George Gritziotis, Ontario’s Chief Prevention Officer, has been appointed as the Ontario College of Trade’s (OCOT) Registrar and chief executive officer, effective Oct. 26. He replaces outgoing Registrar and CEO David Tsubouchi, who had announced his decision to retire in June.
“With George’s extensive industry and government experience he’s a natural fit to lead the College,” says Don Gosen, the newly elected OCOT board chair.
Gritziotis has experience working in labour management partnerships in the construction, industrial, and services sectors on human resource development issues. He’s also managed a number of national industry groups and projects on issues ranging from apprenticeship and training to labour market information.
Most recently, Gritziotis worked at the Ministry of Labour as Ontario’s first Chief Prevention Officer (CPO) and associate deputy minister. As CPO, he worked to prevent and eliminate work-related injury, illness, and fatalities and he led several strategic initiatives to improve the health and safety of Ontario workers; these included the implementation of the province’s first Integrated Occupational Health and Safety Strategy, the Mining Health, Safety and Prevention Review, mandatory health and safety awareness training, and standards for working at heights.
Before joining the ministry, Gritziotis served as founding executive director of the Construction Sector Council, a national organization committed to developing a highly skilled workforce to support the human resources needs of Canada’s construction industry.
He also played a key role in the establishment of the Canadian Apprenticeship Forum and the Alliance of Sector Councils and through these initiatives, he established strong working relationships with labour and business leaders.
“I’m very honoured to take on the position of Registrar and CEO of the Ontario College of Trades and to be able to offer my knowledge and appreciation of apprenticeship, the skilled trades, health and safety, and working with government in this important role,” Gritziotis said in a statement.
“I look forward to working with the Board of Governors, divisional and trade boards, staff, government, stakeholders, and of course members, to create an environment where the skilled trades professionals’ workforce is known globally for its commitment to excellence and safety.”