Step-by-step apprenticeship

One of the most effective ways to develop talent in a shop is to engage an apprentice. The value of working with someone so new to a trade is that they can develop as a shop needs them to, learning procedures fresh without having to unlearn habits acquired elsewhere.

The challenge for a lot of shops is finding potential apprentices, as well as finding the time to work out the process of adding that team member to their staff in the correct manner. Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan) has created a platform that aims to alleviate some of the strain.

ApprenticeConnect is a bilingual website designed to support apprentice recruitment, training, and retention for employers in the construction and manufacturing sectors. It has information detailing best practices and tips, but it also aims to help businesses cultivate a more diverse and positive workplace.

“Trying to find all the information necessary to engage an apprentice isn't easy, so we tried to bring it all to one place and make it user-friendly and accessible for companies to feel more confident taking an apprentice on,” said Dina McNeil, director, programs and projects, Colleges and Institutes Canada. “A lot of businesses who've signed up for this incentive have never had apprentices before. This platform goes through some steps on how to recruit new workers, how to write a job description, how to think about inclusivity, and how to look beyond traditional approaches to hiring.”

Knowledge and Funding Connection

The platform is a component of Career Launcher Apprenticeships, funded by the Government of Canada’s Apprenticeship Service Program, which provides hiring incentives of up to $10,000 per new apprentice. This information hub and financial assistance provider hopes to address the industry’s workforce needs while fostering greater diversity and inclusion. The key is to simplify the on-boarding process to ensure these financial incentives can be put to best use in support of industry.

The website was developed in consultation with seven colleges and institutes across the country. It offers employers tools to navigate every stage of the apprenticeship journey. This includes recruitment strategies, on-boarding best practices, training resources, and information on available financial support for apprentices and employers.

Some details of the apprenticeship process vary, of course, from province to province, so where the site can’t give definitive guidance, it attempts to direct users to local representatives who can offer the most useful feedback.

“There are also tips and tools for retaining apprentices, because that's also a big issue—getting apprentices to finish the apprenticeships and then stay on board,” said McNeil.

Diversifying The Trades

In addition to trying to promote a positive work culture that reduces burnout, injuries, and turnover, the tool kit supplies resources to support the recruitment and development of workers from traditionally underrepresented groups in the skilled trades.

“Not only is there already a shortage of skilled workers, but there are more and more people who will be retiring over the next five years in the trades,” said McNeil. “Knowledge transfer is so important, so to fill those roles effectively, it’s going to be important to not only get more apprentices, but also source them from a diverse pool of people. That’s where thinking about inclusivity becomes an important consideration.”

The government has a list of equity-recognized groups, and if a company enrolled in Career Launcher Apprenticeships hires somebody who self-identifies as being part of one of those groups, they would get $10,000. Apprentice hires outside those recognized groups would get $5,000 of funding.

“The key with the funding is that the company receives it immediately after registering the apprentice,” said McNeil. “Other programs get paid out over a couple years or require a lot of reporting. An advantage of this program is that it’s just, you enroll, you find your apprentice, you register them, and you fill out one form and get paid. And any company can get funding for two apprentices per fiscal year.”

What the company chooses to do with the funding they receive also is at their discretion. McNeil notes that some companies use it as a signing bonus, or to help with further recruitment, but it’s in the hands of the company. ApprenticeConnect aims to help them recruit effectively and keep those recruits in place long-term.

Engagement Details

The Career Launcher Apprenticeships program is open to any small or medium-sized business that employs fewer than 500 people. McNeil said that it’s important for companies to enroll now if they hope to take advantage of the incentives.

“There is no downside to enrolling, in that you aren’t penalized in some way if you don’t find an apprentice,” she explained. “However, you do have to be enrolled before registering the apprenticeship. You can even take on a labourer who currently works at your company and engage them as an apprentice, but that has to be done after you are enrolled in the program.”

Once a company is registered, another benefit is that it can then engage further with the colleges to search for that apprentice.

“We can connect companies with the colleges closest to them in our network,” said McNeil. “This can help them source available talent more easily.”

The other important point McNeil noted is that this funding will only be available until the end of March, so it’s important that companies start the process immediately.

“No one will be denied funding for a valid apprenticeship engagement, but it’s a limited opportunity,” she said.

To enroll in Career Launcher Apprenticeships, visit careerlauncher.ca/apprenticeships. To access ApprenticeConnect, visit toolkits.collegesinstitutes.ca/apprenticeconnect/.

Editor Robert Colman can be reached at rcolman@fmamfg.org.

The institutions that contributed to the creation of the platform include Assiniboine Community College, British Columbia Institute of Technology, Fanshawe College, Georgian College, Loyalist College, Saskatchewan Polytechnic, and Thompson Rivers University.