- Jared Zaifman, London Home Builders Association
"We're losing a lot of our senior folks, which has been difficult, especially as we need them to train up apprentices," said Jared Zaifman, chief executive officer of the London Home Builders Association, which is trying to build 47,000 homes before 2031.
Before the changes, an apprentice had to be supervised by three journeymen to get a licence. In 2018, the province changed the requirements to a one-to-one training ratio, significantly lowering the number of senior workers required to certify a new generation. The change is one of many the Ontario Progressive Conservative government has made, lowering regulations for businesses to create blue-collar jobs. It's a marked departure from the dominant educational philosophy in the province that, for decades, favoured getting a higher education over getting trained in the trades."We've basically been telling people that the only way to be successful in life is by going to university.