Thank you.
Thank you for your invitation to appear today on the subject of youth employment in Canada. The Canadian Apprenticeship Forum has prepared and submitted a brief summarizing our recommendations about how to better connect Canadian youth with career opportunities in the skilled trades.
The Canadian Apprenticeship Forum is a national non-profit organization that looks at apprenticeships through a pan-Canadian lens. Though regulated by the jurisdictions, apprenticeship stakeholders assign value to connecting the dots across trades, across sectors, and across Canada. Our organization provides a national voice, influencing apprenticeship strategies through research and collaboration. In addition to unbiased research insights, we connect stakeholders in order to share promising practices and promote apprenticeship as a valued post-secondary pathway.
While apprenticeship training is the primary responsibility of the provinces and territories, I believe there is a significant role at the national level.
In terms of your current study, I would like to concentrate my remarks on the value of work-integrated learning to support employment outcomes, better preparing youth to fill job opportunities in the skilled trades, increasing the visibility and appeal of apprenticeship programs, and providing supports that increase the likelihood of certification.
Youth in Canada have excellent access to post-secondary education and a wide range of choices when it comes to programs and institutions. Access to advanced education is a huge asset; however, in creating that access, education has become an end unto itself. Youth without part-time jobs in high school could conceivably enter university never understanding the skills required to succeed or the value they stand to offer the labour market.
Apprenticeship programs are different, in that the learner is an employee. Apprenticeship provides opportunities to develop trade-specific skills in the workplace, doing work valued by their employer. At the same time, workplace skills like teamwork, communication, attitude, and meeting deadlines are being practised. When an apprentice is certified, they have qualifications and work experience, and this is a key benefit.
However, apprenticeship isn't without challenges. High-achieving students are rarely encouraged by their parents, teachers, or friends to consider skilled trades career options. In a survey of youth we conducted last year, 24% thought the trades were more appropriate to men than women. This quote shows what one student suggested: “Skilled trades are promoted as an option for students who have difficulty in school. A friend was thinking of becoming a mechanic, and many of our teachers stated he was better than that.”
Though we found that youth are more open to considering careers in the skilled trades than in the past, a university degree was identified as the first-choice post-secondary option by 53% of students. An apprenticeship program was chosen by less than 20%. This reflects a continuing bias against apprenticeships as a post-secondary pathway.
Students who perform poorly in school continue to be directed to the trades, only to find that advanced math, science, and technology skills are prerequisites for success. Frankly, we need to be directing young people with a propensity for three-dimensional problem-solving and the desire to work with their hands to opportunities in the trades.
When I say that we need to direct youth to opportunities, I think there is scope for much better direction. Though there's value in educating youth about the trades in general, they need to know where opportunities exist locally. The reality is that skills shortages vary considerably from one area to the next.
Finally, I would suggest that more needs to be done to support continuous employment opportunities among apprentices. As uncertified employees, they're particularly vulnerable to layoffs. Disruptions in employment can end a skilled trades career before it has even begun. Solutions may include consortia of small employers who share the commitment to local apprentices and/or policies and programs that recognize apprentices as learners.
CAF has outlined three recommendations in its brief to the committee. These are areas where I believe the federal government can make a substantive contribution to youth employment in the skilled trades.
Thank you.