Apprenticeship Workplace Practices in the Current Economy - February 2009

The Canadian Apprenticeship Forum – Forum canadien sur l’apprentissage held the ”Apprenticeship Workplace Practices in the Current Economy” dialogue in Ottawa on February 25, 2009. The dialogue was opened with a presentation by the Conference Board of Canada’s Chief Economist, Glen Hodgson, and then five panelists representing various sectors shared their perspectives and experiences with the dialogue participants. The accompanying video and summary below capture the highlights of this valuable and timely discussion.

1. Tony Fanelli
   
2. Ron Svajlenko
   
3. George Nakitsas
   
4. Richard Ward Allen
   
5. Dan Mott
   

The opinions expressed in these video clips and in the summary document below do not necessarily represent the views or official policies of the Canadian Apprenticeship Forum – Forum canadien sur l’apprentissage (CAF–FCA) or other agencies or organizations that may have provided support, financial or otherwise, for this project.

Our Current Economic Climate:

• Most economists agree that Canada is in a recession, and has been in one since the end of November 2008. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), an international think-tank, anticipates that the recession for Canada will last for most of 2009. ¹
• In his presentation at the dialogue, Senior Vice-President and Chief Economist of the Conference Board of Canada Glen Hodgson forecasted Canada’s real GDP to contract by 0.5 per cent in 2009. The trade sector will take a large part out of growth this year, and the automotive sector will be particularly hard hit.
• Hodgson also noted that the unemployment rate is expected to reach just over 8 per cent at the end of 2009. ²
• Crude oil prices have dropped significantly, and the Canadian dollar has depreciated in value.
• Decreased workloads result in fewer opportunities for ‘on-the-job’ training experience for apprentices.
• Skills shortages are occurring in some industries, while lay-offs are a reality in others. Given that not all industries or communities are affected by the economic challenges in the same way, the challenges and the strategies to overcome them will vary.

Key messages from dialogue:

• Continued support for apprenticeship training no matter the economic situation is imperative.
• Keep your apprentices; there will be an upturn and we will need to be ready. Retaining your investment is critical.
• Remember that there is a need to train beyond preparing for the economic upturn; demographics indicate likelihood that labour market challenges will continue to be a reality in the future.
• Agreements and creativity between employers and organized labour may sustain investments during this challenging time.
• Support apprentices and communicate to them that this situation is temporary – keep your apprentices engaged and support them through additional training and other measures.
• There needs to be communication between all stakeholders, including apprentices.

Some promising workplace practices in the current economy:

Here’s what is working for many…

• Promote long-term investments in apprentices (look at it as an investment, not as a cost)
• Look at the workforce from both ends (employer and apprentice)
• Encourage skills upgrading when work is slow to prepare for upturn and future labour market challenges
• Continue to evaluate programs available to apprentices and ensure that those programs are communicated through different stakeholders
• Engage apprentices in their workplace to increase retention
• Encourage public sector to take on apprentices
• Ensure apprentices have a broad range of skills to sustain companies over the long-term
• Recognize value of ‘home-grown’ apprentices – understand culture of company, more familiar with the methods of production

Possible challenges to maintaining apprenticeship programs in this economy:

There may be…

• Lower completion rates for apprentices
• A lack of projects for apprentices to be able to practise their trades
• An atmosphere of disillusionment for apprentices
• Challenges that are greater in certain sectors.

Actions/Strategies for CAF-FCA and apprenticeship stakeholders

• CAF-FCA should continue to communicate the value of apprenticeship programs to stakeholders, especially to small and mid-sized businesses
• CAF-FCA should maintain relationships with educators; technical training institutes have an interest in the well-being of their communities
• CAF-FCA should explore possibility of having forums/dialogues on provincial and regional levels
• CAF-FCA should investigate how other governments around the world support apprenticeship; Canada needs to be on a level playing field
• CAF-FCA should make a statement that the Red Seal has to be the standard for mobility for tradespersons across Canada
• The idea of employers in the industrial, manufacturing, public and service sectors creating a pool of apprentices to share costs and broaden the apprentices’ skill development.
• Communication with apprentices is very important in these times
• Recognize Red Seal as the national standard
• Understand demographics within communities, the nation, and the world;
• Encourage closer links between industry and government
• Create incentives to encourage small and mid-sized businesses to hire apprentices

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¹ Julian Beltrame, “Canada in recession: OECDâ€�. The Canadian Press, 25 November 2008.
    Available at: http://finance.sympatico.msn.ca/investing/insight/article.aspx?cp-documentID=14148144
² Glen Hodgson, Conference Board of Canada. Presentation at CAF-FCA’s
    â€œApprenticeship Workplace Practices in the Current Economyâ€� dialogue. 25 February 2009.