Securing Apprenticeship
Success in the Oil Sands
Presentation to the Skilled Trades Summit
June 1-3, 2014
Ottawa
By: Ray Massey, Chair
Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training Board
Presentation Outline
• Alberta’s Apprenticeship and Industry
Training System
• Alberta’s labour market challenges
• What is Alberta doing to develop a skilled
workforce?
• Questions?
Alberta’s Apprenticeship and
Industry Training System
Alberta’s apprenticeship and industry training
system is an industry-driven system that
ensures a highly skilled, internationally
competitive workforce in over 50 designated
trades and occupations.
Alberta’s apprenticeship facts
On-the-job training – 80%
– exposes apprentice to how to do the job
– provides opportunity to practice skills and
knowledge
• Technical training – 20%
– provides the bigger picture - the
theory, rationale and how things
fit together
– helps broaden the knowledge and
abilities of the apprentice
Minister of
Alberta Innovation and
Advanced Education
Alberta Apprenticeship and
Industry Training Board
Provincial Apprenticeship
Committees (PAC)
Local Apprenticeship Committees
(LAC)
Alberta apprenticeship facts
In 2013, there were:
• more than 65,000 registered apprentices in
Alberta
• more than 22,000 new apprentices registered –
an increase of almost 50% since 2010
• More than 8,500 individuals were certified in
Alberta’s designated trades and occupations.
Alberta apprenticeship facts
Apprentice Completion Rate
During the 2012-2013 school year, 77% of
apprentices who completed the first year of their
program went on to complete their
apprenticeship within two years of the earliest
completion date.
Alberta apprenticeship facts
The majority of graduates who participated in the 20112012 Apprentice Graduate Survey expressed satisfaction
with:
• the overall quality of their on-the-job training (95%)
• the overall quality of their technical training (96%)
• their experience with the apprenticeship program –
96% would still have chosen to become an apprentice.
Alberta apprenticeship facts
The majority of employers who participated in the 2012
Employer Satisfaction with Apprenticeship Training and
Skilled Tradespersons Survey expressed satisfaction with:
• the skills of certified journeypersons (95%)
• apprenticeship technical training (86%)
• the effectiveness of on-the-job training (96%)
Alberta apprenticeship facts
• In 2013, apprentices were being trained at more than 14,000 employer
sites around Alberta—nearly half in shops with 20 or fewer
tradespeople.
Total Apprentices Being Trained by Employer Site Size,
2009 - 2013*
25,000
Number of Tradespeople
Apprentices
20,000
10 or Less
15,000
11 to 20
10,000
21 to 50
51 to 100
5,000
Greater than 100
0
2009
2010
2011
Year
Source: Alberta Innovation and Advanced Education
*The size of an employer site is determined by the number of tradespeople.
2012
2013
Alberta’s labour market challenges
Alberta’s Workforce Challenges
• Aging workforce/demographics
• Oil Sands Projects
• On-going maintenance and sustaining
capital projects
• Interprovincial competition
For the coming decade, Alberta
could experience a cumulative
labour shortage of around 96,000
workers by the year 2023.
Alberta Job, Skills, Training and Labour
Government of Alberta
Alberta’s Occupational Demand and Supply Outlook 2013-2023
Released: February 2014
High demand trades/occupations in
Oil Sands and related projects, to 2023
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Boilermakers
Bricklayers (in refractory work)
Carpenters (often as scaffolders)
Construction estimators and managers
Construction millwrights
Crane operators
Electricians
Heavy Equipment mechanics
Insulators
Ironworkers (structural and reinforcing)
Steamfitter-pipefitters
Welders
Source:
* Buildforce Canada, Construction and Maintenance Looking Forward, Alberta Oil Sands, 2014-20123 Key Highlights.
What is Alberta doing to develop a
skilled workforce?
Strategic Initiative: Industry Champions
• Issue:
Alberta’s industry is expected to encounter significant
challenges in attracting and maintaining a sustainable
workforce to support economic activity as the economy
becomes stronger (and as the current trades workforce
starts to retire)
• Solution: Industry can positively impact the skilled trades workforce
supply by:
 Hiring more apprentices
 Becoming more involved in the training of apprentices
 Implementing retention strategies that keep
apprentices motivated and progressing in their
program
Strategic Initiative: Industry Champions
• Progress to date:
– Oil and Gas Industry Champions Committee
• Increased awareness of shared challenges and
opportunities
• Increased minimum apprentice hiring in companies that
direct hire
• Developed Call to Action for Apprenticeship document
– Oil and Gas Action Plan event – Feb. 27, 2014 in
Calgary (in partnership with CAF)
– Meeting with construction association that
supports energy supply chain
Strategic Initiative: Industry Champions
• Challenges encountered:
– Differences in hiring practices of direct and
indirect hires (through contractors)
– Lack of common vision in industry
– Duplication of effort and resources
– Cultural change required – need to
acknowledge that apprentices are an
investment in the future
• For every $1 invested in training an apprentice, an employer
will receive a new return of $1.47.*
* Source: Canadian Apprenticeship Forum “It Pays to Hire an Apprentice: Calculating the Return on Training Investment for Skilled Trades Employers in Canada.”
Strategic Initiative:
Innovation in technical training delivery
• Blended On-Line Learning
– A combination of theory delivered on-line and
the practical component of technical training
taking place at a training institute.
– Five trades currently have blended learning
on-line instruction in select periods (with more
trades/periods under development)
Strategic Initiative:
Promote the trades as a career of choice
• Partnerships with organizations such as Women Building
Futures and CAREERS: Next Generation.
- Trades Alberta editorial series
• Learning Clicks Ambassador Program – in 2013, almost
900 presentations given to 22,000 students.
• Registered Apprenticeship Program – in 2013, more than
1, 500 high school students participated in RAP and
were employed at over 1,000 employer sties.
Strategic Initiative:
Promote the trades as a career of choice
• Alberta Aboriginal Apprenticeship Initiative
• Northeast Alberta Apprenticeship Initiative
• Attending job fairs and post secondary open houses
Strategic Initiative:
Promote the trades as a career of choice
Career and Technology Studies (CTS) –
Pathways to Apprenticeship
• Five apprenticeship pathways
currently available:
•
•
•
•
•
Automotive Service Technician
Carpenter
Cook
Hairstylist
Welder
Five new apprenticeship
pathways to be available as of
September 2014:
• Auto Body Technician
• Electrician
• Heavy Equipment Technician
• Millwright
• Plumber
Strategic Initiative:
Promote the trades as a career of choice
• In 2013, 16,000 students
participated in Skills Canada
programs, representing 165
Alberta communities.
Strategic Initiative:
Promote the trades as a career of choice
• NAIT’s “Trades to Degrees” Program
– a unique post-secondary learning opportunity
– allows certified trades professionals to move directly
from a trades credential to the third year of a
business degree program
– successfully piloted in 2012-2013
– first public classes were offered in
the 2013-2014 school year.
For more information about this program, please visit:
www.nait .ca
Strategic Initiative:
Support apprentices to finish their training
Financial supports for apprentices
Alberta:
• $200 million endowment to support apprentices
• Alberta Income Support Grant (based on need)
• Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training Board
Scholarships
Federal:
• Employment Insurance
• Apprentice Incentive and Completion Grants
• Canada Tradesperson’s Tool Deduction
Strategic Initiative:
Support apprentices to finish their training
• Scholarships
– Alberta Apprenticeship and
Industry Training Board
Family of Scholarships
o Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry
Training Scholarships
o Top Apprentice Scholarships
o Pre-Apprentice Scholarships
o RAP/CTS Scholarships
As of March 31, 2013,almost $6 million has been awarded to apprentices
through the board’s family of scholarships.
Initiatives to increase employment
opportunities
• Apprenticeship Job Creation Tax Credit
• Government of Canada Economic Action
Plan 2013
– Canada Job Grant
– Promoting Education in High Demand Field
(including skilled trades, technology,
engineering and mathematics)
– Supporting the use of Apprentices
Questions?