Climate Care Canada Partners with Support Ontario Youth

ClimateCare Canada, the country’s largest cooperative of residential HVAC contractors, is pleased to announce its new partnership with Support Ontario Youth (SOY), an organization created to increase the number of apprentices and journeymen in the construction industry.

What is Support Ontario Youth?

Support Ontario Youth is a non-profit organization that facilitates apprenticeship programs in Ontario. They connect employers with apprentices in various trades, provide mentoring and support, and help streamline the apprenticeship process. Their goal is to create skilled, job-ready tradespeople and address the growing demand for trades workers in the province.

Training the Future of HVAC

A major challenge for small and medium HVAC contractors is recruiting, training and retaining new skilled labour. This new partnership will benefit ClimateCare member companies by giving them access to SOY’s recruiting, candidate screening and apprentice support programs. SOY helps employers through the apprentice hiring process and can assist employers and apprentices with navigating financial aid, accessing training opportunities and reducing the burden of managing the apprenticeship education program.

Providing Mentorship to Youth

Mentorship is a significant component of a strong apprenticeship program, and to ensure the success of current and future HVAC apprentices, SOY has engaged Brandi Ferenc as an HVAC mentor. Ms. Ferenc brings 15 years of industry experience to SOY and is currently an HVAC Journeyman (313A, Gas Fitter 1) with Southlake Hospital in Newmarket, Ontario, and an instructor at Georgian College in Barrie, Ontario.

Brandi Ferenc, HVAC Mentor with SOY

“We are very pleased to have a partner organization like SOY now available to ClimateCare members,” said Victor Hyman, ClimateCare’s Executive Director, “I hear from my members and contractors across the country that finding, training and retaining HVAC professionals is the biggest impediment to growing their businesses. We expect that our members will find the resources SOY makes available, including apprentice mentoring from a passionate professional and educator like Brandi, to be a great aid moving forward.”

“Support Ontario Youth’s long term vision is to secure professional partnerships with progressive organizations such as ClimateCare, and develop an apprenticeship system that works and is sustainable,” said Glenda Rahn, SOY’s Program Manager for Construction. “We constantly hear about the need for quality skilled tradespersons and we recognize the important role employers have in apprenticeship and it is the key reason SOY works so closely with them.

Learn More From Your Local ClimateCare

Know a youth in your life that could benefit from this program? Reach out to your local ClimateCare today to see if they’re taking any new apprentices.

To learn more about SOY in general, check out supportontarioyouth.ca