Skill shortages, declining birthrates, an aging workforce, and increasing global competitiveness in Canada are all combining to create an environment in which human resources are the country’s number-one comparative advantage—or weakness, if Canadians do not respond to this challenge. For this reason, skill shortages and the need to be innovative in how we develop and utilize human resources have become top public-policy and private-sector concerns in Canada.
Increased investments in industry training and apprenticeship have been identified as part of the solution to the skills dilemma. Workers in the skilled trades, in particular, have been identified as essential to building and maintaining Canada’s place in the knowledge-based economy. An adequate supply of skilled trades workers is the key to keeping Canada economically strong and socially sound. Footnote 1 The Conference Board of Canada reports that Canadian employers spent significantly less on formal training per employee than employers in the U.S., Europe, Asia and the Pacific region. Footnote 2 These conclusions are echoed in other surveys, including Statistics Canada’s Workplace and Employee Survey (WES).
To achieve more significant outcomes on adult job-related learning and employer-sponsored training, including apprenticeship, Canadian training stakeholders must address the obstacles and barriers to skills development. While a substantial amount of analysis and research on barriers and access to training has been undertaken over the last two decades in Canada and elsewhere, a recent comprehensive pan-Canadian research project on barriers to apprenticeship has not been undertaken.
In this broad context, the Canadian Apprenticeship Forum – Forum canadien sur l’apprentissage (CAF-FCA), is a multi-partite organization that includes representatives of business, labour, the Inter-Provincial Alliance of Apprenticeship Board Chairs (IPA), educators, persons with disabilities, women, members of visible minorities, Aboriginal people, the Canadian Council of Directors of Apprenticeship (CCDA), and Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (formerly Human Resources Development Canada), has two key parts in its mandate.
CAF-FCA promotes apprenticeship as an effective training and education system that contributes to the development of a skilled labour force, and provides a mechanism for key stakeholders to support apprenticeship-delivery systems across Canada.
CAF-FCA has identified the issue of accessibility and barriers to apprenticeship as an area of key concern. The issue has become increasingly important in the current context of Canadian economic, demographic and public-policy developments.
Reflecting these priorities, CAF-FCA contracted the Canadian Labour and Business Centre (CLBC) to research accessibility and barriers to apprenticeship in a comprehensive and effective way, and to consult broadly with the apprenticeship community. This report presents the findings of this research—a synopsis of a range of perceptions relative to the barriers.
Return to note 1 Government of Canada (HRDC). Knowledge Matters – Skills and Learning for Canadians. Ottawa: HRDC, February 2002.
Return to note 2 Stephanie Harris-Lalonde. Training and Development Outlook 2001: Beyond the Basics – Organizational Learning in Canada. Ottawa: The Conference Board of Canada, 2001.