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Case Study: Canadian Automotive Repair and Service (CARS) – Essential Skills Project1.0 IntroductionThe Canadian Automotive Repair and Service Council (CARS) is a not-for-profit organization established “to address the human resource training and development needs of the Canadian automotive repair and service industry.”14 The industry employs about 254,000 individuals in 39,000 business establishments across Canada. Helping to build and support successful businesses in this vital industry is a key focus for CARS. More than just a sectoral voice, the Council is a dynamic network that supports and represents employers and employees who work in Canadian automotive repair and service – one of the largest and most important components of Canada’s labour market. CARS provides human-resource and learning tools that are convenient, accessible, and custom-designed for automotive repair. This ensures that employers and professionals who work in this industry can obtain the latest skills and discover more about the latest technologies and trends. CARS addresses industry human resource issues through research, development of upgrade training opportunities, and promotion/awareness activities. These activities range from research and reporting on key human resource challenges facing companies in the sector, to interactive distance learning (satellite-based) professional development training, to the development and distribution of career information for youth in junior and senior high school. 2005 CARS published a major report entitled “The Road Ahead – Human Resource and Training Challenges in the Motive Power Repair and Service Sector”. The research conducted was extensive and identified a number of challenges the industry faces in skills and training, recruitment and retention, and in remuneration and working conditions. A number of factors and trends are increasing the need and demand for Essential Skills training in the automotive repair sector. These factors include:
These factors are all driving the need for increased investment in employee training in virtually every part of the automotive repair and service sector. CARS recognizes that it is important that workers who receive training are properly equipped with the basic, or Essential Skills. They need to be able to understand, assimilate and apply the training in order for it to be effective. The Essential Skills challenge for CARS, and for the automotive repair and service industry, is to ensure that individuals at all levels of employment (students, apprentices, workers/employees) are equipped with the adequate levels of Essential Skills needed to succeed in the training. Thus, CARS initiated a national strategy for Essential Skills development in the industry, and the Essential Skills Project was launched in 2004. Key outcomes of the project were to provide quantitative information on the extent to which each of the Essential Skills were, or were not, an issue within the automotive repair and service workforce, and to establish a foundation for the development of a national strategy.
2.0 Description of ProjectType The two-year research project was designed to achieve the following:
As these objectives are achieved, CARS will be able to work with both industry and education partners to ensure that individuals at all levels of the industry possess the Essential Skills needed to succeed in training, which is increasingly occupation and trade-specific. The project consisted of 3 phases. The first pertained to the development of occupational profiles for seven selected occupations. This was followed by the development of an Essential Skills assessment tool. The final phase involved a comparison of the Essential Skills levels required to complete the training with the Essential Skills levels needed to perform each of the seven occupations. Occupational Profiles Occupational profiles were first developed for seven occupations:
These occupations were selected by CARS and Human Resource and Social Development Canada (HRSDC) as appropriate for the development of Essential Skills profiles. Four of the seven profiles were prepared by CARS, while the other three were prepared by HRSDC. Prior to preparing the occupational profiles, the CARS project manager participated in the full Essential Skills Profiler training provided by HRSDC. The occupational profiles describe Essential Skills requirements for each occupation based on a standardized methodology and measurement scale. The extent to which each of the nine Essential Skills is required in each occupation is described in terms of a five point complexity level, with level one complexity being the lowest (basic tasks) and five the highest (advanced tasks). Understanding the Essential Skills profiles of the seven key occupations was essential in establishing a baseline against which the Essential Skills levels of workers in those occupations could be measured and compared. Development and Administration of the Essential Skills Assessment Tool The next step in the process was the development and implementation of an assessment tool. It measured the levels of Essential Skills of workers in the seven industry occupations. This tool enabled CARS to compare the Essential Skills requirements identified in the occupational profiles with the actual Essential Skills levels of workers. The assessment identified gaps and potential barriers to the success of future training initiatives in those occupations, and led to recommended actions to close the gaps. While the Assessment Tool was under development, and based on preliminary information from the occupational profiles, CARS identified the following seven of nine Essential Skills as being of greatest relevance to the automotive repair and service sector:
CARS contracted with a private sector organization to develop and administer the Essential Skills Assessment tool. CARS determined that for practical reasons, the assessment tool would be most effective if it encompassed only three of the nine Essential Skills – Reading Text (RT), Document Use (DU), and Numeracy (N). They selected these target skills for assessment based on their importance to the industry, and on the ease with which they could be assessed using a paper-based tool. A series of 20 multiple choice questions were developed for each of the three Essential Skills to be assessed (60 questions in total). The questions for each Essential Skill covered all four levels of complexity for that skill. The questions were all based on situations and activities that workers in the seven target occupations would likely encounter during their work day, with each question referring to scenarios, documents (e.g. receipts, forms etc.), and copies of other workplace materials needed to answer the questions. The sixty questions were printed in numbered booklets that were distributed to testing centers across the country. Six community colleges across Canada agreed to act as testing centers where volunteer respondents could complete the assessment tool. Employers assisted in recruiting employees. Students at seven selected educational institutions across the country (colleges and high schools) were also invited to participate in the assessment. Recruitment was done primarily by telephone by CARS and by private sector service providers. Employers helped to recruit workers in the industry. Industry workers who completed the assessment tended to do so outside their working hours, while student volunteers tended to complete the tool during class time. If volunteer respondents could not visit a testing administration center they received a copy of the assessment tool by mail. Approximately 1,500 copies of the assessment tool were distributed and data collection activities took place during the month of February 2005. 582 completed assessments were received. Essential Skills: Occupational Requirements versus Training Curricula Lastly, the CARS Essential Skills research program compared the Essential Skills levels required to successfully complete training in automotive repair and service courses with the Essential Skills levels needed to perform the jobs for which the training was developed. This comparison would serve to highlight any gaps or discrepancies between training and occupational requirements that could hinder the development of the workforce. Target Groups The assessment tool was designed to measure the Essential Skills levels of workers in seven automotive occupations. The 582 self-selected respondents who completed the assessment represented a number of different demographic target groups based on employment status, occupation, geographical location, experience, and size of organization. The targeted occupations were sales, collision/paint, mechanical installers, and service technicians. The proportion of respondents in each of these groups reflects the national distribution of workers in these occupational groups, based on current census data. In terms of employment status, apprentices accounted for 18% of respondents, while workers (both part-time and full-time) accounted for 26% of respondents, and students (including those working full and part time in the automotive repair industry) accounted for the remaining 56%. Thus, while apprentices were not specifically targeted for assessment, they formed a significant group of respondents in the first administration of the assessment tool. Resources Required HRSDC provided $1 million in funding for the two-year Essential Skills initiative. This covered wages for three CARS project staff (a full time Project Manager, part time Administrative Assistant, and IT Support person) for a period of two years. In addition, the budget supported the costs to develop and implement the Assessment Tool, cover associated expenses, and communicate the results of the research program to the CARS community. An advisory committee composed of members from the industry, education, and government was established to provide direction for this major research undertaking. Educational institutions also supported the initiative by serving as testing administration centers for the Assessment Tool, and by serving as contact points for student respondents.
3.0 Benefits of Essential Skills ProjectThe quantitative and qualitative information collected during the project provides information on each of the seven occupations selected, and also identifies general labour market trends in the industry. Occupational Profiles Occupational profiles enabled CARS to identify the Essential Skills and the trends which were common across the selected occupations. Document Use and Oral Communication were identified as the two most common Essential Skills across the seven occupations. The relative importance of the other Essential Skills varied, according to a specific occupation. The development of occupational profiles for the remaining occupations in the automotive repair and service sector will serve to validate the findings of this initial CARS Essential Skills project, and will also reveal Essential Skills trends and information relating to other occupations in the sector. Assessment Tool Through the use of the five point complexity level Assessment Tool, CARS was able to measure the complexity level of each Essential Skill in each occupation. For example, data revealed that the majority of industry participants who completed the assessment possessed Essential Skills at Level 3 for all three skills tested. A comparison of the Essential Skills levels of the 582 industry respondents and the skills profiles of their occupations revealed key findings. Based on the results of the assessment tool:
The results of the overall assessment also provided information and trends relating to the Essential Skills gap apparent in the sector. That is, when the data is analyzed by employment status, an even higher proportion of individuals in the ‘student’ and ‘apprentice’ categories do not meet the required levels for the three Essential Skills. As noted by CARS, these findings suggest that the Essential Skills gap may be acute, and may continue to grow as today’s students and apprentices move into the industry work force. Comparison of the Training vs. Occupational Essential Skills Requirements The ability to conduct a comparison of the Training versus the Essential Skills requirements in selected occupations permitted CARS to identify the gaps that exist between training and job requirements. CARS concluded that the majority of training requires an Essential Skills level of 2, while the industry requires an Essential Skills level of 3 for most occupations. Thus, current training and learning materials may not sufficiently prepare learners for work in the industry. This may explain why students and apprentices often possess low Essential Skills levels.
4.0 ChallengesCARS faced a number of challenges during this project. Some of the challenges relate to the methodology employed in the recruitment of participants from all areas of the country, the selection of seven occupations, and the difficulty in sampling a target group with a range in employment status (students, apprentices and journeypersons). Since a variety of methods were used to generate interest in the project, it took a lot of time and effort to obtain a representative sample of respondents. Timing was also a challenge. By necessity, the development of the Assessment Tool had to take place before rather than after the occupational profiling was completed. As a result, CARS had to decide which Essential Skills would be assessed, without the benefit of referring to completed Essential Skills occupational profiles. In addition to these two methodological challenges, CARS recognized that among industry stakeholders there was a general lack of understanding of Essential Skills issues and their potential impact on current and future industry performance. The industry is still skeptical and is asking ‘What does this mean to me?’ The challenge remains for CARS and others to find ways to communicate with the industry about Essential Skills in terms that are meaningful and relevant. The challenges CARS faced in recruiting assessment participants may be a reflection of the current level of industry buy-in regarding Essential Skills issues. While conducting the comparison of Essential Skills requirements for training with occupational requirements, CARS also encountered challenges in obtaining a broad sample of training curricula and materials from educational/training organizations. As mentioned in the preceding paragraph, a lack of understanding of Essential Skills issues may be a primary reason why CARS encountered this difficulty.
5.0 Future DirectionsIn light of the research findings, CARS has established a national Essential Skills strategy for the automotive repair and service sector. The strategy calls for increased awareness of the Essential Skills issues, problems, and their consequences at all levels of the industry. It also calls for educators, trainers, employers, employees and students to access a range of sector-specific tools and resources to address these issues and problems. The CARS Essential Skills Project Phase II initiative will expand on the Essential Skills research activities undertaken to date and will include additional industry occupations and additional Essential Skills. In addition, this initiative will look for ways to integrate Essential Skills training/upgrading with workplace learning. CARS is taking a leadership position in this area by reviewing its own training program curricula and making changes to ensure that the Essential Skills needed for training are consistent with those needed by industry occupations. In the future, CARS may encounter the challenge of gaining industry recognition of the issues and problems, and gaining their commitment to support changes that will benefit the industry. In a sector comprised of so many small businesses (39,000 establishments – average size 6 employees), industry sub-sectors, numerous educational and training institutions and multiple jurisdictions, communications will be an important and ongoing challenge. Issues surrounding Essential Skills extend to all levels of the workforce, including apprentices. This initiative and future efforts will address the needs of apprentices as key members of the automotive repair and service industry workforce.
6.0 Project ContactEd Nasello, Project Manager, CARS
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To obtain a copy of these works in an alternate format, please contact info@caf-fca.org.
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