The Challenge of Finding an Employer Sponsor

Finding an employer sponsor can be among the greatest challenges in beginning an apprenticeship. CAF-FCA’s recent surveys of more than 2,200 students enrolled in publicly and privately-funded training providers - found that 37 percent of first-year apprentices had taken four months or more to find their employer sponsor, with an average search time of seven months. Longer search times increase the costs for becoming an apprentice and discourage those who are interested in this career path from continuing on, creating barriers to both the development of a skilled labour force and individual success in the labour market.

Objectives:

• To provide individuals with better tools for finding an employer sponsor in a timelier manner.
• To encourage apprenticeship candidates to continue their search for an employer sponsor, as well as how to do so in an effective way, by demonstrating how others have succeeded.
• To increase knowledge of about the challenges of finding an employer sponsor.
• To provide recommendations for business, labour, and government policies that will improve the recruitment of skilled workers by reducing the time to find an employer sponsor.

The project will involve these key activities

• Reviewing the results of the National Apprenticeship Survey (NAS)
• Conducting focus groups with apprentices to provide information on the strategies adopted by those apprenticeship candidates who were successful in finding their sponsor quickly versus those who took longer than average, as well as to identify candidates who are willing to be profiled as “success stories”.

The findings from the statistical data gathered and from the focus groups will be compiled into a report that we hope will offer insights into industry-specific challenges, and recommendations on how these challenges can be addressed by apprenticeship stakeholders.

Project Status:

• The project is being overseen by the CAF-FCA Board of Directors and a Working Group with representation from business, labour, and educators.
• The final report should be available in fall 2009.

For more information, please contact:
Emily Arrowsmith,
Project Manager
613-235-4004 ext. 201 or Emily_Arrowsmith@caf-fca.org