OSTA Report - "Going Further: Examining Employer Incentives in Ontario’s Skills Training System"

The Ontario Skilled Trades Alliance (OSTA), an advocacy group made up of construction employers, has commissioned a report conducted by Dawson Strategic on how Ontario can further support employers in the skilled trades. 

The report 'Going Further: Examining Employer Incentives in Ontario's Skills Training System' examines many of the root causes of why employers are hesitant to train new workers and why most employers don't qualify for the current package of incentives offered by federal and provincial governments. The purpose of this report is to generate and support an informed discussion between industry, government and other stakeholders regarding how best to incentivize employers.

By looking at this issue through the lens of the construction industry, the report finds that:

• About 75% of Ontario's construction industry is comprised of voluntary trades, and employers of these trades are often not benefitting from the same purposefully designed financial incentives that exist for compulsory trades.
• Facilitating access to financial and non-financial incentives, particularly for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), is critical. It is an opportune time to revisit the tax system as a tool for delivering employer incentives.
• The new Skilled Trades Ontario (STO) presents an opportunity to strengthen non-financial incentives for employers by delivering an open and simplified experience.
• There is a need for a sustained and focused dialogue on incentives between all key stakeholders, including assessing the current suite of measures vis-à-vis industry needs.

Along with publishing the report, OSTA hosted a webinar explaining the report's findings and outlining the next steps. You can watch it on YouTube by clicking here.