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Despite Canada's shortage of skilled trades workers (some have even called it a crisis), people seem to overlook the value in a skilled trades education and career. In fact, the common misconception is that skilled trades people couldn't cut it in a traditional post-secondary education. As we've said before, that is simply untrue. If you were to ask a university graduate to fix a furnace, they would be completely out of their depth. So why is the value of the skilled trades so often overlooked?

Look past the perception

Skilled trades are in-depth knowledge of everyday things that everyone needs, but most people aren't capable of handling themselves. The trades people are not people who haven't done well in school. We rely on them every day to build, create and repair the things we need to make life easier. Trades are where the money is, because when you need something done right, you need someone with a very specific skill set to make it happen.

Businesses take note

Businesses are taking notice of the need for skilled trades and the essential knowledge they have to keep our society functioning. Recently, the Canadian Apprenticeship Forum (CAF) surveyed companies that employ skilled trades people, and what they found is that for every dollar a business invests in skilled trades people they see a return of three dollars. That means that companies are looking for skilled trades school graduates who are fully trained and certified, ready to offer the advantage of their specific knowledge and skill set.

Get the skills you need

If this isn't a good reason to pursue an education in the skilled trades, we don't know what is. There are thousands of skilled trades jobs in Canada, you just need the training to get you there. That's why when you are investing in your skilled trades education, you need to be sure you will be getting hands-on training in state-of-the-art facilities from experienced instructors. And if you do it right, you can be ready to work in a matter of weeks, instead of years. Soon, you will be the person everyone else can rely on when they have a problem they need solved.