Good morning, Mr. Chairman, honourable members, and ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for the opportunity to speak today in relation to your study on economic opportunities for young apprentices.
I'm the executive director of Electricity Human Resources Canada, which was formerly the Electricity Sector Council. I met some of you around the table when we were called that.
Our mission is to strengthen the ability of the Canadian electricity industry to meet the current and future needs for a highly skilled, safety-focused, diverse, and productive workforce. We are the authoritative voice for human resources in the electricity sector.
I have with me today, our board chair and COO of Hydro Ottawa, Norm Fraser; as well as board of directors member, John Ives, staff officer at the Power Workers' Union. They can share their first-hand experiences with apprentices in the electricity industry.
To provide some very brief context for the Canadian electricity industry, our industry right now employs over 108,000 people. Most of them are highly skilled workers. Like other industrial sectors, we're facing the immediate challenge of an imminent departure of those skilled workers, as people take retirement. We also need to replace aging infrastructure. We're facing a double jeopardy, if you will.