'We need more skilled trades professionals to help build our province, faster'
Ontario and Nova Scotia are supporting a framework for collaboration on international credential recognition and post-journeyperson certification.
Under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), the provinces will collaborate to improve recognition of international credentials for skilled trades professionals
“Nova Scotia is a growing province, and we need even more skilled trades professionals to build our homes, hospitals and infrastructure,” said Jill Balser, minister of labour, skills and immigration. “We are excited to collaborate with the province of Ontario to improve recognition of international credentials, remove barriers, share processes and lessons learned, and work together to improve labour supply in both provinces.”
One reason many Canadians are struggling with finances these days is the labour shortage that numerous sectors are experiencing, according to a previous report.
Trades professionals address labour shortages
Ensuring internationally educated trades professionals can have their credentials recognized quickly and efficiently is essential to addressing current labour market challenges and supporting the successful integration of newcomers, according to the Nova Scotia government.
The province is investing $100,000 annually to support this work, which is part of the $100-million investment it announced in October 2023 to recruit, retain and train more people in the skilled trades. The government is accelerating growth in the skilled trades and modernizing the apprenticeship and trades qualification system to meet the needs of a growing province, it said.
“Under the leadership of Premier Ford, our government has an ambitious plan to build the highways, hospitals and homes our growing communities need, which means we need to create more pathways for apprentices and journeypersons who will help us build Ontario,” said David Piccini, minister of labour, immigration, training and skills development, Province of Ontario.
Previous agreement on credential recognition
In July, Ontario and Alberta signed an MOU detailing how provinces will work together to share expertise and information and explore an international credential recognition framework for skilled trades.
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“Building on the success of our MOU with the Government of Alberta last month, we’re excited to partner with Nova Scotia to remove interprovincial barriers for skilled tradespeople. We’re also exploring new opportunities with the Atlantic provinces. This will help fill in-demand jobs across both provinces and support our mutual goals of building stronger communities,” said Piccini.
The MOU between Ontario and Nova Scotia will be reviewed in 18 months.
In March, Saskatchewan announced it is investing an additional $1 million to increase the capacity for the development of skilled trades in the province.