CAF-FCA 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.5 CAF-FCA is a driving force for healthy, vibrant and progressive apprenticeship systems, on a pan-Canadian level. 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.

The CAF-FCA’s composition is unique because it includes multi-stakeholders from the apprenticeship community across Canada. The CAF-FCA Board of Directors is composed of representatives from business, labour, education, the Canadian Council of Directors of Apprenticeship (CCDA), the Interprovincial Alliance of Apprenticeship Board Chairs (IPA), persons with disabilities, women, visible minorities, Aboriginal persons, and Human Resources and Social Development Canada (HRSDC).

The CAF-FCA serves as a forum which allows the various stakeholders to openly and fully discuss and explore issues and challenges facing the apprenticeship community; it also serves as a vehicle for the apprenticeship community to work together on issues of common concern.

Essential Skills Context

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:

• Reading text
• Writing
• Continuous learning
• Document use
• Oral communications
• Thinking skills
• Numeracy
• Working with others
• 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”.⁶ 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. Through extensive research that included over 4,000 interviews with workers across Canada, HRSDC observed and assessed how these skills are used in the workplace. This information resulted in the development of 200 occupational profiles that describe the use of Essential Skills in different occupations. Workplace materials were compiled to illustrate how skills such as Reading Text, Document Use, and Writing skills are actually used in Canadian workplaces.

Project Context

In 2004, the CAF-FCA commissioned 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 and discusses some of the challenges involved in moving forward. The Barriers report identified nine generic barriers, Essential Skills being one of the nine.⁷ The report concluded that young people lack adequate Essential Skills (including mathematics and reading skills). As a result, apprentice candidates may lack basic skill levels prior to entering an apprenticeship program. Apprentice candidates were also found to lack self-esteem, confidence and the network of contacts required to approach employers. The report also found that employers lacked systematic assessment tools to evaluate apprentice candidates’ attitudes, aptitudes, and general suitability for a specific trade.

In 2005, as a result of the findings of the Barriers report and capitalizing on the work completed by the federal government in the area of Essential Skills, the CAF-FCA commissioned the Essential Skills Project in an effort to understand the degree and extent to which Essential Skills may act as barriers to or predictors of success or failure in the context of apprenticeship. The purpose of the project was to develop a clearer understanding of the role of Essential Skills as an enabler to apprenticeship completion, and to demonstrate, through the examination of key initiatives, the manner in which Essential Skills benefit the apprenticeship community as a whole.

A project Steering Committee was established to guide and oversee this project. The present report is the culmination of the project research work. It reflects the results of a comprehensive environmental scan of 47 current Essential Skills and apprenticeship initiatives across Canada and an in-depth review and analysis of seven of the initiatives. It discusses the approach and metho dology employed, key findings, factors which contribute to successful and effective initiatives, and some of the challenges faced by the seven case study organizations, and provides an overall conclusion and recommendations.

The CAF-FCA hopes that the results of this study will enable the apprenticeship community to plan, implement, and participate in future Essential Skills and apprenticeship activities.

5. About Us. Retrieved from http://www.caf-fca.org/english/about.asp.
6. Essential Skills. Retrieved from http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/en/hip/hrp/essential_skills/essential_skills_index.shtml.
7. 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. 2.

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