On Jan. 13, the Canadian provinces of British Columbia and
Nova Scotia signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at strengthening
workforce cooperation, including innovation and training in the shipbuilding
and industrial marine industries.
The two provinces said in an announcement that the agreement
positions them to work together “to innovate trades training in the
shipbuilding and industrial marine industries, improving outcomes for
apprentices and the sector overall.”
Under the deal, British Columbia and Nova Scotia are
expected to share labor market information such as workforce demand
projections, initiatives to support sector-based workforce planning and best
practices in labor market data analysis.
“Shipbuilding and marine industries are important to the
economies of both our coastal provinces,” British Columbia Minister of Jobs,
Tourism and Skills Training Shirley Bond said in a statement announcing the
agreement. “We will continue to work with government and industry partners to
align and improve apprenticeship training across Canada.”
“We share a strong shipbuilding industry,” added Karen
Casey, Nova Scotia’s acting Minister of Labor and Advanced Education. “We need
to take advantage of this and work together to help grow our two provinces’ economies.
This partnership helps our businesses to build their export capacity and take
full advantage of spin-off opportunities coming out of the industry.”
Key commitments identified in the MOU include: sharing and
leveraging best practices in trades training, including the evaluation of
training models in the shipbuilding and industrial marine industries; and assessing
and evaluating the training delivery models for marine sector trades training
and jointly develop and implement identified new models as appropriate in the
shipbuilding and industrial marine industries.
The agreement also calls for promoting youth participation
in trades training in the shipbuilding and industrial marine industries.