These generic barriers have been grouped into nine categories, each reflecting a particular aspect of supply or demand conditions for apprenticeship:
The negative attitudes of youth, students and parents towards apprenticeship have resulted in a negative image of trades. Trades are often perceived as second-class or dead-end careers with little potential for advancement. For young people, a lack of early exposure to trades affects their awareness of career options involving trades. For young women in particular, socialization and gender stereotyping of occupations further affects attitudes. For Aboriginal people, cultural, educational and social factors combine to make apprenticeship a low-profile, second-best career option. The absence of role models was cited as a particular factor affecting the attitudes about trades of young women, Aboriginal people and members of visible-minority groups.
Employer attitudes to apprenticeship are perceived to be a major and fundamental barrier. A perceived lack of a training culture and poor human-resource planning on the part of many employers were seen to contribute to this barrier. These attitudes result in an absence of positions for apprentices and a relatively low level of support for apprenticeship training.
The lack of awareness about trades represents another important generic barrier. The poor image of trades may derive from this lack of awareness, but it also reflects a societal focus on university and the trades’ failure to promote themselves. In addition, career information is lacking in many occupational areas, and a poor orientation to trades on the part of young people and other key groups may also exist. For instance, a lack of initiatives promoting apprenticeships to women was identified as a significant barrier. For Aboriginal youth, negative or indifferent parental influences, the lack of role models, and inadequate career planning and counselling all account for a lack of awareness about apprenticeship and trades careers.
A shortage of effective high school trades work-experience and industrial arts programs, as well as the tendency of guidance counsellors to promote university-based careers, represent significant educational barriers to apprenticeship. A lack of clearly defined career paths to allow individuals to move between school programs and the apprenticeship system has also been identified as an obstacle. Furthermore, the research team identified the role of parents and family as crucial in determining young people’s career choices.
Discrimination, and unwelcome and sexist behaviour in the workplace also make it difficult for women to find careers in trades. Safety and security issues are supplemental barriers faced by women. Stereotyping and discrimination also represent significant barriers for members of visible-minority groups, recent immigrants and Aboriginal people.
Persons with disabilities also face numerous challenges in their quest for apprenticeship training and, ultimately, employment. Physical and personal barriers in the workplace and training are such that physical adaptation of the workplace remains the principal obstacle to on-the-job training for members of this group. These barriers compound the isolation and discrimination faced by persons with disabilities both in training and the workplace. Resistance from other workers, and employers’ hiring and selection practices are other important issues to be considered.