Ontario has a shortage of skilled trades workers. Will its plan to attract high school students put their education at risk?

There's no quick fix.

Over the next five years, Ontario faces the challenge of filling 72,000 skilled trades positions - particularly in construction, which could slow the government's plans to build 150,000 new homes a year - while also boosting the number of women in apprenticeships.

The province has launched a variety of initiatives to boost the number of apprentices, with a particular focus on promoting the trades to high school students.

But the planned changes in secondary school - a mandatory tech credit as well easy pathways from classes to a career in the trades starting in Grade 11 - have raised concerns about how it will work, or even if it can.

The Education Ministry will launch consultations this fall, but already there are plenty of questions.

How many schools are no longer equipped to offer the trades? What happens with schools that don't have traditional shops - how do we make that work?" said Cathy Abraham, president of the Ontario Public School Boards' Association.

We have more questions about Grade 11 students going into apprenticeships" without finishing all of the typical high school credits, she added. We have more questions and concerns about that one. Some of them are just 16 when they come into Grade 11 and will be making decisions to leave traditional secondary school."

Nobody, she added, disagrees about the need for access to skilled trades - that's not it. We just have to do it right, and we are concerned."

After Premier Doug Ford announced the changes last month, Education Minister Stephen Lecce told the Star that part of the consultation is to listen to everyone to figure out the best road map to get this right.

That's why we're going to be listening to school boards, the educator side of it, employers and parents too - they all have important opinions," he added. We're going to bring it all together to plan and report back in the fall. This consultation is designed to be a listening exercise - how can we more efficiently create an accelerated path from high school into the skilled trades?"

Lecce also said the changes are for every child in Ontario, and I want young people to see themselves in these schools, particularly more girls, which is part of our emphasis."

In Ontario, there are almost 40 skilled trades that don't require a high school diploma, but 106 that do. Part of what the government will look at is easing entry requirements for those, figuring out how to get students to complete high school while also getting a head start in those trades.

Our government's mission is to fill the skills gap by better connecting Ontario students to these good-paying jobs, helping many students who may not have graduated now gain a credential that leads them to meaningful employment," Lecce said.

The province is working on updating its prior learning and assessment recognition," which gives mature students credit for their training and experience through apprenticeships toward a high school diploma, starting in fall 2024.

Upcoming consultations will include whether students could earn all 30 high school credits through their trades training - a prospect that has raised alarm bells among educators.

Lecce said he wants to ensure teens do have the requisite literacy and numeracy skills for graduation under that scenario.

But for Abraham, the potential that 30 credits could be skilled trades-related is disconcerting.

That's just fraught with problems," she said. I don't care if you are in the trades, it's important that you have a good understanding of reading, writing, arithmetic. You need a good foundation in English and how to write, to communicate - all of those things."

And another mandated credit could eliminate other electives students are interested in, especially students in programs like French immersion, who have little wiggle room in their timetable as is.

In elementary and secondary school, I still believe that experience is about finding out what it is you want to do, finding out what you're good at and finding something you never thought you'd be interested in," Abraham said.

For students in Catholic high schools, there are required religious courses that we would not want to see diminished," said Patrick Daly, head of the Ontario Catholic School Trustees' Association, who called for flexibility."

With all of the unknowns, that's why the consultation process is extremely important, so there's assurance that all needs are met ... fast-tracking of the apprenticeship programs are critically important, as well as ensuring that young people are prepared for all other areas of their life."

Both he and Abraham said school space is an obvious challenge, but also finding teachers as there is already a shortage.

The devil is in the details," added New Democrat MPP Chandra Pasma, her party's education critic. This could be a good thing - exposing more of our students to the trades as an option, and different kinds of tech. But we don't know yet what will be included - what will be considered a tech class? And there was no funding attached to this announcement - and we know that because of cutbacks, many schools don't have shop space anymore.

We have no idea how they are going to outfit spaces for these classes, or how they are going to purchase equipment for these classes. And staffing is a big concern - schools already have tech staff positions that they cannot fill," Pasma said.

Currently, secondary tech credits include communications technology, computer technology, construction technology, green industries, hairstyling and esthetics, health care, hospitality and tourism, manufacturing technology, technological design or transportation technology.

Matthew Bradley, the Toronto District School Board's co-ordinator of the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program, said students currently can enrol in the program after they've earned 14 credits, around Grade 11. It allows them to take classes as well as train for certain trades.

Bradley said he is looking forward to the provincial consultations on the planned changes.

I'm cautiously optimistic it can help," he said. It can fill the demand for skilled trades people and connect students with those amazing opportunities with minimal disruption to their education if it is done effectively, if it's done in an intelligent way."

The Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program itself is a student success initiative in that it increases engagement in school because a lot of students who are the most successful in the skilled trades don't want to be sitting behind a desk listening to someone talk about theories all day, and they don't want to be writing essays about poetry ... They feel constrained in high school.

There are a lot of students that really just want to get to work."

As for more skilled trades credits counting toward a diploma, Bradley welcomes that move, noting that a mandatory Grade 12 English credit is often a barrier to a student who is passionate about the skilled trades."

Students in the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program already have English credits, and will have taken the mandatory Grade 10 literacy test.

One snag in the province's plan is a problem he consistently has to deal with - finding employers to take on high school students. Despite the labour shortage, Bradley said it's a real challenge.

It's a huge investment in time from the employer," he said, adding that simplified federal tax incentives for employers could help.

The provincial government has focused on the trades - its Big Blue Collar Machine" pro-labour strategy helped attract new voters in the last election - and has added discussions about trades careers starting in the primary grade curricula. It also recently announced $224 million for training provided by private sector unions.

The mandatory tech credit in high school is also seen as a way to expose more females to the sector, given just two per cent of those in the construction trades in Ontario are women.

Guidance counsellors have a role to play as well, Labour Minister Monte McNaughton has said.

We are trying to end the stigma around the trades," he said.

Kristin Rushowy is a Toronto-based reporter covering Ontario politics for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: @krushowy