Recent apprenticeship numbers released by the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities shows a drastic increase in the number of registered apprentices in some manufacturing trades from just six years ago. Having done a number of skilled trade research studies and projections over the past 10 years, I'm pleased to see a rebound in some, but with changing skill set requirements, it should be expected that we also see some declining enrolment in others.

In October 2004, there were 140 registered apprentices in the Industrial Electrician Trade. In June 2010, that number has doubled to 283 with 74 new registrants in the last year alone. General Machinist and Industrial Mechanic Millwright are both up almost 100 in the same time period at 279 and 326 respectively.

The number of Tool & Die Maker apprentices remains about the same however when looking at Machine Tool Builder & Integrator (MTBI) and Mould Maker (MM) occupations, the number of apprentices has actually dropped by almost 50%. MTBI had 100 active apprentices in 2004 and now has only 61 while MM had 26 in 2004 and only 11 now. MM has also had no new registrants in the past year which could possibly indicate the declining need for this type of specific skill set.

We are also seeing growth in other skilled trades that were of concern only a few short years ago. In 2004, Brick and Stone Masons were few and far between, providing little opportunity to provide apprenticeships. However in June 2010, there were 78 active apprentices and 18 were signed on in the past year.  In the transportation industry, there are now 365 active apprentices in Truck & Coach Technician with 91 of those signed in the past year alone. For those of you with leaky pipes, you'll be pleased to know that 47 new apprentice Plumbers also were signed on in the last year.

If you'd like to see the top 10 apprenticeships for June 2010 check out our website news section at www.workforceplanningboard.com

If you have any questions or comments, please don't hesitate to contact me at carol@workforceplanningboard.com