Apprenticeship Manitoba

Gasfitter Certification and Related Piping Trades

The regulatory changes involving Gasfitter Certification remove the 2nd level of the B Gas certification from Plumbing, Steamfitter - Pipefitter and both Residential and Commercial Refrigeration & Air Conditioning Mechanics trade programs. The impacted trades will transition from a 5-level apprenticeship to 4 effective March 18th. MCAM's Gasfitter Certification Working Group(consisting of a cross-section of the membership) & industry partners spent countless hours advocating with Apprenticeship Manitoba and department staff, emphasizing the need for dual certification within the Manitoba market.Apprenticeship Board recommendation have been accepted. MCAM continues to work with our industry partners for government to pause implementation and re-engage industry. Despite industry efforts, Apprenticeship Board recommendation have been accepted. MCAM Contractors maintains the deskilling of Manitoba tradespeople will:

• Result in a negative impact on gainful year-round employment.
• Increase costs to the consumer.
• Create a shortage of certified gasfitters in the long-term.

Justification by Apprenticeship and department staff have sited harmonization, labour mobility and consultation survey results as being the basis for change. MCAM maintains:

• Harmonization is not achieved.
• Systemic change should not be utilized to address exceptional issues such as labour mobility. Reasonable solutions include incorporating flexibility in the system and working with provincial counterparts to address exceptional scenarios.
• Consultation itself while a tool for implementing change, does not justify change and requires detailed, dimensional analysis.
• The consultation itself demonstrated 4% support of the industry supports change: not acceptable.

Apprenticeship Ratios

Apprentice to Journeyman ratio changes have been implemented bring the ratio from 1:1 to 2:1. Additionally 4th year apprentices are excluded from the ratio. This will undoubtedly have immediate impacts on the employability of Journeymen and remove motivation for 4th year apprentices to become journeymen for fear of layoff. Also clearly impacted is the overall crew rate. With the absence of industry consultation or an implementation lead in time, industry assumptions that are critical to the competitive bidding system have been destabilized. A bidding system that is already experiencing the stresses of an exceptionally competitive climate with the overarching impacts of the pandemic. The long-term impacts on the apprenticeship system will be a devaluing of the trades as a career choice, reduced productivity and less investments in the Manitoba economy by owners.

MCAM ACTIVITIES:

• MCAM is working with Industry partners in a coordinated approach to address the regulatory changes. Industry partners including WCA, CLRAM, MBT and CARM. If you are a member of one of these organizations please reach out to them to voice your support or others not listed.
• Letter to Minister Eichler - MCAM along with WCA, CLRAM, MBT and CARM sent a letter requesting the Minister review the decisions, working with the Industry Associations. (Letter found here)
• MCAM is drafting a letter to the Premier should Minister Eichler not respond favorably to our request.
• Should the regulatory changes be maintained, MCAM will advocate for a working group to address the necessary changes to the Construction Industry Wage Act (CIWA) to align the regulatory changes with an equitable reference based on new training standards rather than old training standards. MCAM understands the urgency of addressing this issue to maintain consistency in a fair tendering process and will advocate for industry participation.
• WCA is re-surveying their membership regarding the Apprenticeship ratio changes. This survey may be found here.
• MCAM has requested the Apprenticeship consultation results. Our requests have been denied. Industry partners have shared government opposition critics have requested the survey results. MCAM looks forward to analyzing the results
• MCAM is working to understand the impetus for the changes as well as how much weight was provided to the results of a consultation survey. We have witnessed considerable turn-over in the Apprenticeship Board and Apprenticeship Branch over the past few years. Establishing the impetus of the changes (or lack of) may provide government reason for review of the changes.

APPRENTICESHIP REGULATORY CHANGES:

• Ration & Supervision Change
• Gasfitter Regulatory Update
• Plumber Regulatory Update
• Refrigeration & Air-Conditioning Mechanic Regulatory Update
• Steamfitter - Pipefitter Regulatory Update