Good morning, Chair and members of the committee.
My name is Mike Gordon. I serve as national director for training for United Association Canada. That's piping professionals from across the country.
We represent more than 62,000 skilled trades professionals and apprentices across ten Red Seal trades, supported by 33 training centres nationwide. Our network delivers nationally recognized industry-driven apprenticeship programs that put Canadians to work in stable, high-demand and future-ready careers. We look to lead through example in an appropriate context. It's noteworthy that I hold several Red Seal qualifications.
For context, youth employment in Canada, as we know, has reached a 25-year low, while skilled trades shortages are at record highs. We have a fix here.
Budget 2025 and the Canadian Sustainable Jobs Act outline major federal commitments to empower workers and create high-paying careers. Apprenticeship is a proven, evidence-based solution to connect youth to meaningful, well-payed and, most importantly, sustainable work. We have an immediate opportunity to align these commitments with practical apprenticeship investments that deliver measurable results.
I've broken my short presentation into key topics.
The first topic is promoting apprenticeship. Events such as those held by Skills Canada, where the United Association is a key presenting sponsor, show young Canadians exactly what's possible through hands-on, technical and team-based careers. These events align with the federal goal to empower workers and should be integrated into youth employment and sustainable job strategies nationwide.
The second topic is strengthening apprenticeship outcomes. We have a few things to look at. First, there is tracking the success of pre-entry programs. The single most important measure of success is how many preapprenticeship graduates progress to registered apprenticeship. Apprentices are assigned a registry number upon signing a contract. These numbers should be linked to any pre-entry participant so that we can accurately gauge program success. Government funding should align with programs that show evidence-based results, which means registered apprentices. This must be built into the Canadian apprenticeship strategy to evaluate federal investments and real career outcomes.
Second, the union training and innovation program, or UTIP, recognizes the broad capacity of union training centres to deliver our capacity at every stage, from pre-entry and apprenticeship training through journeyperson upskilling at the highest level. UTIP-funded training reaches Canadians in every region through facilities jointly funded by both labour and industry. We are accountable to our members by democratic process, not driven by profit, but by purpose, and expected to drive results. Expanding UTIP would help promote apprenticeship as a first-choice career path, not a fallback option.
The third topic is direct entry success stories. Across Canada, enhanced direct entry programs provide strong models of success. Candidates complete structured 12- to 20-week programs that are screened and aligned directly with employer sponsors. Candidates are immediately registered as apprentices, and their hours count towards completion. Federal expansion of direct entry initiatives under UTIP would accelerate results within months.
The fourth topic is microcredentials and the recognition of Red Seal trades. Microcredentials should complement, not compete with, apprenticeship. When a microcredential affects an existing Red Seal trade, participants should be registered apprentices or licensed journeypersons in that trade.