St. John’s, NL (February 14, 2025) –  Lloyd Parrott, Progressive Conservative Shadow Minister for Immigration, Population Growth and Skills and MHA for Terra Nova, is calling for the Liberals to take immediate action to fix the trades apprenticeship program which is now leaving skilled trades workers frustrated with the challenges they face in getting Red Seal Trade certification.

Parrott is speaking out after the latest Liberal photo-op encouraged careers in the skilled trades.  Parrott has heard from many apprentices who tell him that issues within the program are causing undue hardship for students and negatively impacting the province’s skilled trades workforce.

“It’s fine for the Minister to encourage careers in the skilled trades, but if she doesn’t ensure apprentices can get certified, she is failing.” said Parrott. “I have heard from too many apprentices who have failed the provincial examination repeatedly, despite having successfully completed in the in-class training and have valuable on the job experience. These are competent tradespersons whose careers are being limited by a flawed process.”

Parrott is raising concerns about the fairness and effectiveness of the final exam structure. Currently, each class block concludes with a high-stakes exam that serves as the sole assessment. Parrott has been told by apprentices that this final exam often contains content unrelated to real life job sites and not covered in the classroom modules is causing high failure rates, leaving students demoralized and with limited options for recourse. A high level of instructor turnover and limited exam availability is also negatively impacting apprentices.

“We need to ensure that our apprenticeship programs are properly structured to support our students and provide them with fair opportunities to succeed. Without action, we risk losing our skilled workforce to other provinces with more effective programs. While large projects have rules around the hiring of apprentices, the Liberals fail to make this a priority on their projects,” continued Parrott.  

“I am calling on the Minister to investigate why the apprenticeship exam structure is a roadblock for so many apprentices. Empowering apprentices to succeed and achieve their full certification can ensure a strong, skilled workforce and provide better opportunities for apprentices to succeed,” concluded Parrott.

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