Securing Apprenticeship Success in the Oil Sands

Presentation to the Skilled Trades SummitJune 1-3, 2014

Ottawa

By: Ray Massey, ChairAlberta 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

Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training Board

Provincial Apprenticeship Committees (PAC)

Local Apprenticeship Committees (LAC)

Minister ofAlberta Innovation and Advanced Education

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.

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 2011-2012 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.

Source: Alberta Innovation and Advanced Education

*The size of an employer site is determined by the number of tradespeople.

Alberta apprenticeship facts

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

Total Apprentices Being Trained by Employer Site Size,2009 - 2013*

10 or Less 11 to 20

21 to 50 51 to 100

Greater than 100

Year

Ap

pre

nti

ces

Number of Tradespeople

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 LabourGovernment of Alberta

Alberta’s Occupational Demand and Supply Outlook 2013-2023Released: 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

• 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.*

Strategic Initiative: Industry Champions

* Source: Canadian Apprenticeship Forum “It Pays to Hire an Apprentice: Calculating the Return on Training Investment for Skilled Trades Employers in Canada.”

• 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:Innovation in technical training

delivery

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.

• 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

• Five apprenticeship pathways currently available:• Automotive Service Technician• Carpenter• Cook• Hairstylist• Welder

Career and Technology Studies (CTS) – Pathways to Apprenticeship

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.

Strategic Initiative: Promote the trades as a career of

choice

For more information about this program, please visit:

www.nait .ca

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 Scholarshipso Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training

Scholarshipso Top Apprentice Scholarshipso Pre-Apprentice Scholarshipso RAP/CTS Scholarships

Strategic Initiative:Support apprentices to finish their

training

As of March 31, 2013,almost $6 million has been awarded to apprentices through the board’s family of scholarships.

• 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

Initiatives to increase employment opportunities

Questions?