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 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.

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

25 000 20 000 15 000 10 000 5 000 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

Number of Tradespeople

10 or Less 11 to 20 21 to 50 51 to 100 Greater than 100

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 Scholarships (based on need) • Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training Board 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?