The present report provides evidence that Essential Skills training benefits apprentices, employers, labour groups, and other stakeholders. Initiatives documented provide useful examples of programs and strategies currently underway in Canada and highlight key factors for the successful development and implementation of Essential Skills initiatives, as well as some of the challenges.

One common and critical challenge for initiatives continues to be the lack of awareness and understanding of Essential Skills among various stakeholders, including apprentices themselves. CAF-FCA and others can play an important role in addressing the main challenge of raising awareness and understanding of Essential Skills issues, as well as developing a host of tools and processes to ensure the smooth implementation of Essential Skills and apprenticeship initiatives.

Although much work is being undertaken in the area of Essential Skills, at a minimum apprenticeship stakeholders may wish to consider the following recommendations:

Recommendation 1: Ensure there is a mechanism which quantifies the link between Essential Skills and apprenticeship initiatives and increased apprenticeship completions

A number of organizations involved in Essential Skills and apprenticeship initiatives lack evaluation tools. Since many of the initiatives have been implemented within the last few years, these organizations have not had the opportunity to develop the tools necessary to assess the degree to which success is linked to increased completions. To remedy this, a comprehensive set of evaluation criteria and tools could be developed to ensure that the value of Essential Skills and apprenticeship initiatives are accurately assessed. Stakeholders must be in a position to demonstrate and quantify this. Additional quantitative research and data is required in this area.

Recommendation 2: Create a reference of assessment tools which evaluate apprentice candidates’ attitudes, aptitudes, and general suitability for specific trades

Stakeholders require systematic assessment tools to evaluate apprentice candidates’ attitudes, aptitudes, and general suitability for a specific trade. Although resources do exist, a comprehensive catalogue of these resources would assist stakeholders in identifying the most suitable tools to use for specific trades and sectors. This would help to ensure successful recruitment nto the sector and maximize investment in apprentice candidates.

Recommendation 3: Ensure the level of Essential Skills required during training matches the level of Essential Skills required on the job

Essential Skills work conducted by the CARS Council and highlighted in their case study identifies that there may be a discrepancy between the level of Essential Skills required during training and the level of Essential Skills required on the job. To adequately prepare apprentices for success on the job stakeholders in all industry sectors would fare well to ensure that apprentices receive a level of Essential Skills training that matches the level of skills that will be required of them on the job.

Recommendation 4: Examine ways to ensure apprentices and potential apprentices acquire the appropriate Essential Skills for their chosen trade

Findings for this project suggest that there is a common set of Essential Skills liked to apprenticeship (Reading Text, Numeracy, and Document Use). However, it is not known whether these three Essential Skills are universal for all apprentices across all industry sectors, or whether apprentices in different sectors require a different set of Essential Skills. It would be interesting to further examine these findings.

Recommendation 5: Create opportunities to partner with stakeholders to raise awareness about Essential Skills.

Creating opportunities to partner with stakeholders and sectors across Canada to raise awareness about Essential Skills will benefit the Canadian apprenticeship community overall. Partnerships with organizations that have a focus on Essential Skills and apprenticeship can provide opportunities for:

• Other equity-seeking groups and audiences to benefit from Essential Skills and apprenticeship training; and
• Additional stakeholders to share and continue the work of increasing awareness and understanding of Essential Skills issues and how they can enhance apprenticeship training.

Recommendation 6: Diminate information about Essential Skills to raise awareness among stakeholders.

Stakeholders can raise awareness about Essential Skills by disseminating information to stakeholders. Incorporating the results of one Essential Skills project into another illustrates how information from one project can be used to enhance and build upon the research work of another project. Newsletters and brochures can also be used to communicate the need for Essential Skills training.

“What the apprenticeship community can learn from our experience is that support for individuals is important, positive and necessary. There’s a huge population of apprentices out there and people have a need to be successful. As they proceed in their careers, these apprentices will become the supervisors, lead hands, company owners, and trades instructors of tomorrow. If we can make people come out of trades programs feeling positive about learning, that’s incredible.”

– BC Workplace Educator

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