Background

Established in 2000, the Canadian Apprenticeship Forum – Forum canadien sur l’apprentissage (CAF-FCA) is a not-for-profit organization that promotes and supports the apprenticeship training and education systems in Canada.¹ Its mission is to:

• Influence pan-Canadian apprenticeship strategies through research, discussion and collaboration; and,

• Promote apprenticeship as an effective model for training and education, contributing to the development of a skilled, high quality, productive, inclusive and mobile labour force.

In 2004, the CAF-FCA commissioned the report Accessing and Completing Apprenticeship Training in Canada: Perception of Barriers (“Barriers Report”). It examined some of the perceived barriers that apprentices may face when accessing and completing apprenticeship training in Canada. The report identified nine categories of barriers for apprentices and discussed some of the challenges involved in moving forward.

One barrier identified in the report is a lack of basic and ‘Essential Skills’. Apprenticeship stakeholders interviewed agreed that young people may lack one or more of nine Essential Skills such as mathematics and reading. As a result, these apprentice candidates may be lacking some basic skill levels prior to entering an apprenticeship program.

As a continuation of its work, the CAF-FCA commissioned an Essential Skills Project to collect additional information necessary to understand the degree and extent to which Essential Skills act as barriers to, or predictors of, success or failure in the context of apprenticeship.

What are Essential Skills?

In the early 1990s, Human Resources and Social Development Canada (HRSDC) (formerly known as Human Resources and Skills Development Canada) launched a national research project to identify and measure the level of complexity of a set of non-technical skills that were present in all jobs. The result of this work was the documentation of nine Essential Skills:

1. Reading text
2. Writing
3. Continuous learning
4. Document use
5. Oral communications
6. Thinking skills
7. Numeracy
8. Working with others
9. Computer use

HRSDC defines Essential Skills as the “…fundamental skills that make it possible to learn all others. They are enabling skills that help people participate fully in the workplace and in the community”.² Although some stakeholders interpret the definition of ‘Essential Skills’ in a broader context than the one used by HRSDC, for the purposes of this research project the CAF-FCA has adopted HRSDC’s definition of Essential Skills. Building upon this earlier work and recognizing the need to ensure Canadians have the right skills for the changing demands of work and life, HRSDC launched the Essential Skills and Workplace Literacy Initiative in April 2003. Its overall goal is to enhance the skill levels of Canadians who are entering or are already in the workforce by increasing awareness and understanding of Essential Skills, supporting the development of tools and applications, building existing research, and working with other federal government programs.³

A lack of Essential Skills has a negative impact on the apprenticeship community

While some members of the apprenticeship and skilled trades community readily embrace Essential Skills as key predictors of success or failure in the trades, others remain unaware of their existence and importance. They often ask the following questions:

• What are ‘Essential Skills’?
  
• How are they being applied in the apprenticeship community?
  
• Why are they an important predictor of success or failure in apprenticeship? and
  
• How does a lack of Essential Skills negatively affect all apprenticeship/skilled trades stakeholders?

Some people view a lack of Essential Skills as an individual problem – usually the problem of the apprentice or journeyperson. A lack of Essential Skills in apprentices and journeypersons negatively impacts everyone from potential apprentices, apprentices, journeypersons, employers, labour groups, public and private training institutions, to government stakeholders, and ultimately society at large. If an apprentice or journeyperson is unable to successfully complete training, obtain certification, or perform effectively on the job, the negative impact could have a domino effect on all apprenticeship stakeholders:

• Apprentice candidates who have difficulty entering into the system or obtaining certification may decide to abandon the skilled trades altogether and consider another career option. This may negatively impact some trades, regions of the country, groups, or industries. Provincial/territorial governments, employers, labour groups, and society in general could potentially lose the investment made in those apprentices;
• Employers may have increased difficulty finding and retaining skilled workers. This may impact their bottom line in several ways and could result in increased wage costs that are out of line with normal market drivers, increased potential of ‘poaching’ from other employers, or an inability to bid on and successfully obtain desirable work contracts or maintain work load. Ultimately, these results may lead to a lower margin of profit – the lifeblood of any business;
• Apprenticeship stakeholders could find themselves in the unenviable position of trying to solve a human resource puzzle with the need to develop ad-hoc regional human resource strategies to recruit and retain much-needed workers back into the trades. In essence, Canadian jurisdictions may have to actively compete with their neighbours and others for a limited pool of skilled workers.

Collectively, all stakeholders of the apprenticeship and skilled trades community have a vested interest in ensuring that apprentice candidates possess the basic and essential skills necessary to successfully complete apprenticeship training and certification; journeypersons carry out their work tasks and duties; and both contribute to a skilled, productive workforce.

The consequences of a lack of Essential Skills for apprentices and journeypersons

In 2000, the province of Nova Scotia found that a high number of apprentices and trades qualifiers (25 to 50%) were repeating technical training because they were having difficulty adequately responding to exam questions. In addition, the province found that journeypersons were having difficulty passing the Red Seal Interprovincial exam because they needed to brush up on some of their Essential Skills, such as foundation math skills. To address this the province developed several courses including:

• An Essential Skills Math Refresher course, and
• An Essential Skills Document Use Refresher course.

Although not formally evaluated, it is reported that 90% of the apprentices who participated in the Document Use Refresher course pilot passed their exams. Similarly, mature journeypersons who have taken the training have also benefited from the Refreshers and have upgraded their skills so they are better able to perform on the job.

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Objectives of the CAF-FCA study

In 2005, as a result of the findings of the CAF-FCA Accessing and Completing Apprenticeship Training in Canada: Perception of Barriers (“Barriers Report”) and capitalizing on the work completed by the federal government in the area of Essential Skills, the CAF-FCA launched the present study on Essential Skills and apprenticeship. The focus of the study was to develop a clearer understanding of the role of Essential Skills as an enabler to apprenticeship completion, and demonstrate, through the examination of key initiatives, the manner in which Essential Skills benefit the apprenticeship community as a whole.

Specifically, the study objectives were to:

1. Determine the degree and extent to which Essential Skills are presently considered a barrier to accessing and completing apprenticeship programs;
2. Identify the initiatives currently underway, whether or not these initiatives are specific to particular regions, trades or segments of the population, and the processes employed to determine the depth and breadth of the Essential Skills lacking;
3. Determine if there is a baseline level of Essential Skills required for an entry level apprentice and if there are recommended strategies for assessing these; and,
4. Identify among apprenticeship stakeholders awareness of Essential Skills issues and current initiatives which support Essential Skills and apprenticeship training.

A project Steering Committee with representation from business, labour, education, the Canadian Council of Directors of Apprenticeship (CCDA), the Interprovincial Alliance of Board Chairs (IPA), equity groups, and Human Resources and Social Development Canada (HRSDC) was put in place to guide the work of this study.

Approach

A combination of primary and secondary research tools was employed to address the four research objectives of this study (see Objectives above). An environmental scan of initiatives across Canada that were active within the previous three years and included an apprenticeship component and an Essential Skills component was first completed. Through this process it identified a list of 47 eligible initiatives (see Summary of 47 Essential Skills and Apprenticeship Initiatives Across Canada in the appendices). Using selection criteria developed by the Steering Committee, seven of these initiatives were selected as in-depth case studies.

Case studies were not selected on the basis of geography alone (one per province/territory), rather the Steering Committee selected case studies based on a number of criteria such as:

• Represent most of the country’s regions;
• Involve Red Seal Trades (national in scope) and offer a model which could be replicated in other parts of the country;
• Cover many industry sectors in Canada; and
• Include initiatives that target groups who will constitute an increasing proportion of the future workforce, and often face multiple barriers to accessing and completing apprenticeship training (Aboriginal people and visible minorities, for example).

The lead organizations for these case studies were varied and included:

• Sector specific organizations such as:

  • SkillPlan in British Columbia;
  • Commission de la Construction du Quebec (CCQ) in Quebec; and,
  • The Canadian Automotive Repair and Service (CARS) Council at a national level.

• Provincial/territorial government-led initiatives:

  • Manitoba; and
  • Nova Scotia.

An educational institution, Keyano College in Alberta.

A First Nations Community in Manitoba, the Opaskwayak Cree Nation (OCN).

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Research Limitations

In the process used to identify case studies, an environmental scan was conducted which revealed 47 potential initiatives that linked Essential Skills and apprenticeship. The majority of the 47 initiatives were from Ontario or Alberta. A few were from British Columbia and the territories.

Of the 47 initiatives which met the project criteria, few were company-driven projects which focused solely on apprentices. In fact, the majority of the 47 initiatives were government-driven.

While the project identified 4 key objectives at the outset, some challenges arose that limited the ability to draw conclusions linked to the 4 key objectives. This limitation was predominantly a result of the processes used by the case study organizations. Conclusions relative to some objectives were difficult to make because the case study organizations were not in an evaluation phase of the initiative.

The following table provides a summary description of the seven selected case study initiatives.

Table 1: Summary Description of Seven Selected Case Study Initiatives

Source: CAF-FCA Essential Skills project. (2006).

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As part of the methodology, in-person and telephone interviews were conducted on the seven selected case studies with the lead contact person, senior managers, participants, and partners and funders of the programs. Results of the case studies and the environmental scan culminated in a final report.

Highlights – Key Findings:

• Research completed for this project suggests increased completions in apprenticeship training are tied to an Essential Skills strategy. The studies demonstrated greater success in apprenticeship training: the acquisition of Essential Skills can facilitate success in apprenticeship training, success in ongoing career development, and workplace success. The seven case studies discussed in the report illustrate this in a variety of ways.

• Common Catalysts for the Development of an Essential Skills Initiative linked to apprenticeship are:

  • Workplace Safety Changes
  • Workplace Policy Changes
  • Workplace Technological advances
  • Legislative/regulatory changes
  • Socio-economic issues
  • Inability to pass certification or level exams

• Common set of Essential Skills linked to apprenticeship were identified:

  • Reading Text,
  • Numeracy, and
  • Document Use

• It appears that most initiatives underway are linked to trades in construction or are linked to the Aboriginal Community.

Findings in Detail

The following section outlines how case study findings are linked to the key objectives of the research. In order to facilitate the reader’s understanding, a specific example has been selected at random from the seven completed case studies. In some instances, the examples are few – in other instances more are cited.

Study Objective 1: Determine the degree and extent to which Essential Skills are presently considered a barrier to accessing and completing apprenticeship training programs

In the CAF-FCA’s Barriers Report, employers in virtually every industry sector, labour representatives, and Aboriginal spokespersons expressed concerns about the inadequate levels of apprentices’ Essential Skills. Often, the catalyst for these concerns were a result of changes in the workplace – linked to technological advancements, regulatory change, or safety concerns. These same stakeholders noted that the low levels of apprentices’ educational attainment and basic skills are significant barriers to accessing and completing apprenticeship.⁴ Given that many trades require that potential apprentices and journeypersons possess ever-increasing levels of skills and knowledge, a lack of Essential Skills creates challenges for industry. These findings were corroborated by the 47 Essential Skills and apprenticeship initiatives across Canada and by the in-depth analysis of seven case studies included in the appendices.

The initiatives themselves were not designed to collect significant sampling of quantitative data in order to measure the “degree” to which a lack of Essential Skills in apprentice candidates may be a barrier to accessing and completing apprenticeship training. However, qualitative information retrieved from the case study interviews identified that a need to assist candidates in acquiring or refreshing their Essential Skills was the primary catalyst for the development and implementation of the initiatives. Stakeholders are gradually recognizing that apprenticeship candidates who lack Essential Skills have a tendency to fail their exams or abandon apprenticeship programs altogether. In the long run, an investment in Essential Skills initiatives and/or programs may represent a cost savings for stakeholders.

Study Objective 2a: Identify the initiatives currently underway, and the processes employed to determine the depth and breadth of the Essential Skills lacking

The case studies analyzed for the purposes of this project varied in scope and purpose. The list of 47 initiatives that were identified as part of this work are listed in the appendices; seven of which are featured in the context of case studies within this report to demonstrate the depth and breadth of the various initiatives underway.

Study Objective 2b: Identify whether or not these initiatives are specific to particular regions, trades or segments of the population

Predominant sector

The construction sector is strongly represented among the 47 Essential Skills and apprenticeship initiatives identified across Canada in the appendices of the final report. This is to be expected, given the number of trades the sector employs. Thirty-two of the 47 initiatives were Red Seal trades-specific, with most of these initiatives focusing on carpentry/building/construction trades such as the electrician and plumber trades. In general, organizations involved in the development of an Essential Skills and apprenticeship initiative determined which trade(s) would be targeted.

Predominant segment of the population

Although most initiatives did not intentionally seek to focus on equity-seeking groups, many of the 47 initiatives identified focused on Aboriginal people.

Predominant access point

A significant proportion of Essential Skills activity appears to be within pre-apprenticeship or career preparation programs. While the overall goal of these programs is to ensure that potential candidates possess the necessary Essential Skills to complete an apprenticeship program, six of the seven initiatives profiled provided programs and services to apprentice candidates who were either preparing to begin an apprenticeship program or already enrolled in an apprenticeship program.

Study Objective 3: Determine if there is a baseline level of Essential Skills required for an entry level apprentice and if there are recommended strategies for assessing these

The Essential Skills that are key to success in apprenticeship vary depending on the initiative’s scope and target audiences. However, based on the parameters of the research work completed for this project, four Essential Skills were commonly identified throughout the list of 47 Essential Skills/apprenticeship initiatives and also within the seven case studies examined. These are:

• Reading Text,
• Numeracy,
• Document Use, and
• Writing skills.

Two of the case study organizations integrate other necessary skills into their Essential Skills training. For example, the CCQ identifies an additional three skills as part of the nine Essential Skills listed by HRSDC: planning, analysis and problem-solving, and client relations. The OCN integrates thinking skills, continuous learning and working with others as part of the overall Essential Skills training.

Assessment

The research work completed for the project did not identify recommended strategies to assess the Essential Skills required for an entry level apprentice. However, three of the case studies conducted included some type of process to assess a candidateEssential Skills. The assessment process included the use of a suite of assessment tools, an assessment learning plan, and assessment tools and upgrading programs. Regardless of the manner in which it is implemented, it is clear that assessment activities play a critical role.

Examples from the case studies on how assessment strategies can be used are listed below and are detailed in depth in the case studies themselves.

The Manitoba Essential Skills Strategy employs a Branch-developed assessment package that consists of:

• An information page about the Essential Skills needed for a given trade;
• A self-assessment checklist that allows an individual to compare their levels of Essential Skills with the levels required for a trade; and,
• A set of trades-specific exercises through which an individual can determine whether they actually possess the levels of Essential Skills they believe they possess.

An Assessment Administrator conducts an assessment either one-on-one or with small groups of candidates. Upon completion of this first step, a Referral Counselor scores the results and, based on the self-assessment and exercises completed, recommends the type of upgrading required and learning options available.

The assessment learning plan development in the Nova Scotia Essential Skills Strategy is an individualized and trade-specific process completed upon registration for the apprenticeship program. Using a guide developed for the assessment and other tools as required, Skill Development Coordinators and/or Apprenticeship Training Officers assess candidates and focus on identifying the candidate’s strengths.

Candidates are asked about their learning and educational experiences, work, home, and union life during an informal interview or consultation. Documents pertaining to the candidate’s work are shown to the candidate and questions are informally asked about these documents. This allows the assessor to determine the Essential Skills’ levels of the candidate. Results of the assessment are used to create the candidate’s learning plan.

Differing from the Manitoba and Nova Scotia strategies, the CARS case study describes an assessment tool that enables CARS to compare and identify the Essential Skills requirements described in the occupational profiles with the actual Essential Skills’ levels of workers. The tool consists of a series of 20 multiple choice questions covering five levels of complexity for each of the Essential Skills assessed. The questions refer to scenarios, documents such as receipts and forms, and copies of workplace materials and are based on situations and activities that workers likely encounter during the work day.

Both the OCN and CCQ case studies also employ assessments to determine the type of Essential Skills training required. The OCN Essential Skills Upgrading Program begins with an assessment of the trainees’ academic level, aptitude, and life skills. In the CCQ’s Essential Skills Initiative, apprentice candidates are not always assessed for Essential Skills when they enroll in apprenticeship technical training. In some cases, candidates may already be well into technical training when Essential Skills training is also offered.

Study Objective 4: Identify, among apprenticeship stakeholders, awareness of Essential Skills issues and current initiatives which support Essential Skills and apprenticeship training

Although a wide range of stakeholders are leading Essential Skills initiatives, the majority of the 47 initiatives listed in the final report are being led by provincial/territorial governments. Manitoba, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island were identified as the provincial/territorial governments most active in leading Essential Skills and apprenticeship initiatives. Both Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island currently have five initiatives underway, while Manitoba has one large initiative consisting of a variety of projects and activities.

Existing Essential Skills and apprenticeship initiatives have helped to raise awareness and understanding of Essential Skills issues. This is a result of the direct promotion and communication efforts of some of the case study organizations and partnering stakeholders such as governments, unions, employers, educators, and others. Through a joint effort to meet immediate needs and demands, stakeholders have increased awareness of Essential Skills issues and their importance to the apprenticeship community.

Information and data collected by case study organizations provide them with feedback that they can use to improve their initiatives. For CARS, the results of an assessment of the Essential Skills complexity levels in seven occupations provided the Council with trend and data information. For Manitoba, work related to the Essential Skills strategy provided the organization with the opportunity to analyze and improve some of its apprenticeship intake processes.

In addition to the key objectives listed, a series of success factors were identified for effective Essential Skills/apprenticeship initiatives:

Factors contributing to effective and successful initiatives

In all seven initiatives examined, some type of partnership was formed among the initiative founders, who often contributed different or complementary resources to an initiative. The success of these partnerships led to the successful delivery of the Essential Skills initiatives.

The assessment process employed by some case study organizations directly contributed to the success of the Essential Skills initiative. An initial assessment of a candidate’s strengths – rather than their weaknesses – raised the candidate’s confidence level, encouraged them to participate in the necessary Essential Skills training, and motivated them to complete their apprenticeship program.

Another requisite for success cited by all case study organizations is the ability to offer trades-specific or customized programs and courses. Apprentice candidates relate best to Essential Skills training if the curriculum and material used pertains to the trade they want to learn, or the trade in which they already work. Linked to this factor is the need for flexible programs, and a trainee-centered curriculum.

This study also indicates that the success of the case study initiatives can depend upon the level of expertise of the staff recruited to develop and implement the programs and/or projects at various stages. Stakeholders and partners need to engage staff with expertise in Essential Skills and/or apprenticeship training. This was (and continues to be) identified as a major resource need for the viability of the initiative. Recruiting quality instructors is a key factor in the successful delivery and uptake of the programs.

The success of any Essential Skills initiative also depends upon apprentice candidates’ motivation and commitment to engage in training. Their buy-in is critical. Apprentice candidates are motivated by occupation-specific training that is delivered by quality instructors. These factors tend to promote Essential Skills training among learners.

When an Essential Skills initiative is successfully implemented, members of local communities and partnering organizations also benefit by developing local Essential Skills expertise, resources, and the capacity to teach others about new methods of curriculum development and program delivery. The Manitoba and Nova Scotia experiences illustrate this.

Nova Scotia and Manitoba have found that the practice of working with the learner to refine the training program results in a higher level of commitment from the learner to complete Essential Skills training. As a result, the learner’s self-esteem and confidence levels remain intact or are elevated. The learner may feel less intimidated by the process when a more informal approach to assessment and training development is emphasized.

Challenges

While there a number of Essential Skills initiatives active, and despite efforts to raise awareness, there is still a lack of awareness and understanding of Essential Skills issues. Moreover, the important need to upgrade the skills of apprentice and journeyperson candidates was cited as a key challenge by most case study participants. Raising awareness about Essential Skills is also an issue within the educational community, and among employees and apprentices themselves. Often learners may feel uncomfortable acknowledging that they have problems with their reading skills; they more readily admit to having problems with their math skills. This exacerbates the challenges within the context of continuous learning.

Linked to this issue is the continuous challenge of commitment to training. When learners do not understand the benefits of training and continuous learning they lack the motivation to commit to Essential Skills training, especially when apprentice and journeyperson candidates are in need of it. Unfortunately, those who resist the training often need it the most.

While there have been strides made, there remains a lack of trades-specific documents and materials to incorporate into Essential Skills programs, and course curriculum is another challenge identified by participants of this study. While a fair amount of trades math resources are available, ‘Reading Text’ and ‘Document Use’ materials are lacking. The burden of producing the necessary materials often falls upon instructors, with some assistance from the provincial/territorial government. This may be complicated by an instructor’s lack of familiarity with the trades and/or his or her lack of trades-specific experience.

Ensuring appropriate funding of programs and projects is another issue identified by a number of the case study organizations. Linked to this is the need to find ways to make Essential Skills programs and services sustainable in the long run. This is the biggest challenge facing the CCQ who needs to update the technical trades and Essential Skills training courses so that the curriculum remains current. This is labour-intensive and costly.

Recruitment and retention of human resources continues to be a challenge for most of the case study organizations. Locating the “right” educator to deliver Essential Skills training is seldom easy. Essential Skills workplace educators require a unique set of skills and the flexibility to adapt or improvise the curriculum.

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Conclusion

Research completed for this project suggests that there is a strong connection between an Essential Skills strategy and greater success in apprenticeship training: the acquisition of Essential Skills can facilitate success in apprenticeship training, success in ongoing career development, and workplace success. The seven case studies discussed in the report illustrate this in a variety of ways. They provide evidence that:

• Apprentices and potential apprentices who complete Essential Skills training have a higher tendency to complete apprenticeship training;
• Journeypersons who complete Essential Skills training have a higher tendency to pass trades qualifier exams;
• Employers who provide Essential Skills or Essential Skills-based training to their employees see employee confidence increased, fewer safety concerns, and a more productive workplace;
• Governments who integrate Essential Skills training into technical trades training anecdotally noted increased completion rates for apprentice and journeyperson candidates in comparison with previous years; as well as improved communication between the government department, its clients, and the industry;
• Governments who integrate Essential Skills training into its intake processes note that “…apprentices experience less frustration as they move through training to full employability” – perhaps making a link to greater success in apprenticeship overall;
• Community groups who provide their members with Essential Skills training say their members tend to be better prepared for and have a higher tendency to complete apprenticeship training;
• Trades-related industry sectors who identify the foundation Essential Skills necessary to succeed in the sector note that Essential Skills training can help bridge the gap between the skill levels required to complete industry training with the skill levels required to perform industry jobs; and
• Public or private training institutions who develop Essential Skills-related products or training programs note that these products or services can be adapted to suit the needs of many of its clients (apprentices, journeypersons, employers, labour groups, and governments).

More and more stakeholders are collaborating with one another and integrating Essential Skills training into apprenticeship training. Ideally, apprentices would complete Essential Skills training before they begin technical training. Realistically though, it is recognized that Essential Skills training is integrated into any phase of an apprenticeship program. Stakeholders play an important role by disseminating information about Essential Skills and partnering with other stakeholders on Essential skills-related projects and programs.

The CAF-FCA is uniquely positioned. It is the only pan-Canadian organization that provides a forum where apprenticeship stakeholders can collectively identify and work on current challenges and opportunities through research, discussion, and collaboration. The following recommendations can provide further support for the CAF-FCA’s continued involvement in this area.

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Recommendations

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 into 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: Disseminate 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

1. About Us. Retrieved from http://www.caf-fca.org/english/about.asp.
2. Essential Skills. Retrieved from http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/en/hip/hrp/essential_skills/essential_skills_index.shtml.
3. Ibid.
4. Canadian Apprenticeship Forum – Forum canadien sur l’apprentissage. (2004). Accessing and Completing Apprenticeship Training in Canada Perception of Barriers, A Consultation Report. Ottawa, Author. p. 42.

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