Apprenticeship in the News

Response from CAF-FCA Executive Director to Globe and Mail Article, Skilled trades among world's toughest jobs to fill

May 21, 2010

Dear sir/madam

This letter is in response to your recent article Shortage of Talent, which was published in the Thursday, May 20, 2010 issue of the Globe and Mail.

The article says that the number one area of shortage for International and Canadian companies is in skilled trades. This means that for Canadian companies, a continued reliance on immigration or hiring an already trained individual is no longer the only viable HR strategy and in fact, hasn’t been for some time.

Apprenticeship training is the best route to become qualified in the skilled trades yet, we know from our research that not enough employers are involved in training apprentices. This despite much evidence that demonstrates there is a business case to do so. Research done by the Canadian Apprenticeship Forum, shows that for every dollar invested directly in apprenticeship training, there is, on average a 47 cent return on that investment.

The Companies who responded to the survey highlight that they need people with job specific skills. Well, there really is no better way to obtain those job skills then through apprenticeship training. In fact, Companies that do participate in apprenticeship training say that it is because the apprentice is trained to their company standards, clients needs, their safety practices and their culture, that it makes those individuals a perfect fit within their operation.

The article reminds us that magnitude and importance of encouraging employers to take on a training culture has never been greater. When you speak to key industry representatives like Terry Burton from Shell Canada, you will hear comments like; “not only is important for employers to train from a business standpoint but we also have a moral and social obligation to ourselves and each other to encourage opportunities for young people to train as apprentices. It is a necessity. For our country to become more competitive we need to invest more in our renewable resource – our people.” That article reminds us that we have no time to delay. “A call to action” is what the Chair of the CAF-FCA Board - Allan Bruce can often be heard saying. With business picking up in all sectors across the Canadian economy, now is the time to commit to an apprenticeship training plan.

The response was submitted by Allison Rougeau, Executive Director of the Canadian Apprenticeship Forum