The Be All is the End All!

CAF-FCA Explores Completion in a Recent Dialogue

OTTAWA, March 5 /CNW Telbec/ - Over 80 people representing various apprenticeship stakeholders including Statistics Canada, HRSDC, Centre for the Study of Living Standards, the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, Canadian Home Builders' Association, Operating Engineers Training Institute of Ontario and many others made this one of CAF-FCA's best-attended dialogues to date.

And such a strong attendance is not surprising as stakeholders in apprenticeship training know that completion is an issue of vital importance. We know that apprentices who complete their training are more likely to earn more, work more and have higher rates of satisfaction with factors such as pay, responsibilities, job security, health and safety, and work relations.

Canadian data from Statistics Canada show positive results for those who complete their apprenticeship training. For example, they are more likely to:

    
    -   be employed and in the labour force
    -   have permanent jobs
    -   earn more than apprentices who did not complete their training
    -   have their certificate of qualification (almost 90% of completers
        have their certificate of qualification compared to 25% of non-
        completers) and
    -   have their Red Seal designation
    

Nationally, 24,495 people completed their apprenticeship training in 2007, which is up 17.5% from 2006 - the largest rate of growth in the last 10 years. Our challenge is to build on this positive growth and to leverage our collective experience and wisdom around "what works" to help apprentices meet their goals.

Apprentice stakeholders agreed that the following works and can be further enhanced:

    
    -   mentoring
    -   tutoring to deal with essential skills and exam anxiety
    -   a set path with clear targets and goals and
    -   valuing and celebrating completion and achievement
    

Apprentice stakeholders fully supported the federal government's Apprenticeship Completion Grant.

Certification rates need to increase in order to achieve the real benefits that completion brings. These positive trends must continue so that the apprentice can Be able to achieve All the benefits that come once completing the End of All their training.

Funded by the Government of Canada's Sector Council Program, CAF-FCA is the only inclusive national body that brings together all players in apprenticeship training. CAF-FCA works under the guidance of its Board of Directors, who represent every aspect of the apprenticeship community. Our work has brought to light a number of key issues that affect apprenticeship training - such as perceived barriers to training; the business case for apprenticeship; and the importance of promoting apprenticeship training as a valued and respected choice for post-secondary education. For further information: http://www.caf-fca.org

For further information: Margo Royce, Communications/Project Manager, [phone] ext. 207, [email protected]