Building the province�s skilled labour force will be the focus of the upcoming Skills Task Force spring forum Strengthening Our Skills To Succeed, scheduled for May 20 in St. John�s. The forum will bring together key stakeholders from industry, business, labour and education, among others.

"We established the Skills Task Force as a partnership to ensure that necessary actions be taken to help meet the demand for skilled labour and to position the province to fully participate in emerging opportunities," said the Honourable Darin King, Minister of Education. "With large-scale development projects such as Hebron, the Lower Churchill and the nickel processing facility on our horizon, it is critical that all partners keep up the momentum to meet current and future needs for a highly skilled labour force."

Since the release of the Skills Task Force report in 2007, government and its partners have been actively engaged in implementing many of the 50 recommendations contained in the report. This work has been led by the Industry Coordinating Committee (ICC) which was established to encourage the continued implementation of the report�s recommendations.

"The ICC comprises representatives of business, labour, industry, education, government and non-governmental agencies and each has been instrumental in moving these recommendations forward," said Bob Ridgley, MHA for St. John�s North and chair of the ICC. "All partners have been focused on working closely together to effectively continue to expand our province�s labour force. The spring forum is an opportunity for all stakeholders to come together to discuss actions to date and future opportunities."

The Provincial Government has invested heavily in recent years to address challenges associated with the skilled trades sector. Since 2006, more than $50 million has been invested in the areas of apprenticeship, science and technology, programming, training and infrastructure. As a result of this investment, there is a new high school skilled trades program, the number of seats in skilled trades programs at College of the North Atlantic has doubled and a shop modernization program is underway so students are using top-of-the-line equipment. As well, apprentices can now receive credit for on-the-job training they do in Alberta, and the journeyperson/apprenticeship ratio has been increased.

The Skills Task Force report also highlighted the need to attract more females into non-traditional skilled trades. To that end, approximately $400,000 has been provided over the past two years to the IBEW to help bring more women to the electrical trade. It is anticipated this contract will see 96 to 144 female electricians certified over the next several years. A second contract valued at $300,000 with the Carpenters Millwrights Union has helped establish an office of women in apprenticeship, and among other activities, will create a work placement program to ensure women apprentices are finding the training they need to complete their programs.

The department is also moving forward with two new initiatives. Distance learning courses are under development for advanced training in construction and industrial electrician, and a youth apprenticeship program has been created for high schools. Both will go to pilot in the upcoming school year.

"I encourage all stakeholders to attend the spring forum," said Minister King. "We must remain diligent about building a qualified and skilled labour force and be prepared to demonstrate to the world that we are a competitive and attractive place to do business."

To download a registration kit, go to www.gov.nl.ca/edu. For more information on the Skills Task Force, please visit www.gov.nl.ca/edu/postsecondary/skillstaskforce/index.html or e-mail staskforce@gov.nl.ca.

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