OYAP Programs
What is OYAP
In Halton, students have two options to participate in the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program (OYAP):
OYAP Co-op
Participating in a cooperative education placement in any of the 144 Ontario apprenticeable trades.
Concentrated OYAP
Students can take any of our Concentrated OYAP programs. These pre-trade programs give students the knowledge and experience necessary to start their career in one of the many skilled trades. The Concentrated OYAP programs teach the curriculum for level 1 Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training, and Skills Development (MLITSD) apprenticeship courses, as well as meeting Ministry of Education Secondary School expectations.
Co-op is a critical part of each of these programs, during their co-op placement, these students can also be registered as an OYAP apprentice by contacting the HDSB or HCDSB OYAP representative - Wade Richardson HDSB coordinator or Judy Brydges HCDSB coordinator.
SPECIALIST HIGH SKILLS MAJOR
Why Take OYAP
OYAP allows you to explore and find the right career for you. And if you discover you want to change direction you can, because many skills are transferable. Skilled trades people feel a sense of accomplishment seeing the results of their efforts at the end of the day.
The skilled trades encompass a broad range of hands-on occupations in four main sectors: Construction, Manufacturing, Motive power and Service.
There are more than
300 skilled trades
occupations recognized across Canada
Contact the apprenticeship authority in your region to learn more about apprentice-able trades in your province or territory.
Apprenticeship is a post-secondary pathway that leads to certification in a skilled trade. 80% of an apprentice’s time is spent on-the-job training where aspects of a chosen trade are learned directly from a certified journeyperson. The remaining 20% is spent in technical training which is delivered at a college, vocational school or union training centre.
A unique feature of apprenticeship is as a registered apprentice, you are in fact, an employee and will be paid while you are on the job learning. This means, much less student debt and an increase in wages as you move through each level of your apprenticeship.