Making It Easier and Faster to Work in the Skilled Trades:

Government Appoints Training and Skills Advisors to Consult with Industry and Stakeholders

TORONTO — Ontario is taking steps to make the province open for business and open for jobs by appointing two new training and skills advisors to help make the skilled trades and apprenticeship system more user friendly.

Today, Ross Romano, Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities announced that Adam Melnick and Andrew Pariser have been appointed as the new Training and Skills Advisors (TSAs) for a period of two years. They will lead consultations with industry and stakeholders and provide recommendations to the Minister to modernize the skilled trades and apprenticeship system.

“In order to get people the right jobs, we need to make it easy for them to get the right training – training that matches what employers are looking for,” said Romano. “That’s why I am so pleased that we are taking this next step in our modernization of the skilled trades and apprenticeship system. Adam and Andrew will hear directly from people involved in the sector – employers, apprentices, skilled tradespeople, and training providers. With their help, we can make meaningful changes to our current system and make it easier and faster to get people trained, certified, and begin working in the trades.”

“Both Adam and Andrew are industry leaders and proven facilitators who know that jobs in the skilled trades are respected, in-demand and lead to rewarding, life-long careers,” said Romano. “I have every confidence in their abilities to learn from Ontario’s apprentices, employers, training providers, and skilled tradespeople, and to bring forward recommendations that will help us make it more desirable than ever to join the workforce as a skilled tradesperson.”