Are you the owner or manager of a skilled trades shop, an HVAC or Gas Technician business, for example? If so, I am confident that you are already hiring licensed skilled trades professionals to ensure your business is successful. But that said, even when your employees have their Gas Technician license, there are a number of levels of qualification, as you know. Are you hiring graduates of a G3 program? G2 licensees?
Encouraging your staff to continue their education in the industry and upgrade their certifications is essential for the success of your business. You may require your G3 gas fitters to upgrade to their G2 certificate, or you may want to see your employees develop their skills toward long-term career goals that will promote their job satisfaction and increase their skills in the field.
Whatever the reason, employers should encourage their skilled trades employees to upgrade their skilled trades licenses at every opportunity to better their job satisfaction and increase service offerings by your business.
Employee turnover is expensive
A recent report showed that 40% of employees who receive poor job training or lack of encouragement to continue their education in the field leave their positions within the first year, citing the lack of skills training and development as the reason they move on.
Employee turnover is expensive. When you lose a skilled trades worker, productivity slips while you find a new employee to hire, train and prepare to take the previous employee's place. The cost of screening and interviewing applicants, then training the successful candidate adds up. Of course, figures vary from business to business, but turnover can cost up to $2,500 depending on the position, which is a high price tag that can be avoided just by encouraging and assisting your employees in upgrading their licensing, certifications and skills.
Canada-Ontario Job Grant
The provincial and federal governments recognize the importance in employee training, but also understand there is an expense for employers to encourage and assist in upgrading employees' skills.
The Canada-Ontario Job Grant was developed to provide an opportunity to employers to invest in their employees with direct financial support from the government. The grant allows individual employers (small, medium, and large businesses) to pay for training by an eligible third-party trainer for their employees.
The grant provides up to $10,000 in support per person for training costs, requiring employers to contribute one-third of the total costs. Many HVAC and Gas Technician businesses in Ontario are small, and to assist small businesses further, there is some flexibility for small businesses to provide an in-kind contribution toward their share of the costs.
The Skilled Trades Academies offer night courses that allow employees to upgrade without missing a day of work, or full-time programs that are complete in 17 weeks or less — perfect for off-season! We are an eligible training institution for the Canada-Ontario Job Grant and are happy to work with employers to find a way to upgrade their employees' credentials.
