Ottawa, Ontario, April 24, 2007 — Parliamentary Secretary Lynne Yelich, on behalf of the Honourable Monte Solberg, Minister of Human Resources and Social Development, today announced $950,561 for the Canadian Automotive Repair and Service (CARS) Council. The announcement was made at Roy Rump and Sons, a local Ottawa area repair shop.
"Canada's New Government is committed to developing the best-educated, most-skilled and most flexible workforce in the world," said Ms. Yelich. "By investing in this project, we are helping more than 200,000 automotive repair workers access affordable on-line courses that will strengthen their skills and understanding of new automotive technologies."
CARS will receive funding for the project through the federal government's Sector Council Program. In partnership with HRSDC, CARS will design, implement and test an online learning system that will allow automotive repair workers, across Canada, to upgrade their skills in their own time and at their own pace. The E-learning system will be self-paced, easily affordable and available 24/7, which will make learning more accessible and affordable for small, rural repair and service shops.
Over 200 000 workers and over 1 000 employers will benefit from the online system, providing up to 576 high demand courses to workers across Canada. The system will include mastery checkpoints for each course, and refer users to additional resources to supplement the course and improve their understanding.
"The greatest challenge facing our industry is keeping pace with the increasingly complex and rapidly changing automotive technology," said Dan Bell, the president of CARS. "That is why CARS is very pleased to develop and promote e-learning for the Canadian automotive repair and service industry. The funding announced today will provide automotive repair and service businesses a more efficient means of building the skills of their employees, making them more productive and the businesses more profitable."
On top of the funding announced today, Canada's New Government has recently introduced three new measures to assist tradespeople, apprentices and employers in the skilled trades sector by:
providing registered apprentices with a taxable cash grant of $1,000 per year in the first two years of a Red Seal trade program,
offsetting the costs of tools,
and giving employers incentives to hire apprentices.
Sector councils play a vital role in helping to strengthen the labour market, thereby contributing to the productivity and competitiveness of the economy and the standard of living of all Canadians. They bring together governments, business, labour and educational stakeholders in key sectors to share ideas, concerns and perspectives about work force issues.
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This news release is available in alternative formats upon request.
For further information (media only):
Janet Krayden
Assistant
Office of Parliamentary Secretary Lynne Yelich
819-994-2482
Media Relations Office
Human Resources and Social Development Canada
819-994-5559
Dagmar Horsman
Communications & Information Coordinator
Canadian Automotive Repair and Service Council
613-798-0500
