Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Canadian Provinces Ink Maritime Training Deal

By Mark Edward Nero

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.