November 22, 2018 (Toronto, ON) – With yesterday’s Royal Assent of
Bill 47 (Making Ontario Open for Business Act, 2018), the Ontario Electrical League (OEL) looks forward to a future of improved job prospects, ending several decades of restricted journeyperson to apprentice ratios.
“Regarding the trades landscape in Ontario, the OEL has viewed ratio restrictions as one of our utmost priorities when lobbying the government for a fair and conducive electrical industry,” said OEL President, Stephen Sell. “We recognize that
Bill 47 is the key to the future of hundreds of potential jobs. The OEL has been waiting and working to help change these regulations, and we look forward to seeing the numbers rise in apprenticeship placements.”
Sell said the OEL members had been extremely frustrated by the previous Liberal government’s complicated, confusing ratio restrictions, along with the red tape and paperwork involved with hiring apprentices. These unreasonable rules had prevented many OEL members from hiring apprentices and growing their businesses.
A previous survey conducted by the OEL in the summer of 2018 asked its members how many additional apprentices they would hire if ratio restrictions were lifted. An astonishing 73% said they would hire more, and based off OEL survey results alone, the survey accounted for 307 job availabilities for apprentices.
“Our survey showed that hundreds more jobs would be available to apprentices – and that’s strictly speaking from our association,” said Sell. “We can only imagine what those numbers would look like if the survey would’ve been expanded across Ontario.”
Bill 47 received Royal Assent on November 21, 2018, paving the way for emerging apprentices to receive the necessary training needed to become licensed in their respective fields – and allowing employers across Ontario to properly hire and train the next generation of tradespeople without unnecessary ratio setbacks.
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About the Ontario Electrical League
The Ontario Electrical League is a non-profit provincial organization, dedicated to over 20 chapters and more than 12,000 individual members from the electrical industry. League members include electrical contractors, electricians, apprentices, utilities, generators, inspectors, distributors, manufacturers, manufacturers’ representatives, consulting engineers, educators and service companies.
Media Contact
Bao Xiong – Communications Specialist and Chapter Support, Ontario Electrical League
bao.xiong@oel.org
905-238-1382