Apprenticeship

Apprenticeship training is undertaken by fewer than 10% of all trainees. Half of all Canadian apprentices are in half a dozen trades like carpentry, auto mechanics, and electrical work. Apprenticeship learning is as relevant to occupations emerging in a postindustrial economy as it was to the traditional trades. The in-school portion of training must continue to be interspersed with practical experience in the workplace. The education system should not be used simply as a screening device before employers make a commitment. Apprenticeship training must become accessible to all.

Worker participation in decision-making

In an effective transition system, workers have an advisory as well as a decision-making role to play in adjustment programs. This principle has been accepted for over 50 years, beginning with the establishment of the Unemployment Insurance Commission with equal numbers of commissioners representing workers and employers. The advisory councils for labour market programs at the national level have generally also followed this principle, e.g., the CLFDB. However, it has not been extended to appointments to the several hundred federal committees and councils at the local and sectoral level. Labour had virtually no representation on community futures committees.

Workers and their unions must play a central role in determining the direction of training at all levels. The principles we have adopted for decision-making structures at the national, provincial, local, and sectoral levels must become even more firmly rooted in public policy. This requires labour-business parity on all training and adjustment boards, committees, and councils.

The governance of community colleges and publicly funded training institutions must be turned over to boards that genuinely represent the diverse interests of labour, business, and other groups within the community including teachers, support staff, and students. An equal number of board members should represent business and labour and they should represent the community and its diversity.

Canadians must have access to a one-stop national employment service that provides counselling, job placement, job vacancy information, financial assistance and UI administration, and access to training. The service must be available in every community across the country. The national network of Canada Employment Centres must be strengthened and provided with the necessary resources to expand publicly administered employment services.