July 30, 2008

Canadian Apprenticeships Forum

Negative perceptions of apprenticeship training need to change, Rougeau says

Allison Rougeau

Guest Columnist

This column is in response to a Letter to the Editor on July 16, 2008, entitled: Canadian apprenticeship system faces two more challenges.

It is clear that there are still negative perceptions regarding apprenticeship training in Canada and this needs to change.

In particular, the two misconceptions identified by the reader regarding the view that careers in trades offer a lack of fiscal reward and that apprentices fail to complete their training.

Let’s consider the last point. The reader suggested that non-completors of apprenticeships are considered failures within the context of the systems.

Statistics can tell multiple stories.

How are completions measured?

The study referenced by the reader used an approach that assumed a four-year completion time frame thus potentially skewing the results.

We all know that many apprentices take considerably longer than the minimum four years, for a variety of reasons.

Perhaps a better way to measure completions is to follow the path of individual apprentices through a model such as the study completed by Statistics Canada and the Canadian Council of Directors of Apprenticeship.

This study demonstrated a completion rate of between 50 and 60 per cent among the provinces of Alberta, Ontario and New Brunswick. The completion rate was about 50 per cent in both New Brunswick and Ontario, and it was close to 60 per cent in Alberta.

Perhaps this rate is still not high enough and, indeed, more work can be done, but it is tiresome for the Canadian Apprenticeship Systems to be getting such a bad rap if one reflects upon how other forms of post-secondary education systems fare in terms of return on investment (ROI) training.

When one reflects on apprenticeship training, there are multiple factors that one must consider in order to define success. It is a work-place based training model where the goal and success is employment.

Ninety per cent of the training is done on the job.

In a time of great skill shortages and high wages, apprentices often choose to stay in the work place to take advantage of the high wages and available work.

This may discourage immediate completion and most likely prolong the time it takes to complete the program.

This should in no way be considered a failure.

The fact is that careers in trades provide respect, opportunity and good pay.

This brings me to the second point raised by the reader – the perception that careers in trades don’t pay well.

While there may be geographic and trade related differences in terms of pay scales for various occupations, careers in trades provide an excellent economic return on the investment both for the apprentice and the employer.

In fact recent work completed by the Canadian Apprenticeship Forum - Forum canadien sur l’apprentissage (CAF-FCA) highlights the following ROI for apprenticeship training in Canada.

A survey of apprentices completing their first year of in-school training in Canada shows that they expect to earn an average annual income of between $52,000 and $55,000 upon graduation. This compares to the average annual income of $53,500 among apprenticeship graduates in a 2007 survey in Saskatchewan, whereby recently certified journeypersons from the class of 2005 were found to be earning an average annual income of $53,500.

This is somewhat higher than responses received from undergraduates who were making $45,400 and college graduates who were making $42,250.

A similar study conducted by the CAF-FCA suggests that for every dollar invested in apprenticeship training by employers, there is a $1.38 return.

This doesn’t include that apprentices are working and contributing members of Canadian society and are often well on their way to leading healthy productive lives.

Allison Rougeau is the executive director of the Canadian Apprenticeships Forum – Forum canadien sur l’apprentissage (CAF-FCA).

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