Apprenticeship: Today’s Investment = Tomorrow’s Competitive Advantage!

OTTAWA – May 28, 2009 - The economic recession is top of mind for Canada’ apprenticeship community, as it is for the rest of the country and the world.

To hear what companies are doing in the workplace, in order to deal with this issue, the Canadian Apprenticeship Forum-Forum canadien sur l’apprentissage (CAF-FCA) held an important and timely event:

Apprenticeship Workplace Practices in Our Current Economy – a half-day forum featuring speakers from business, labour and education, and representing the construction, manufacturing and automotive sectors – took place in Ottawa on February 25, 2009. Participants shared perspectives and discussed practices for hiring and retaining apprentices in today’s challenging economic climate.

The general feeling in the room of almost 100 participants was that the economic situation is temporary. But, it was unanimous that Canada’s demographic situation is and will be continue to be a critical workplace issue. The skilled trades have the oldest workforce in Canada. Participants agreed that supporting apprentices through a variety of active measures including access to additional technical training; improving dialogue with business, labour and governments; and maintaining open communication among all players, including apprentices, are all essential strategies at this time.

“Retaining investment is critical, and collaboration and creativity among stakeholders is the key to sustaining those investments during this challenging time” says Allison Rougeau, Executive Director of CAF-FCA.

Apprenticeship Workplace Practices in Our Current Economy was held to encourage apprenticeship stakeholders from across Canada to learn about the variety of practices for retaining apprentices, and to recognize the importance of maintaining apprenticeship training programs no matter the economic situation.

To learn about this discussion and hear what others are doing, go to the CAF-FCA’s website at http://www.caf-fca.org/en/events/NFD_video.asp. The five speakers’ presentations can be viewed in order or individually. Viewers can also read about the broader themes of the discussion, and provide feedback via a brief online evaluation survey.

For further information on Apprenticeship Workplace Practices in Our Current Economy, please contact Danielle Matheusik at 613-235-4004 ext. 203 or danielle_matheusik@caf-fca.org

This project was funded by the Government of Canada’s Sector Council Program.

CAF-FCA is the only inclusive national body that brings together all players in apprenticeship training. CAF-FCA works under the guidance of its Board of Directors, who represent every aspect of the apprenticeship community. Our work has brought to light a number of key issues that affect apprenticeship training - such as perceived barriers to training; the business case for apprenticeship; and the importance of promoting apprenticeship training as a valued and respected choice for post-secondary education.