Manitoba restoring the 1:1 apprenticeship ratio

The Manitoba government is restoring the 1:1 apprentice-to-journeyperson ratio.

Economic and Development Minister Jamie Moses made the announcement on Tuesday, saying the changes, which will come into effect on Oct. 30, will promote safety and better training.

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The minister added that changes to the Apprenticeship and Certification General Regulation will also ensure apprentices receive high-quality supervision and appropriate supports.

“The reason that we’re making this change is very simple; Manitobans deserve to go to work in a safe work environment and come home safely from those workplaces at the end of the day,” he said at a new conference on Tuesday.

Moses said the province is making other regulatory changes that will modernize the apprenticeship system to remove administrative burdens and improve the province’s competitiveness with other jurisdictions.

He added existing apprenticeship agreements can continue if employers have been permitted to have journeypersons supervise more than one apprentice; apprentices actively demonstrate continued progress; and journeypersons do not take on additional apprentices.

“Proper supports and supervision are necessary, and that’s part of what will ensure workers come home safely at the end of the day,” Moses said.

“In addition, a highly skilled workforce and helping apprentices get to completion is essential, and getting to that Red Seal worker is what’s needed as a part of growing our active and dynamic economy.”

The province noted the previous government got rid of the 1:1 ratio requirement, which was initially established in response to the 1999 death of Michael Skanderberg, who was killed while working unsupervised.

More information on Manitoba’s apprenticeship and certification system can be found online. 

'We are really disappointed': Industry leaders react to regulation

Leaders of two construction associations in Manitoba are speaking out against the ratio change.

“We are really disappointed with this announcement,” said Darryl Harrison, Winnipeg Construction Association (WCA) stakeholder engagement and advocacy director. “We’re also a bit bewildered of why this decision has been made.”

Harrison said moving to a 1:1 ratio takes away opportunities from up-and-coming skilled workers.

“There will just be less spots in Manitoba for apprentices to pursue a career in the trades,” he said. “And what it also might mean is current apprentices might have a harder time in filling hours to go to their next stage of apprenticeship.”

There are also concerns the new regulation will make it harder to get more boots on the ground and projects off of it.

“The long-term effect of this is that there’s less journeypersons in Manitoba to do the work, to do the construction that Manitobans rely on.”

Rural parts of the province are already struggling to find skilled workers, and the Construction Association of Rural Manitoba (CARM) said this change won’t help.

“That makes a big impact in that company,” said CARM executive director Shawn Wood. “It limits the number of people on a crew. It could increase costs of buildings because instead of having the two apprentices, you're employing more (journeypersons), which raises the cost of labour.”

The province said it’s willing to be flexible based on regional needs.

“In cases where in remote areas there might be challenges with the number of journey people, we can look at those on a case-by-case basis,” Moses said.

When it comes to addressing the province’s safety issues with 2:1 ratios, Wood said those issues lie in supervision.

“When we talk ratio, it's more of a supervision issue,” Wood said. “That those that are supervising the apprentices have to ensure they're actually on-site doing the supervision piece. And that's what will make it a safer environment.”

The Manitoba Trucking Association agreed, with a spokesperson telling CTV News the 1:1 ratio will impact the recruitment and training of new technicians in an industry already facing a shortage of workers.

Several associations are asking the province to consider keeping the 2:1 ratio for some trades, which they believe would allow for more opportunities to bring in and retain skilled workers in Manitoba.

Starting next week, the new regulation will cover all trades except for estheticians.

“I think it's very worthwhile having discussions about every other trade that they decided to blanket with this change, to decide whether it's appropriate or not,” said Harrison.