ONTARIO MASONRY TRAINING CENTRE
OMTC: Secondary School Apprenticeship Project

The Ontario Masonry Training Centre (OMTC) and its Partners - (Ontario Masonry Contractors' Association (OMCA), Canadian Concrete Masonry Producers Association, Meridian Brick, Brampton Brick, and Cement Association of Canada) would like to thank the Ministry for Advanced Education and Skills Development (MAESD) for providing funding support for the OMTC: Secondary School Apprenticeship Project.

"Ontario Masonry Training Centre's project is exactly the type of partnership we need in Ontario's changing economy one that brings employers, educators and learners together. We established the Skills Catalyst Fund to support initiatives that took a creative and innovative approach to skills building in the province, and that's exactly what this project does. I want to thank Ontario Masonry Training Centre for their work, and welcome their insights as we build a stronger, more responsive training system suited to the needs of employers and workers."
Mitzie Hunter, Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Development

The OMTC: Secondary School Apprenticeship Project is focused on introducing the masonry trade to students in secondary and elementary grades. This innovative program builds on a current, successful partnership that the OMTC and the OMCA have with the Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board and St. Clair College. MAESD's Skills Catalyst Fund will help establish similar programs in Kitchener/Waterloo, Peel Region and Ottawa.

The Project will provide students with a combination of in-class and experiential learning that will not only give them a secondary school credit but will create a solid foundation for those continuing into masonry apprenticeship training through the OYAP program. The students in this program will have a head start on their apprenticeship training, which will lead into a successful career.

The OMTC: Secondary School Apprenticeship Project will create a unique program that links employers, product manufacturers, secondary schools and college and/or training centres. The connection to the employers ensures the program remains in tune with the needs of the industry and provides access to jobs. This project embraces Ontario's objectives of developing partnerships with industry that are crucial in making apprenticeship thrive in the coming years.

John Blair, the Executive Director of OMTC stated, "The students that go into these programs and continue into their apprenticeship and complete their Red Seal certification will be journeypersons by the time they are 20 years old - debt free and ready to earn good wages as a mason, but they also have the opportunity to continue with college courses and become an estimator or project manager - one way or the other they will be set for life."