Thank you for your invitation to appear today on the subject of economic opportunities for young apprentices. The Canadian Apprenticeship Forum has submitted a brief summarizing its thoughts about how the federal government might contribute to increasing completion and certification among registered apprentices.
The Canadian Apprenticeship Forum, and from here on in I'll refer to us the way the community does, which is by our acronym, CAF, is a national non-profit that looks at apprenticeship and its challenges through a national lens. Though regulated by the jurisdictions, apprenticeship stakeholders assign value to connecting the dots across trades, across sectors, and across Canada.
CAF provides a national voice, influencing apprenticeship strategies through research and collaboration. In addition to research that provides unbiased insights, CAF connects stakeholders to share promising practices and promotes apprenticeship as a valued post-secondary pathway.
In March 2013, our federal funding to continue this work will come to an end and this represents a significant challenge. While apprenticeship training is the primary responsibility of the provinces and territories, I believe there's a significant role to play at the national level.
Among the subjects of your current study, I am going to concentrate my remarks on improving completion rates, increasing the visibility and appeal of existing apprenticeship programs, and increasing recognition of apprenticeship programs between the jurisdictions.
When it comes to completion rates, there are a few important things to understand. Completers are most likely to have worked for only one employer and to have had a journeyperson continuously present during their training. This reflects an employer commitment that must be fostered, encouraged, and rewarded. There is a requirement for ongoing outreach to share the business case for apprenticeship training, and CAF research has established that business case. There are also opportunities at the procurement level to support trades-training among skilled trades contractors.
Older apprentices are less likely to complete, and we see discontinuation rates increase after the age of 28. This is problematic, since the average age of a newly registering apprentice is in the mid-twenties. This makes attracting people to the trades at a younger age critical.
Apprentices who have completed high school are more likely to complete their apprenticeship, so engaging them and keeping hands-on learners in high school is also important.
Roughly one-half of all apprentices work for firms with fewer than 20 employees. That rises to about 77% when you include firms with up to 99 employees. Those who work for medium-size firms have the best chances of completing. This speaks to the need to support small businesses that hire and train apprentices.
In terms of visibility, you may be aware of a national media campaign undertaken collaboratively by the Canadian Apprenticeship Forum and Skills Canada in the mid-2000s. The Skilled Trades: A Career You Can Build On campaign developed a website, advertising, and resources for youth, parents, and educators. Today, that website receives more than 14,000 hits every month. Every year hundreds of schools across Canada request pamphlets, posters, and apprenticeship guides for their guidance departments. This speaks to an insatiable demand for information about skilled trades careers.
Earlier this month we relaunched the Careers in Trades website with updated content, a new design, and increased interactivity. The response has been overwhelmingly positive. Reaching out to youth with any degree of success requires relevant interactive content, and a modern look and feel. There is still substantial work to be done to engage youth and arm youth influencers—the parents and the educators—with good career information about the trades.
When it comes to increasing recognition of apprenticeship programs, this is firmly in the hands of the jurisdictions. Federally, however, labour mobility refers right now to the recognition of qualifications, and apprentices lack credentials. The portability of their hours and their technical training levels is important if we want to keep them engaged and move them toward certification.
Today’s reality in the skilled trades is that workers are losing their positions in some parts of the country, while other regions are experiencing intense demand.
At a national level there's value in capturing how the jurisdictions, unions, employers, and educational institutions are dealing with prior learning assessment as apprentices move through their training. There are certainly regional solutions, but apprentices, employers, and other stakeholders stand to benefit from understanding the processes that the jurisdictions undertake and the best practices that are under way.
CAF has outlined five recommendations in its brief to the committee, many of which I've touched on here. In order to keep within my time, I'm going to end here. I welcome any questions from members.