Employment
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
To identify what adults need to know and be able to do in order to successfully transition from Academic Upgrading to apprenticeship programming.
A team of consultants was contracted to develop a questionnaire for apprenticeship faculty, with additional input from the CSC Advisory Group and the CSC Executive Director. The interviewees surveyed represented the Construction, Industrial, Motive Power and Service Sectors. Eleven interviews were conducted in person or by phone. The consultants also conducted a literature review to supplement their own Essential Skills background, gather data for the development of the survey and identify possible issues that might arise in the interview process.
The questionnaire was “exploratory” in nature designed to get a general overview of faculty’s understanding of and support for all nine Essential Skills, and to identify key tasks and core skills that help students make the successful transition to apprenticeship programming. The questionnaire focused on Reading Text, Document and Numeracy since these are the Essential Skills that will be formally assessed to demonstrate skill attainment in LBS and Academic Upgrading programs. Interviewees were also asked to rank types of texts according to their importance using a 5-point scale.
Time constraints allowed for a small but sufficient sample that would provide critical insight into the role of Essential Skills in apprenticeship programming. Time constraints also prevented a formal field test of the questionnaire.
By highlighting the kinds of tasks students perform in apprenticeship programming, the survey results clearly link student success in apprenticeship to Essential Skills.
Essential Skills should be used as a tool to evaluate the preparedness
for apprentices to enter in-school training once they are signed on
(should not be used as a screening tool but as an advising tool). If they
don’t have the Essential Skills levels required, they must remediate on
their own time before taking the first level in-school training.
Apprenticeship Faculty