Ontario College of Trades (OCOT) registrar and CEO George Gritziotis says after five years in existence it’s time for OCOT to finally start making progress on the full range of responsibilities within its mandate and get past some of the controversial regulatory distractions that have limited its effectiveness.
OCOT was barely out of the gate when in 2014 the Ontario government called a “pause,” Gritziotis noted during a presentation at the recent annual meeting of the Provincial Building and Construction Trades Council of Ontario, and appointed consultant Tony Dean to undertake a review of such issues as scopes of practice, trade classification, ratio reviews and enforcement.
Apprenticeship ratios and compliance and enforcement remain contentious almost two years after the former Liberal government passed Bill 70 implementing OCOT reforms.
“The one thing people have to remember, the College of Trades is a five-year-old organization and when it opened its doors, it focused on the regulatory piece,” Gritziotis, now one year into his term with OCOT, said in an interview after his Building Trades address. “The reality is, when you look at the act, it is much bigger than that. There is the apprenticeship journey, it is the quality of training, essentially it is addressing the skilled shortages that are looming.”
Promoting apprenticeships could involve a change of philosophy when it comes to jobsite scopes of practice disputes, Gritziotis suggested to the Building Trades delegates.
Should an unregistered new Canadian, for example, just be given a ticket, or might there be another strategy at a time when the sector is seeking new workers? Many new Canadians starting their first job in Canada in construction know nothing of OCOT or the Green Book, he said, they just want to put bread on the table.
“I know this is a contentious issue but I am throwing it out there,” he said. “The goal is compliance and to get compliance, you have to educate, you have to create awareness, you have to train, and if somebody breaks the law then yes you use enforcement and the penalties but you have to use judgment when you do it.
“When I think of an unregistered worker, I think of someone who could potentially fill a gap. Get them into the system, help them register. The College has a role to play in that.”
Entering its sixth year, OCOT has four goals, he said: focusing on the renewed regulatory role and refining the compliance and enforcement policy; streamlining the apprenticeship experience; renewing its commitment to stakeholder engagement; and protecting the certificate of qualification (C of Q).
On that fourth point, Gritziotis argued, there is balancing required between the needs of the 23 compulsory trades and the voluntary trades. All stakeholders need to be consulted, including employers and the government.
“We are trying to find a balance between this mandate of trying to fix something for the entire marketplace and being supported by one segment,” he said.
“My issue is, how do we ensure the integrity of maintaining the C of Q but also knowing that the voluntary trades play a big role in our economy.”
One step OCOT has taken, to expand its promotional role, has been to sign a memorandum of understanding with Skills Ontario to raise awareness and attract people to careers in the skilled trades.
“There is one thing on which I am very bullish,” said Gritziotis. “There are many organizations involved in the promotion of the trades. My goal is to get them all in a room together and let’s start talking about aligning our messaging.
“The worst thing you can do to a young person is tell them a trade is in demand, but there is no availability of work that allows them to get through their apprenticeship experience.”
Similarly, there has to be holistic thinking on such issues as apprenticeship ratios, Gritziotis said. The answers may not be as simple as merely adjusting ratios or abandoning them altogether, but there should be an additional focus on training.
“If you expand the classroom size but the instructor is not giving you quality training, you are not fixing the issues,” he said.
I agree with George’s comments, and with the Province recently pulling the plug on an organization that had too short a time in establishing itself, it is a disgrace and an insult to all trades workers and their futures in Ontario.