Scotia announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to improve interprovincial mobility for skilled tradespeople, including post-journeyperson certification.
Ontario is seeking new ways to improve the labour supply and create the opportunity for qualified skilled tradespeople to become certified in Ontario and address labour shortages. At the same time, Nova Scotia aims to create a competitive workforce by opening up pathways into trades for more apprentices and removing barriers for credential recognition to meet labour market demands.
“Building on the success of our MOU with the Government of Alberta last month, we’re excited to partner with Nova Scotia to improve interprovincial mobility for skilled tradespeople and explore new opportunities with the Atlantic provinces. This will help fill in-demand jobs across both provinces and support our mutual goals of building stronger communities,” said David Piccini, Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development.
“Nova Scotia is a growing province and we need even more skilled trade workers to build our homes and hospitals infrastructure and provide services to Nova Scotians,” said Jill Balser, Minister of Labour, Skills and Immigration. “We are making bold decisions to make it easier to fairly assess qualified professionals and improve labour supply.”
Ontario’s MOU with Nova Scotia builds on the MOU Ontario signed with Alberta in July to collaborate on growing the skilled trades and remove barriers for the flow of labour between these two jurisdictions, complementing ongoing work to harmonize Red Seal trades nationally. Ontario is also working with the governments of Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador to exchange innovative ideas on removing the interprovincial barriers in the skilled trades.
“The need for qualified skilled trades professionals is more critical now than ever before and this MOU will support a growing labour market and foster a competitive workforce. The new MOU is reflective of our agency’s ongoing efforts to align Ontario’s apprenticeship programs with Red Seal trades across Canada,” said Melissa Young, CEO, Skilled Trades Ontario.
Nova Scotia is investing $100,000 annually to support this work, which is part of the $100-million investment announced in October 2023 to recruit, retain and train more people in the skilled trades. The province is accelerating growth in the skilled trades and modernizing the apprenticeship and trades qualification system to meet the needs of a growing province.
“We need more skilled trades professionals to help build our province, faster. Recognizing the experience and training of newcomers to the Province is a solid step in ensuring all international skilled trades professionals can work in Nova Scotia as soon as they arrive so they can build a life here. By partnering with Ontario, we can work together to ensure the process is quicker and more seamless for newcomers,” said Kim Kennedy, COO, Nova Scotia Apprenticeship Agency.
Featured image: Jill Balser, Nova Scotia Minister of Labour, Skills and Immigration (left) and David Piccini, Ontario Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development. (Government of Ontario)
