Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program Overview
The Ontario Youth Apprentice Program was started to offer students still attending full-time secondary school an opportunity to sample a trade and receive both high school coop credits and some hours toward the licensing process of that apprenticeable trade. There are more than 130 apprenticeable trades, the vast majority of which normally require a student to complete an OSSD before they begin training. The OYAP program allows students to try out the trade before completing the OSSD, but they must still return and complete the OSSD before continuing their training for many of the trades. Apprenticeship is a pathway for dedicated students who might otherwise consider going to College or University and should be considered as difficult as College but with a focus on hands-on learning.
Since OYAP is a type of specialized a coop placement, all OYAP students must be supervised by a coop teacher, and are generally part of an existing coop class. The teacher does not need to make any special accommodations to have a number of OYAP students within a regular coop class, nor are there any extra fees. IEP and Special Education students are able to participate in OYAP. In order to participate in OYAP a student must be: 1) a full-time student enrolled in a secondary school, 2) at least 16 years old, and 3) must have at least 16 credits before the program starts.
OYAP students are not required to have completed any technological studies courses in order to participate, and this is a great advantage for students attending schools where related courses are not offered – they have an opportunity to try to learn the skills in a real-world environment rather than a classroom. The students only need to have a coop placement with an employer who is certified or licensed in the trade in question and who will commit to training the student according to the training standards set out by the province. Since students are allowed to progress at their own pace a student with lots of previous experience or related courses will learn something different than some who has never tried the trade before, but both will be considered a success if they learn something and progress in the trade.
To see what the journey as an apprentice or an OYAP student is like, check out the OYAP Process page.
