Since leaving his post as head of Unifor Local 444, Dave Cassidy has been working to find solutions to Ontario's skilled trades gap.
Now that his first report is complete, Cassidy hopes the public will be able to review it by this summer.
"We're going to try to implement most of the stuff in my report. Hopefully everything gets implemented, but we're not greedy," said Cassidy. "If we can get some of the things done, we will be moving the needle."
As the province's advisor for skilled trades partnerships, Cassidy has spent the past two years speaking with stakeholders across Ontario, including colleges and universities, unions, and skilled trades workers, to find out what works and what doesn't.
His report includes recommendations to boost employment and retain workers, such as making it easier to become an apprentice.
Cassidy likens the current system to "the Tokyo subway."
"It's really complex, but Skilled Trades Ontario is already moving forward to condense it, to make it user-friendly," he said. "Employers don't have time to sit there and go through all the paperwork."
Cassidy said it has been difficult to get into the programs that teach the trades, but the Minister of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security has added new seats. This includes the August announcement last year that the Ontario government would invest $75 million to train 7,800 more students.
About 25,000 people enrolled in apprenticeship programs last year, but the province has no mechanism to find out if they stayed in their employment or moved on.
"We didn't track very well where apprentices were, or where their journey was, or did they finish," added Cassidy.
Cassidy also recommended updating the Ontario Young Apprenticeship Program, something that hasn't been done in the program's 27-year existence.
At the level of government, the former President of Windsor's largest union local said ministries working in silos need to end. In a case of 'does the right hand know what the left hand is doing,' Cassidy makes a case for greater collaboration within the Ontario government.
Cassidy said he only completed the report a few weeks ago, but added Premier Doug Ford and Labour Minister David Piccini are eager to move ahead quickly on the recommendations.
