NEWS RELEASE
MP VANCE BADAWEY
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Niagara Centre MP Vance Badawey will speak in the House of Commons today, June 12, to highlight the need for a Federal Trades Strategy.
“Businesses in Niagara, and across the country, are in desperate need of skilled tradespeople,” Badawey said. “We need to support both employers and their employees in being better prepared for the future.”
Industry partners have been universally supportive of the initiative. “Workers need to retool and upgrade their skills in order to succeed in Canada’s rapidly changing labour market.” said Hassan Yussuff, President of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC). “We can overcome skill shortages, but we need to listen to stakeholders and learn what works in other jurisdictions.”
Others like Mark Cherney, Business Manager of IBEW Local 303 and President of the Niagara and Haldimand Building Trades Council have noted that “…A study on how labour mobility strategies can be explored, as well as attracting and retaining more women, Indigenous people, youth and new Canadians to a career path in the skilled trades is needed. The current government has done a great job investing in the skilled trades, and now is the time for the next step, and that is for a National Strategy.”
It is expected that the strategy will not only address the shortage of skilled workers but also remove barriers to training to open up new opportunities for those switching careers or expanding their current skills.
For Badawey there is a great deal of confidence that “… by working together, government, industry, organized labour and educational partners can develop a strategy that meets the needs for all concerned and makes a positive difference in the lives of many Canadians.”
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