Firms reluctant because of costs, lack of work – but they can’t afford not to, says association
Apprentices are struggling to find supportive employer sponsors, according to a recent report from the Canadian Apprenticeship Forum (CAF).
In talking to 113 apprentices at 13 focus groups across the country and looking at a 2007 National Apprenticeship Survey by Statistics Canada, CAF found the most common reasons for employers not hiring apprentices is the assertion they lack enough continuous contracts to support the hiring, there is no need for additional workers and there are very few apprentices applying.
Employers also say the problem stems from a lack of work to support apprentices — or the fact they can’t find apprentices.
“There’s a big disconnect here,” said Allison Rougeau, executive director at the CAF.
About 17 per cent of apprentices have said finding an employer sponsor is a challenge, meaning it’s a substantial issue, she said. “There’s huge opportunity to encourage more employers to take on apprentices.”
But that figure seems low, according to David Podmore, CEO of Concert Properties, citing other studies by the homebuilding industry that found less than 20 per cent of builders’ employers were taking apprentices and dedicated to them.
“Overall, employers are failing to make the commitment that’s necessary,” he said.
Investment worthwhile: Real estate developer
Podmore’s real estate development company has provided ongoing support for apprentices on its job sites, said Podmore. The Vancouver-based company also developed financial support for training apprentices, in conjunction with provincial colleges, with a $500,000 bursary fund supported by suppliers, trades and contractors.
“Where somebody really makes the commitment and makes sure a superintendent is there to take a special interest in the person, it’s incredible, the results you can get,” said Podmore.
Employers will always have some reason, such as a poor economy or a lack of work, “but the fact is they need, for their own security long term, to consider making that investment,” he said.
And it’s not fair for good employers and contractors, because companies that don’t hire apprentices benefit from that commitment and investment in training, said Podmore.
With the economic recovery gaining speed in Canada and aging demographics, there will be an urgent need for highly skilled and trained tradespeople in the near future.
“We all know 10 to 15 years from now, we’re going to be struggling to find the trades we need in our business,” he said. “We all talk a lot about how we’re so concerned about the shortage of labour but we’re going to have to make some sacrifices if we want to have good quality, well-trained labour that’s excited about being in the business.”
A supportive employer sponsor would register an apprentice with the province or territory, pay his wages, offer a safe place to work with proper equipment and facilities, provide a certified journeyperson to mentor the individual, release the person for technical training and monitor the apprentice’s progress.
But the commitment and support from employer sponsors vary greatly, said Podmore.
“Some of them talk a great story but they don’t make the investment. People get discouraged pretty quickly when they sense that,” he said. “We are losing a lot of people that would be great long-term candidates for full training.”
Finding employer sponsors is one of the biggest challenges for the school system, said Joe Tomona, associate dean at the School of Applied Technology at Humber College in Toronto who oversees the Centre for Trades & Technology and skilled trades programs and apprenticeships.
The school is working to put pre-employment programs in place or step up programs to provide people with skills in the job market as experience is always more attractive to an employer, said Tomona.
But another challenge is small employers can be flooded with applicants.
“Apprenticeship tends to be the ‘hidden’ job market because of that reason — small companies don’t have the HR staff to handle the flood of responses,” he said, so community groups and networks are a better option for smaller organizations.
Often at smaller places, there are busy periods and a need quickly arises for three to four people, but only for a few months, so there’s a reluctance to commit to full time.
“It’s all a complex dynamic,” said Tomona. “But judging by the number of candidates coming through, somebody’s hiring, it’s working. So whatever’s going on seems to be going right.”
Fighting the disconnect
For the past couple of years, the CAF has been focused on trying to understand and encourage employers to develop a training culture, said Rougeau.
One of the biggest barriers is the employer perception apprenticeships are costly endeavours. Yet a CAF study of more than 1,000 employers in Canada in 2009 found for every $1 invested, the employer gets back 47 cents over the life of training. So the association is using that kind of information to try to dispel some of the myths and enhance the business case, she said.
“Most employers who participate say it’s to their competitive advantage to participate, they can’t afford not to, they need skilled tradespeople, it’s a key component of their core business,” said Rougeau. “It’s what they need to sustain their workforce.”
Recommendations that emerged from the focus groups included continued career-awareness programs and pre-apprenticeship programs, creating a list of interested employer sponsors and communicating the value of apprenticeships to employers.
“Government and employers and educational institutions, they’re not doing enough to make people aware of the need, to make employers aware of what they can do,” said Podmore.
Grants and tax incentives from federal and provincial governments can be very helpful, he said, along with providing more examples of employers that are doing an outstanding job when it comes to apprenticeships. The CAF is working on testimonials to share employer-sponsor stories, said Rougeau, and providing a one-stop shop of information for employers because there are many layers to the process.
