Several Brantford tradespersons have earned awards for their outstanding commitment to the skilled trades.

The inaugural Skilled Tradespersons of the Year awards were handed out Sept. 23 at a trades appreciation event organized by the Workforce Planning Board, held at Six Nations Polytechnic.

Construction: Corey DeBruyn, owner of The Electricians, a strong promoter of apprenticeships.
Industrial: Glenn Willett, who teaches apprentice millwrights at Conestoga College.
Motive Power: Kevin Doris, who is a model employee of City of Brantford public works.
Service: Charmaine Currie, a dedicated Child and Youth Worker and a teacher.

Jamie Bowman of Bowman Precision Tooling (shown in photo) was Master of Ceremonies.

Four tradespersons from Haldimand County have been recognized for their outstanding contributions to the skilled trades.

The newly created Skilled Tradespersons of the Year awards were handed out Sept. 20 at a trades appreciation event organized by the Workforce Planning Board.

Construction: Chris Swick, a promoter of the electrician trade with IBEW, Local 105.
Industrial: Dave Suess, a millwright who teaches millwrighting at Mohawk College.
Industrial: Neil Huctwith, an industrial mechanic millwright at Stelco Inc.
Service: Henrietta Heeg, a dairy herdsperson and owner of Springknoll Dairy.

John Edelman of Haldimand Motors (shown in photo) served as Master of Ceremonies.

The event was also an opportunity for local businesses and tradespeople to share their views on how to attract more people to work in in-demand skilled trades and how the current apprenticeship system can be approved

Four tradespersons from Brant County have been recognized for their outstanding contributions to the skilled trades.

The newly created Skilled Tradespersons of the Year awards were handed out Sept. 18 at a trades appreciation event organized by the Workforce Planning Board.

The tradespersons represented the four trades sectors: construction, industrial, motive power and service.

Construction: Adam Smith, owner of Tru-Power Electrical Services, Burford.
Industrial: Jordan Gowdy, an apprentice with Reynolds Custom Machine, St. George.
Motive Power: Robin Horsfall, owner of Horsfall’s Auto Service, Paris.
Service: Doug Witteveen, owner of Witteveen Meats, St. George.

Brant MPP Will Bouma was on hand, while Marty Verhey of Walters Group served as Master of Ceremonies.

The event was also an opportunity for local businesses and tradespeople to share their views on how to attract more people to work in in-demand skilled trades and how the current apprenticeship system can be approved.

Similar events are taking place during September in Brantford, Haldimand County, Norfolk County and Six Nations.

Businesses are being urged to share their thoughts on what can be done to address the local skilled trades shortage.  Area businesses are also being encouraged to nominate an exceptional skilled tradesperson for local Skilled Tradesperson of the Year awards.

A new Workforce Planning Board of Grand Erie survey asks employers to identify their business’ in-demand skilled trades positions and seeks their ideas on how to increase the number of journeypersons and apprentices, and how to improve Ontario’s apprenticeship system.

The 5-minute In-Demand Skilled Trades Survey is part of a wider discussion with employers taking place here and other communities across Ontario about skilled trades. A series of drop-in Appreciation Events will be held throughout September in Brantford, Six Nations/New Credit, and the counties of Brant, Haldimand and Norfolk.

“The purpose of the survey and our Appreciation Events is to hear from skilled trades employers, tradespeople, apprentices and mentors about their experiences and challenges,” said Danette Dalton, the Workforce Planning Board’s executive director. “We want to hear directly from the real-life experts.”

Any area business that employs tradespeople is invited to participate. There are more than 150 trades in four sectors: industrial, construction, motive power and service.

For more information on the survey and events, click here.

Brantford’s job market continues to shatter records, with the jobless rate dropping last month to the lowest this century.

The city’s August’s 3.9% unemployment rate, down from 4.5% in July, represents the lowest jobless rate that Statistics Canada has records for on their website, dating back to 2001.

Brantford’s job market continues to shatter records, with the jobless rate dropping in August 2019 to the lowest this century.
The city’s August’s 3.9% unemployment rate, down from 4.5% in July, represents the lowest jobless rate that Statistics Canada has records for on their website, dating back to 2001.
Brantford’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate has been tumbling for months and now sits considerably below the monthly rate of 5.7% for Canada and 5.6% for Ontario. The only city in Canada with a lower jobless rate than Brantford in August was Victoria, B.C. at 3.3%.
The strength of the city’s job market appears even more dramatic when looking at the employment rate, the percentage of people employed out of the total adult population (aged 15 and over).
Brantford’s employment rate has skyrocketed 10% in the last 12 months, hitting 68.7% in August compared to 58.6% one year ago, according to Statistics Canada estimates.