News & Events
After finishing a general arts degree at Wilfrid Laurier University in 2005, Martin Severino spent years working nomadically as a treeplanter and golf pro. Eventually, at 35, he decided to pivot to the skilled trades and chose to settle in his hometown of Kingston, Ont.
To his surprise, getting qualified and employed as an electrician was not easy.
As Canada looks for ways to reduce its economic dependence on the United States, what options are on the table? The Rundown examines efforts to remove interprovincial trade barriers and improve labour mobility across the country, with Sarah Watts-Rynard of Polytechnics Canada and Ryan Manucha of the C.D. Howe Institute. Then, could a proposed east-west oil pipeline help strengthen Canada’s energy security and economy? Oil market researcher Rory Johnston breaks down the potential benefits, costs, and challenges of a project being championed as a nation-building initiative by Premiers Doug Ford and Danielle Smith.
For generations, a university degree was seen as the path to a secure job. Now, many young Canadians are opting for the skilled trades.
Read More > “Trading up: Why young Canadians are choosing the trades over university”
With a major federal investment in the skilled trades earlier this spring, it is time for governments in Canada to pay attention to the nuts and bolts of apprenticeship training, ensuring those who take up the tools to build this country make it to the finish line.
Read More > “Canada has a terrible track record for retaining apprentices in the skilled trades”
