Now is the perfect time to build a recruitment and retention system that welcomes underrepresented groups to the trades.
By / Sandra Skivsky
Chair with National Trade Contractors Coalition of Canada
There are many initiatives across the country that are aimed at recruiting underrepresented groups—in fact, most government funding, both federal and provincial, has some sort of stipulation to address these groups. This, along with key changes in demand and Canadian demographics, helps foster an environment ideal for reimagining the recruitment, training, and employer support system to bring underrepresented groups to the trades.
The first point to consider is the the demand for construction workers over the next decade. The industry has to replace 22 percent of the workforce (260,000 workers) due to retirements and develop another 65,000 workers to meet demand. COVID has thrown a curveball, and even though training has continued, it is at a reduced capacity and scheduling has been impacted. Our traditional pathways into the trades will not be sufficient to meet the demand, so the industry needs to expand and simplify access.
In the recent budget the federal government announced an investment of $470 million over three years, beginning in 2021-22, to Employment and Social Development Canada to establish a new Apprenticeship Service. The Apprenticeship Service would help 55,000 first-year apprentices in construction and manufacturing Red Seal trades connect with opportunities at small and medium-sized employers.
Through the program, employers would be eligible to receive up to $5,000 for all first-year apprenticeship opportunities to pay for upfront costs such as salaries and training. To boost diversity in the construction and manufacturing Red Seal trades, this incentive will be doubled to $10,000 for employers who hire those underrepresented, including women, racialized Canadians, and persons with disabilities.
In some cases there are contractual obligations around community benefits and hiring of workers from underrepresented groups—the problem with that is it is difficult to find workers from these groups with the necessary training. This issue of increasing inclusivity needs to be changed at the recruiting/training side, so that there are skilled workers available from all groups. It entails changing and expanding traditional intake processes and looking at the constraints of entry, not of employment. Skilled workers would be hired regardless of their gender or ethnicity—the obstacles lie in getting the into the trade in the first place.
The best place to start is in elementary schools and high schools by providing exposure to the trades and having a connection to industry so that the students (when they are ready) have access to employers and further training. It’s not enough to just have a wood working shop in a high school; they need to be connected to the industry through employers, training centres, and unions to make that move from shop class to registered apprentice. The cross section of students that can participate in these programs would be reflective of the school population and not limited to those who already have a connection to the industry. Also, those students will be making informed decisions when it comes times to take the next step and enter a trade because they have had exposure to it.
For an apprenticeship system to be effective, young people need to be attracted to a trade. According to Statistics Canada, the number of registered apprentices (all trades) in Ontario increased steadily between 2000 and 2010, but since then has oscillated and has not shown significant sustained growth.
There was a strong revitalization of the apprenticeship system in the early 2000s from the recessionary period in the mid-1990s when many apprenticeship programs shut down, so the growth was a combination of meeting rising demand, addressing the gap when training was constrained, and a response to more promotion of the trades as a viable career choice. But growth has stalled so new strategies need to be developed.
That means barriers to entry need to be minimized. There have been many studies over the years which analyzed barriers to entry for apprenticeship programs, and these identified lack of awareness or guidance into the trades; lack of employer support for training and hiring (because apprentices were viewed as a cost); and stigma around apprenticeship being the last resort job. This, along with practices that may not have been inclusive to immigrants, women, and other minority groups, has had an impact. In fact, the majority of apprentices came to the trades because of an introduction from family, friends, or neighbours, or through a job program. They did not enter the trades because of their interest or aptitude. This results in people not completing their apprenticeship or exiting the trade early, so a better introduction to the trades is needed.
For starters, training needs to be continuous, with no breaks during a downturn. As mentioned previously, apprenticeship training in Canada took a nosedive in the mid-90s because of the downturn in the economy. For a number of years, training took a back seat. The result of that training slowdown is still with us 25 years later as the industry as whole is missing part of an age cohort in the labour force. Those seasoned, skilled journeypersons in the 45 to 50 years of age range who would be the forepersons, site supervisors, or lead hands, or who may have moved into estimating and project management are not there.
It is very difficult to make up for lost training opportunities in apprenticeship. Even if there was a waiting list for training, there is a limit to the number of first-year apprentices that the industry can absorb. Everything from crew size to ratios to union membership can slow down the rate at which apprentices are turned into journeypersons, and it will become clear to the construction industry some of those practices will have to change to stay competitive in the future.
Training needs to develop job-ready candidates and facilitate employer involvement with training. Given that the industry is going to experience increasing retirements there will be fewer experienced or “skilled” workers to mentor apprentices, and there will be a greater reliance on the training regimen to produce work-ready apprentices who can move up the learning curve faster. To make that process effective and productive, employers need to take on apprentices and be involved in the training process. Gone are the days when employers readily found workers with the required skills or were able to “poach” them from the next contractor. Employers input is also key in having training meet the needs of the market.
Consider the following two excerpts from a research report written by Andrew Sharpe James Gibson titled, “The Apprenticeship System in Canada: Trends and Issues,” and published by the Centre for the Study of Living Standards in 2005:
“A consensus exists that raising awareness about the apprenticeship system would translate into higher registration levels, particularly youth registration. The Registered Apprenticeship Survey of participants of the apprenticeship program in 1994-1995 showed that even among participants of the apprenticeship program, nearly 40 percent were not aware of the apprenticeship program in high school.”
“Evaluated as a school-to-work institution, the apprenticeship system’s performance is severely constrained by its lack of integration into the education system and the failure of the trades to promote themselves independently.”
You may wonder why I’m looking at a report from over a decade ago and data from 20 years ago. The reason is that those comments could still be applied today, and not just in Canada. The United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Australia, are all looking at where they are, where they need to be, and how they are going to get there. It is time we did, too. ▪
Key Takeaways:
- The current labour market will not fix itself through a regular business cycle
- The demographic curve is unique in history as the baby boomers move out of the workforce
- Apprenticeship has many models and delivery mechanisms, but the stakeholders are the same
- Apprenticeship must be part of the career investigation process at an early age, preferably middle school
- A connection needs to be made between industry, school boards, and parents
- Employers need to play an active role to illustrate that good careers in the trades are possible and hire apprentices
- Unions needs to make accommodation for students or pre-apprentices
- Find a champion at a local school board; for instance, a teacher with enthusiasm for teaching a trade
- Ensure there are clear pathways to completing an apprenticeship through the training delivery agent, such as a college or training centre
