). This barrier was particularly apparent
among Aboriginal people who had little first-hand knowledge or experience related to trades training and apprenticeships ().A lack of awareness of the range of trades careers, and a lack of understanding of how apprenticeship works, are barriers to Aboriginal interest and participation in apprenticeship (CLFDB, 1999; CLFDB, 1995; Cook Consulting, 2001; ). This barrier was particularly apparent
among Aboriginal people who had little first-hand knowledge or experience related to trades training and apprenticeships ().
Aboriginal parents have not been exposed to apprenticeship and the trades, and may not have the necessary information to promote this career path to their children. This barrier is reinforced by the fact that many Aboriginal parents may have negative attitudes about the trades, which in turn discourages their children from pursuing an apprenticeship (CLFDB, 1999).
Weak career planning and career counselling inside and outside First Nations is a barrier to a trades career for Aboriginal people (). One key informant felt that individual apprentices need to develop and maintain a personal commitment to their trade, and that this can come, in part, from the knowledge that the trade has been chosen from among other options and is a clear goal that constitutes the best career step (
). This attitude can be reinforced by the advice and support of family, mentors and others. Good “front-end” counselling and assessment processes can identify,
select and encourage those individuals with the necessary commitment to pursue a trade ().
This barrier was also supported by secondary research, which identified barriers to success in employment, such as the lack of information about diverse careers, the lack of a central place offering career information, and the lack of a network established to deal with career development (National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation, 2002).
Finally, the lack of career information about the trades is exacerbated by Aboriginal students’ tendency not to obtain early exposure to apprenticeship or other career exploration opportunities in the trades.
Many individuals and studies stressed the need for more Aboriginal role models in apprenticeship
(CLFDB, 1995; Cook Consulting, 2001). Due to a relatively “thin” job base in many remote communities, Aboriginal youth in these regions may never, or only infrequently, see a variety
of tradespersons. Aboriginal adults in remote communities may be hired by non-Aboriginal (external) contractors as labourers, but these workers do not build up any expertise over time. While skilled at what they do, they may lack the full range of skills required to complete an apprenticeship. As a result, they do not become tradesperson role models (). The lack of role models also influences the inclination of Aboriginal parents to promote apprenticeship to their children.
Finding employers is more challenging for Aboriginal people on reserve or in remote communities.
Aboriginal people are often unaware of how to go about pursuing an apprenticeship with larger local employers. They may lack the awareness
of the role that unions can play in pursuing an apprenticeship, or appropriate employers may simply not exist in their communities ().
Aboriginal people may find it more difficult to approach employers to find an apprenticeship, particularly employers from outside their communities
(CLFDB, 1999). In part, this barrier is tied to low self-confidence among some young Aboriginal people, as well as cultural differences between these youths and employer contacts. Consistent with the lack of career planning and exploratory experience among Aboriginal people is the fact that they are more likely to lack the basic job-search skills, as well as the confidence to approach employers. In one key informant’s opinion, Aboriginal people may not be inclined to be “self-promoters” nor have the job-search skills to find work opportunities. As a result, these individuals may miss these opportunities ().
Some key informants indicated that employers and industries have not actively recruited Aboriginal people into apprenticeships (). One industry key informant, however, identified the opposite challenge; he spoke of a lack of “equity” applicants in general in his industry: “Employers simply don’t get a lot of candidates applying for apprenticeship with them” ().
It is interesting to note that recruiting Aboriginal people into apprenticeships, and addressing related barriers, was not explicitly identified as priorities or strategies in most industry-sector-specific studies and reports reviewed for this report.