In this context, a number of labour representatives and some employers criticized the practices of some employers who tend to keep apprentices in less-advanced stages of apprenticeship, restricted to particular tasks, or prolong the apprenticeship to postpone having to pay journeyperson rates. Other employers release their higher-paid, fourth-year apprentices to hire junior, lower-paid apprentices, thinking they are saving money but forgetting the investments they have lost (). This trend culminates in apprentices being used, in the words of several spokespersons, as “cheap labour”. ^{Footnote 4}

For similar reasons, some employers resist sending apprentices on block release, effectively “plateauing” apprentices at a certain level and wage because of the difficulty in maintaining production—or supporting its associated costs— while apprentices were away for training (). One respondent reported that co-workers are sometimes reluctant to see their colleagues go on training—particularly during peak activity—since the perception is that this training will increase their workload (). Such resistance can be seen as a barrier to increasing the demand for the classroom-training portion of apprenticeship.

For employers, “poaching” remains an important barrier to hiring apprentices.

For employers, the risk of having apprentices hired by other employers—a practice known as “poaching”—can be a strong disincentive to further investment of resources in training. Poaching effectively deprives employers of their return on investment.

For apprentices, particularly those with family responsibilities, a wide range of individual cost items (travel, income interruption for block release and tools) can make apprenticeships difficult to pursue.

There was not always agreement on the extent to which the cost of apprenticeship represents a major barrier. One respondent, for example, argued that, contrary to conventional wisdom, apprentices are relatively well off financially among all post-secondary students (). Others countered this contention by noting that, in most jurisdictions, apprentices, unlike other post-secondary students, are not eligible for student loans ().

Specific costs facing apprentices include:

• Tuition fees for school-based training sessions have recently been implemented or increased in several provinces ().
• Apprentices that take technical training may face travel and accommodation costs, particularly if these apprentices live in remote communities. A lack of individual tax incentives for travel and accommodation means that individuals from remote locations may be penalized ().
• The high cost of tools (PEI Apprenticeship Training Board, 2001; CARS, 1999). Heavy-equipment technicians, for example, must spend some $8,000 on tools in the first two years of their apprenticeship (CSLS, 2001). While changes in federal tax regulations and loans for tools in some provincial jurisdictions have reduced the financial burden in some trades, several interviewees cited this factor as a continuing barrier in a number of trades ().
• Block release for technical training can cause income interruptions. For example, six weeks of reduced income while on training can pose a significant problem for many apprentices (). ^{Footnote 5} This barrier was ranked first in a survey of a group of PEI-based apprentices (PEI Apprenticeship Training Board, 2001). For young apprentices, the situation is made worse by the fact that they face higher unemployment rates, making it more difficult to cover up-front costs associated with apprenticeship training (CSLS, 2001). Block-release requirements also represent a significant barrier to employers who must often find replacements to their apprentices who go on block releases for training ().
• While EI waiting periods are satisfied after the first term of an apprenticeship, delays in receiving EI payments constitute a significant financial barrier, particularly for apprentices with family responsibilities (). Some labour representatives felt that the funding for apprenticeship support should not come from EI but from more flexible sources.
• The fees charged for examinations are an additional cost item.

Labour respondents noted that apprentices are very often in their late twenties or older with family responsibilities. This circumstance heightens the impact of the financial costs of apprenticeship, and has been identified as a serious barrier to entering and completing apprenticeships. In fact, family and financial obligations may also force apprentices to drop their apprenticeship training and start working full time (). These obligations may also make apprentices less inclined to move to where new jobs or projects might be but more inclined to leave a trade for another occupation (PEI Apprenticeship Training Board, 2001).

Unions often face costs associated with apprenticeship.

Some unions reported that they had provided income support to their apprentice members either through tuition support, assistance with travel costs, or other subsidies. This support, however, was clearly seen as a stop-gap measure in the absence of a much more focused attention by governments and others to the financial barriers currently in place (). Unions also reported other significant apprenticeship-related costs, particularly when they establish training trust funds or operate trades training schools.

One implication of these cost issues is that apprentices may be willing to enter into trades work without entering or completing apprenticeships (Prism Economics and Analysis, 2000). In the latter case, apprentices with a number of years of apprenticeship experience often command respectable wages that, combined with employers’ willingness to hire them on the spot, makes it attractive to drop out of their apprenticeship.

For similar reasons, apprentices in some non-regulated trades may perceive no benefit from writing their final exams, which can constitute a direct barrier to successfully completing their apprenticeship. In these trades, individuals may complete up to the last year of their apprenticeships; but they will not write the exams since they feel they have a better chance of being employed, because they are cheaper than a certified journeyperson but just as competent ().

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