by Premier Tim Houston and Labour, Skills and Immigration Minister, Jill Balser announced measures this morning intended to recruit, retain and train more people in the skilled trades.
One measure will see the increasing of ratios of apprentices to one journeyperson on the jobsite from two to three in most trades.
The province is also creating a new stream in the Provincial Nominee Program under the Critical Construction Worker Pilot.
The new stream includes 21 in-demand occupations in the construction sector and won’t require a high school diploma as other streams do.
The province says it will also launch targeted recruitment strategies to make it easier to enter the skilled trades and bring about faster skilled trades training at both the pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship stages.
The government says the actions will cost about $100 million over three years.