OPINION

This article appeared in ICBA's member newsletter, The Independent, in September 2009. See also the report in the Journal of Commerce on this issue from September 17, 2009..

Apprenticeship changes required, ICBA demands Industry Training Authority stop giving out members’ employee lists

Through a recent advertising campaign by the Piping Industry Apprenticeship Board (the union plumbing school), ICBA learned that the Industry Training Authority (ITA) had shared detailed information about apprenticed employees with the union plumbing school. Other public, private and union schools have also been provided with apprentice contact lists by the ITA.

The ad from the union plumbing school featured ITA logos and many of our apprentices assumed they came directly from the ITA. Some apprentices felt the ITA was assigning them to the union school. This has outraged some ICBA members and apprentices.

ICBA demanded that the ITA stop giving our members’ employee lists to any schools or other agencies. ITA says it has suspended the practice of giving out any apprentice information while it conducts a review of its practices around apprentice lists, marketing & use of its logos.

However, we feel that ITA has minimized the seriousness of this issue both as it relates to labour relations and misleading advertising. There continues to be a perception, supported by ongoing incidents like this, that the apprenticeship system is biased towards the unions.

ICBA member employers should talk with all their apprentices and recent journeypersons about preferred training providers and discuss that union and private training schools have had access to their information. Review the registration forms and authorization for collection and use of their private contact information with them. Until this issue is resolved, we recommend that apprentices do not authorize release of private information.