September 15, 2015
Developing our workforce
By Sally Harvey CAE, CLT, CLM
Manager Education and Labour Development
Manager Education and Labour Development
Landscape Ontario’s Education and Labour Development committee has identified the Horticulture Technician Apprenticeship program as a top priority.We have been told that if industry does not start to leverage this gift from government, then the opportunity may change. Of course, we do not want this to happen.
In order to prevent that from happening, we have been working hard on initiating additional support to ensure sustainable registrations and completions. Activities to date include, but are not limited to:
- Heightened promotion and outreach to industry
- Developing better connection to the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities to support a complex registration process
- Development of an optional registration support program for our members (LO can support completion of applications and the entire process for apprentices and employers)
- Development of an optional Apprenticeship Registry to enable us to communicate with those progressing through the system, in order to ensure that all incentives (for employers and apprentices) and steps are taken advantage of along the way to support completions and success
We also are offering that an LO representative will visit every level 1 and level 2 class during the first two weeks of in-class instruction. This will allow us to better connect with the apprentices and allow them to opt in to the registry.
For a vast array of information on the Horticulture Technician apprenticeship program, go to horttrades.com/apprenticeship.
LO looks forward to enabling more horticulture technician registrations and completions in Ontario. I personally look forward to your feedback and suggestions for improved support and connectivity.
Please feel free to contact me at sharvey@landscapeontario.com.
Many thanks for all that you do in developing our workforce.