The Ford government is overhauling the apprenticeship and skilled trades system.

The premier was in Clarington on Friday and said the new system will get local employers the workers they need and get workers the training required for good quality, available jobs.

They’ll do this by introducing portable skill sets to help speed up certification and training in the skilled trades.

Portable skill sets are a new competency-based system that provide workers and employers with more flexibility. Portable skill sets also offer cross-skilling through the trades by letting apprentices, skilled tradespeople and employers to choose skills that they need for the jobs that are available today. For example, Ontario Power Generation (OPG) and Bruce Power have estimated that between 2016 and 2021, they will need about 1,000 boilermakers.

With the new portable skill sets system, training, retraining and certifying workers in the specific skills needed for opportunities such as these will be more efficient than before.

“Our government is introducing portable skill sets so workers can upgrade their training faster than ever before and be ready for new opportunities,” said Ford.

About one in five new jobs in the province over the next five years is expected to be in trades-related occupations.