Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic School Board's and Grand Erie School Board's
Regional Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program (OYAP)
Our website is a partnership between the Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board and the Grand Erie District School Board to support students that are interested in exploring career opportunities in Skilled Trades.
By 2025 it is expected that Canada’s labour shortage will be 1. 2 million and that 40 percent of occupations will be in Skilled Trades. These statistics present incredible opportunities for the future!
This website was created to engage students, teachers, and parents in an active exploration of the benefits of following a career pathway into the Skilled Trades. Our goal is to raise awareness by promoting many exciting options in these professions as the Skilled Trades offer high job satisfaction, strong job demand, good earning potential, hand-on work, transferable skills and career growth.
This resource becomes an OYAP Skilled Trades "Hub", providing information on how to prepare for career opportunities along the journey.
Many thanks to all our community partners who continue to support our schools with Co-op, OYAP and other Experiential Learning program opportunities.
Canada is facing a significant shortage of skilled tradespeople, which is expected to persist through 2026 and beyond. Several factors ccontribute to this issue:
- Aging Workforce: approximately 700,000 of Canada's 4 million skilled tradespeople are set to retire by 2028.
- Training Gaps: There is a need for more effective traning and apprenticeship programs to replace retiring workers.
- Economic Impact: The shortage is affecting various sectors, cincluding contstruction and manufacturing, leadinfg to increased costs and delays in projects.
Efforts to address these shortages include promoting trades as a viable career path and improving traininig programs. However, the challenge remains significant, and businesses may continue to struggle with recruiting and retaining skilled tradespeople.