APPRENTICESHIP MANITOBA
Apprenticeship Manitoba is working with the
colleges to expand online training to more
trades as the COVID-19 pandemic persists.
ability of training providers to offer training
in a format that complies with current
health orders impacts delivery formats.
The branch continues to work with training
providers to adjust delivery as required for
everyone’s safety.
Examinations
Apprenticeship Manitoba rescheduled
examinations to comply with public
health orders over the summer for those
that were postponed in the spring due to
COVID-19. Proactive measures are now
in place to protect the health and safety
of staff and clients prior to and during
examinations. This includes the use of
face masks, sanitation protocols, health
questionnaires and social distancing.
Apprenticeship Manitoba staff will con-tinue
to monitor public health orders and
will adjust examination dates and proce-dures
as required.
Priority has been given to apprentices
who have recently finished training and are
waiting to complete their examination to
gain certification. The branch is also work-ing
to arrange examinations for those that
were postponed near the completion of
training. Examinations for certification
through trades qualification applicants and
examination re-writes will be arranged once
the outstanding examinations that were
postponed due to COVID-19 have been
completed. Steady progression towards cer-tification
remains a priority.
Moving forward
The challenges presented by the pan-demic
have forced creative solutions and
innovative approaches to service delivery
that Apprenticeship Manitoba is incorpo-rating
in its future operations. The branch
continues to analyze how it aligns technical
training with upcoming labour needs for
apprentices. It is refining registration pro-cesses,
class scheduling and online and
blended online and in-person models of
delivery to achieve the best outcomes for
students and employers.
While the pandemic continues,
Apprenticeship Manitoba will adjust its
operations to comply with all public health
orders as necessary. The priority is to ensure
the progression of apprentices to jour-neyperson
status in all trades by arranging
safe and suitable technical training.
Construction and infrastructure
projects will continue to be critical
to Manitoba’s economic recovery.
Apprenticeship Manitoba staff is engaging
with industry employers to encourage
them to train apprentices. As employers
provide 80 per cent of an apprentice’s
education through hands-on paid work
experience, the apprenticeship system
cannot function without the training,
expertise and mentorship they provide to
these talented individuals. Together with
the technical education they receive from
the colleges and schools, this will ensure
that the industry has a steady supply of
skilled and knowledgeable tradespeople on
its worksites. n
David McCutcheon has been the executive
director of Apprenticeship Manitoba since
February 2019. Prior to working for the provin-cial
government, McCutcheon spent 11 years at
Red River College in a variety of roles, which
included Chair of Construction Trades and
program manager with Continuing Education,
as well as instructional roles in various trades.
McCutcheon holds certifications in adult edu-cation,
project management and a variety of
mechanical heating, ventilation and air condi-tioning
trades. McCutcheon started his working
life in private industry and gained management
experience with smaller local businesses as well
as large national corporations.
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