B.C.'s skills-strapped tourism industry is hoping a makeover of its apprenticeship programs will attract more career-track workers to the burgeoning sector.

The industry is now responsible for the cook, baker and meatcutter trades under a newly created division of go2, tourism's human resources association. The division, named PROPEL, will also look at whether the industry should develop more apprenticeship programs to train people for other specialized work.

"The idea is to make sure the apprenticeship training programs are driven by what the industry wants and needs," said Kate Dodd, chairwoman of go2's industry training advisory committee.

"If the programs are more relevant, they will be more valuable to employees and the industry."

Dodd said employers in tourism want workers with more practical experience, and students want more on-the-job training to understand their trade and to "earn while they learn."

B.C.'s Industry Training Authority will continue to set the standards for training programs and qualifications, and oversee the dozens of apprenticeship programs, but it has set up a new model giving industry more responsibility for its own trades training.

Tourism is the latest sector to take over training programs; commercial and residential construction, automotive, ornamental horticulture and the resource industries have already set up similar training organizations.

Armando Bacani, a meatcutter owner of Armando's Finest Quality Meats in Granville Market, said his trade needs more skilled workers, which means training more apprentices to do the job.

"There's definitely room for more people in this industry," Bacani said.

"I can't find anybody to hire. We need more experienced people, and there aren't enough people out there who have training."

Bacani caters to people looking for specialized cuts rather than what is typically available at traditional butcher shops. To perform this precision work, his meatcutters have to be skilled and pay attention to detail. Passion for the work is a job requirement, he said.

"People are becoming more sophisticated about food -- they know what they want and the meat industry should be able to provide it," Bacani said. "We may be too meticulous, but the market demands something special.

"Anybody who works here would have no problem getting hired at a high-end restaurant."

Kevin Evans, CEO of the Industry Training Authority, said training programs are more effective when they are closely connected to industry.

"Employers have a lot at stake in the training -- they want to make sure programs are relevant and match the reality of the workplace," Evans said.

He said apprenticeship programs are not only valuable for traditional trades jobs, they also work well for any industry looking for employees with on-the-job training along with school-based education. With apprenticeship programs, workers spend 20 per cent of their training time in school and 80 per cent in the workplace. And they get paid while they learn their trade.

"The concept is well-suited to the 21st century," Evans said. "Employers are getting grads, but they still need one or two years of training before they're up to speed.