CAF-FCA GOES THE DISTANCE FOR EMPLOYERS!
CAF-FCA Employer Toolkit is your Ticket to success! Start NOW!

Ottawa, September 30, 2010 - The Canadian Apprenticeship Forum-Forum canadien sur l’apprentissage (CAF-FCA) is excited to announce the launch of the CAF-FCA Employer Toolkit that will help employers learn tips on how to recruit and retain apprentices. It’s never been so easy!

You asked for it and we listened. You said that to help you build a highly skilled and productive workforce, a one-stop-shop information was needed. Thus, the CAF-FCA Employer Toolkit was born.

CAF-FCA created an interactive web based Employer Toolkit aimed at employers who are interested in learning more about apprenticeship training. This Toolkit provides everything you need to know to come on-board the apprenticeship train including:

• The reasons why it pays to hire an apprentice plus employers sharing why apprenticeship works for their business. Hear what they say: Look, I’m not a charity and neither are you. We can’t afford to pay apprentice wages if we don’t get something back. But don’t worry because, at a rate of almost 50%, the returns are outstanding! Find out why apprentices stay longer than workers you hire from outside.
• An on-line Forum where employers can chat with one another and get answers to their questions.
• Hear Our Stories and learn directly from other employers’ experiences: My shop is in a small town and good apprentice candidates weren’t beating down my door. Then another employer said I should widen my search and think about hiring a female apprentice because the best person for the job has nothing to do with gender – it’s attitude and willingness to learn.

He told me that women are thriving in the trades because they are capable, responsible, hard-working and have ingenuity and an eye for detail that we ALL need right now.

So we did it – we hired a woman apprentice. Then another. And another. Now we’re known around here as an ‘employer of choice’. It’s helping us attract the best employees from a wider pool of talent. It’s even brought us positive publicity and a competitive edge when competing for tenders. Who knew?!

• On-line catalogue :  A comprehensive list of all the available supports for employers who hire apprentices that is searchable by province or territory.
• Apprenticeship Works: Build on it database of practical tools that help recruit and retain apprentices.  Easy to administer, it’s organized for you and includes information on the value of apprenticeship training, recruiting tips and interview guides, handbooks for implementing mentoring programs, tools to identify potential skill gaps and worksheets that track apprentices’ progress and development. Just click on your industry category, click on your province or territory, click on any of the categories to get started: Foundation, Recruiting, Mentoring, Identifying Gaps and Tracking Progress. Learn the keys to success straight from employers with over 80% apprenticeship retention rates!

Employers are delighted with the ease of using this material. Now there is no reason why an employer can’t get started. It’s as easy as turning on your computer and finding a friend who can point you in the right direction! Now that’s success you can build on! Aimed at small to medium sized employers, the one-stop-shop interactive web based CAF-FCA Employer Toolkit is your ticket to success!

Terry Burton, Chair of the Workforce Development Committee, Construction Owners Association of Alberta (COAA) said,”This Toolkit should prove to be most helpful for all apprentice employers, particularly potential employers. I’m very pleased to see that the CAF-FCA is once again showing leadership and vision by championing this initiative.  This “tool” will certainly help to convey the message and understanding that apprentices are essential to our industries’, provinces’ and country’s future success.”

We are very pleased to present the CAF-FCA Employer Toolkit. Please have a visit and let us know what you think. http://www.caf-fca.org/en/employers/

It Works! It’s Worth it and the Time to get Started is NOW!

CAF-FCA, is an inclusive national body that brings together all of the stakeholders in Canada’s apprenticeship community. Visit www.caf-fca.org for more information.

For more information:
Margo Royce,
Communications/Project Manager
613-235-4004 ext. 207
margo_royce@caf-fca.org
http://www.caf-fca.org

CAF-FCA and this project are funded by the Government of Canada’s Sector Council Program.