By CRM Staff
Peterborough, Ontario — October 13, 2017 — The challenges and opportunities of apprenticeships in the automotive industry were the main discussion points of a recent presentation made by France Daviault, Senior Director of Stakeholder Relations for AIA Canada, to the Economic and Social Development’s Commission (ESDC) employer forum and the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour, Patricia Hajdu.
To prepare for the meeting, Daviault held an “industry cluster” call to identify some of the main points that businesses in the sector would like to be relayed to the Minister. A total of 13 stakeholders from the collision and mechanical repair industries provided insight and feedback.
The presentation highlighted key topics such as broadening the scope of job grants in Canada; reviewing employment insurance for apprentices; incentives for employers to send apprentices to school, ensuring provinces work with educators to develop training modules that allow employers to have options as to when to send the apprentice for training, and promoting trades through a potential national campaign.
There was also an announcement of a “New Skills Lab,” which will work with industry to identify the skills of the future.
“Although we need to be realistic about the actual changes that are possible during this government’s tenure, it was exciting to have automotive at the forefront of most conversations,” Daviault said. “The points during my presentation were echoed by other industries during the meeting.”
A statement from AIA Canada said the presentation was important for two reasons: “[The presentation] proved that AIA is seen as the go-to resource for governments on issues that impact the automotive sector, and it also highlighted AIA’s new approach to government relations – one that pulls together members and stakeholders to participate in a focused, issue-based conversation that informs, comments and positions with government.”
AIA is currently working on on developing an overall strategy for its engagement on the issue of labour, which it expects to share shortly. For more information, please visit aiacanada.com.
