{"id":186950,"date":"2017-04-21T10:31:12","date_gmt":"2017-04-21T14:31:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/irpp-policy-options.local\/issues\/dont-leave-the-skilled-trades-out-of-canadas-innovation-conversation\/"},"modified":"2025-04-14T04:27:07","modified_gmt":"2025-04-14T08:27:07","slug":"dont-leave-the-skilled-trades-out-of-canadas-innovation-conversation","status":"publish","type":"issues","link":"https:\/\/potestlaunch.irpp.org\/fr\/2017\/04\/dont-leave-the-skilled-trades-out-of-canadas-innovation-conversation\/","title":{"rendered":"Don\u2019t leave the skilled trades out of Canada\u2019s innovation conversation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Canada\u2019s economic landscape is changing. To see how, one need look no further than the March 22 federal budget<\/a> and follow the money. Big chunks of funding will be delivered to the likes of artificial intelligence (AI), clean tech, the digital economy and agri-food.<\/p>\n

Missing from the budget, however, was any explicit mention of the skilled trades or apprentices or of the role they will play in Canada\u2019s new innovation-centred economy. Despite the focus on skills and massive investments in infrastructure, building the knowledge and capacity of Canada\u2019s trades people was largely overlooked.<\/p>\n

As the Canadian government sets its sights on innovation through all that is high-tech, it is important to recognize that Canada\u2019s skilled trades people, apprentices and the institutions they train at (particularly Canada\u2019s leading institutes of technology, polytechnics and colleges<\/a>) are already on board, operating at the forefront of technology. When the government is talking innovation (and building the skills for innovation), skilled trades people \u2014 and the apprentices who will be the trades people of the future \u2014 must be included in the conversation.<\/p>\n

Technology\u2019s impact on industry<\/a> is undeniable and the trades are no exception. In a multidisciplinary world, increasingly dependent on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), that is especially true. To cope with technology\u2019s impact, those in the skilled trades are adopting models of lifelong learning that merge the technical, the technological and the mechanical; the toolbox of today is brimming with technology and so are the classrooms in which apprentices train.<\/p>\n

Take, for example, automotive service technicians. Today\u2019s cars run on a complex mix of on-board computers and mechanical components. With the explosion in popularity of electric cars and the impending availability of autonomous vehicles<\/a>, the knowledge and skills needed by tomorrow\u2019s technicians will be even greater. Technicians will be part of multidisciplinary teams that can update a car\u2019s software over Wifi, understand car-to-car wireless communication and integration into the Internet of Things, repair on-board hardware and care for the mechanical functionality of hybrid, electric and combustible engines.<\/p>\n

To keep pace and ensure the success of apprentices, classrooms are as innovative as the environments in which they will operate. Apprentices are learning to diagnose engine problems using iOS-based applications, familiarizing themselves with work in a variety of environments through the use of simulators<\/a>, using virtual and augmented reality<\/a> to build valuable \u201creal world\u201d experience and taking courses delivered online through blended learning<\/a> to allow for theory-based knowledge to be transferred while on remote job sites.<\/p>\n

The skilled trades of today require a whole new set of skills on top of those passed down from their mentors. The ability to utilize and work alongside an array of technologies is paramount to success. When a heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) technician goes out on a job, she or he needs to be able to diagnose issues with a 10-year-old furnace or a brand new one, and everything in between. Further, as lines between specializations blur and technological complexity increases, skilled trades people become an indispensable asset to multidisciplinary teams and must learn to function in them.<\/p>\n

As the world becomes more connected, higher value is placed on STEM-related knowledge. As Canada\u2019s economy pivots to one that is innovation-centric, we must all recognize that skilled trades people and apprentices play a significant role in Canada\u2019s innovation landscape.<\/p>\n

There is no monopoly on innovation \u2014 it includes the apprentice as much as it includes the app.<\/p>\n

Photo: Shutterstock<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Do you have something to say about the article you just read? Be part of the\u00a0<\/em>Policy Options\u00a0discussion, and send in your own submission.\u00a0Here is a\u00a0<\/em>link<\/em><\/a>\u00a0on how to do it. <\/em>|\u00a0Souhaitez-vous r\u00e9agir \u00e0 cet article ? <\/em>Joignez-vous aux d\u00e9bats d\u2019<\/em>Options politiques\u00a0et soumettez-nous votre texte en suivant ces\u00a0<\/em>directives<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Canada\u2019s economic landscape is changing. To see how, one need look no further than the March 22 federal budget and follow the money. Big chunks of funding will be delivered to the likes of artificial intelligence (AI), clean tech, the digital economy and agri-food. Missing from the budget, however, was any explicit mention of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":44367,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","ep_exclude_from_search":false},"categories":[9362,9358,9372],"tags":[8377,8421],"article-status":[],"irpp-category":[4243,4374,4675,4258,4229,4266],"section":[],"irpp-tag":[7173,7051],"class_list":{"0":"post-186950","1":"issues","2":"type-issues","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","5":"hentry","6":"category-economie","7":"category-politique","8":"category-recent-stories-fr","9":"tag-skills-fr","10":"tag-innovation-fr","11":"irpp-category-economy","12":"irpp-category-innovation","14":"irpp-category-labour","15":"irpp-category-politics","16":"irpp-category-travail","17":"irpp-tag-competences","18":"irpp-tag-skills"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nDon\u2019t leave the skilled trades out of Canada\u2019s innovation conversation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Innovation can\u2019t just mean 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