Today in the House the Honourable Anne Kang, Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Training, introduced Bill 4, the Skilled Trades BC Act.  

This Act rebrands the Industry Training Authority (ITA) as SkilledTradesBC. The Minister states that the rebranding reflects the Crown Agency’s expanded mandate as a regulatory body, and a renewed focus on promoting and supporting apprentices and trainees with “enhanced and streamlined services”. 

At the core of this new regulatory role for the ITA is the introduction of a compulsory trades system which, if Bill 4 is passed, will start by introducing mandatory certifications for 10 mechanical, electrical, and automotive trades in BC.    

The BCCA strongly supports training and apprenticeship. However, we have cautioned the government that adding new barriers to entering the skilled trades may not be a productive course for our industry or for BC’s economy as a whole: 

• BC’s construction industry is facing a skills shortage of 11,300+ workers by the year 2030.

• Unemployment in BC is at generational lows in construction and most other industries. Job seekers have many options: we are competing with all of them. 
• The majority of BC’s construction employers (80%) have ten employees or less, limiting their operational capacity to participate in the apprenticeship system. 
• Most Level 1-4 training programs for apprenticeable trades are already operating at near or full capacity. Waitlists can already be as long as one year. 
• There is no measurable difference in safety outcome between provinces with compulsory trades and BC. 

“BCCA supports a fair, flexible solution that achieves a high standard of skill and safety without over-burdening workers or their employers with unnecessary barriers.” Says Chris Atchison, BCCA President. “BCCA will continue to be at the table, working to ensure the depth and scope of this new policy is balanced and fair to employers.”

Read the BC Governments News Release here.