Appendix 2
Glossary of terms for Apprenticeship Training and Certification

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Term definitions

A B C D E F G H I J L M N O P Q R S T U V

A

Ability
Expertise in performing successfully a task or set of tasks. This expertise may have been acquired with or without formal training or study and may be related to a specific trade, occupation, or profession. It may be measured using various instruments.

Academic Qualifications
Requirements for entry into a designated trade that involves a period of formal study in a recognized educational institution or equivalent. In most circumstances academic qualifications can be documented.

Accreditation
A process by which a government department, agency or association grants public recognition to training program that meets a predetermined set of standards.

Apprentice
A person who works in a trade, occupation or craft under an agreement or contract and is registered with the Apprenticeship Authority. The apprentice learns the knowledge, skills, tools and materials of the trade, occupation or craft through on-the-job training and technical instruction under the supervision of a certified journeyperson.

Apprentice On-the-Job Training Standards / Progress Record Book (Logbook)
A document issued to registered apprentices in which acquired skills, courses completed, and time worked at a trade or occupation are recorded.

Apprenticeship
A structured system of supervised training leading to certification in a designated trade, occupation or craft. It is systematic programs of on-the-job training supplemented by technical instruction in which an apprentice gains experiential learning and develop skills.

Apprenticeship Accreditation
A process by which an agency or association grants public recognition to a training establishment, program of study or service which meets pre-determined standards.

Apprenticeship Advisory Board – Provincial / Territorial
A provincial or territorial government appointed Board whose primary function is to advise the Minister responsible for labour market matters on issues related to training and certification of people in designated trades.

Apprenticeship Contract / Agreement
A document signed by the employer, sponsor, or joint apprenticeship training committee and apprentice, outlining the conditions and responsibilities of both parties to the terms of apprenticeship. The agreement may be co-signed by the government department or agency that has responsibility for the Apprenticeship Act and regulations.

Apprenticeship Program Outline Apprenticeship Apprenticeship
A list of topics and performance objectives to be learned during each period of an apprenticeship program's technical training.A formal process requiring an individual to meet all the requirements for apprenticeship, including signing an apprenticeship contract, agreement or memorandum of understanding with an employer.

Apprenticeship Technical Training
A period of training/instruction provided to apprentices in a classroom setting away from the job site. The emphasis is on teaching the theory component of the trade or occupation, reinforced where appropriate, with shop/lab training. This training is intended to supplement the on-the-job training.

Apprenticeship Term
The normal length of time required for a person to attain journeyperson status from the time of registration as an apprentice and is usually a combination of both formal training and work experience. The length of time is generally expressed in years and hours per year or in hours.

Apprenticeship Training
Industry training that combines work-based training and experience with components of technical training leading to provincial/territorial and/or national industry training credentials (e.g., Red Seal) for trades-related occupations.

Assessment
The process of reviewing and evaluating competencies and qualifications for the purpose of determining whether or not a candidate has fulfilled the requirements to be eligible to practice an occupation. This process could include testing or examinations. The main purpose is to measure candidates against a pre-determined occupational or educational standard.

Assessment criteria
A standard of performance that a learner must reach in order to demonstrate the achievement of a specified element of learning.

B

Basic Skills
A minimum level of essential technical skills required to work in a trade to become an apprentice, and upon which proficiency in the trade is built.

Block Release Training
A method by which apprentices are released by their employers to attend technical training for a specified period (block) each year, usually five to eight weeks.

Bridging Program
A program of study, a course, or set of courses or activities designed specifically to provide practitioners from one jurisdiction with the skills and knowledge required for entry into a trade or profession in another jurisdiction. A bridging program is an example of an accommodation mechanism that complements the competencies or qualifications earned outside the jurisdiction.

C

Canadian Apprenticeship Forum (CAF)
The Canadian Apprenticeship Forum - Forum canadien sur l'apprentissage (CAF-FCA) is a diverse, not-for-profit organization that brings together the key participants who make up the Canadian apprenticeship community. This dynamic partnership works within the Canadian labour market and strives to make a difference within that community.

Canadian Council of Directors of Apprenticeship (CCDA)
A national body comprised of the provincial and territorial government officials responsible for managing and directing apprenticeship programs and two federal government representatives. The mission of the Council is to facilitate the mobility of the apprentices and journey persons in Canada through the establishment of uniform standards in training and examinations as confirmed by a Red Seal endorsement.

Certificate of Apprenticeship Certificate of Qualification
A document issued to a person who has successfully completed a formalized apprenticeship training program. A certificate issued to a candidate who has successfully completed an apprenticeship program or has met all the requirements of a trade and has attained the prescribed pass mark on the certification examination to qualify as a journeyperson in that trade.

Certificate of Qualification Examination
Standardized provincial or territorial exam that is normally written upon completion of an Industry Training Program. The successful completion of this exam leads to the issuance of a provincial or territorial Certificate of Qualification.

Certification
The acquisition of a Certificate of Qualification.

Challenge Exam
A method of assessment to award credit for previously acquired learning. It measures learning through a variety of written and non-written evaluation methods, including examinations and demonstrations.

Challenge / Exemption
An authorization exempting someone from a normal requirement.

Common Core
The tasks in a National Occupational Analysis that have been identified by the industry as being performed by workers in at least 70 percent of the provinces and territories that have the trade or occupation designated for apprenticeship under the Interprovincial Standards Red Seal  Program.

Common Sequencing
The arranging of learning materials in an order for delivery by a number.

Community College
A post-secondary educational institution offering programs related to liberal arts, technical and trades training (including pre-apprentice pre-employment and in-school technical training for apprentices).

Competency
A measurable level skill, and/or knowledge to perform occupation-specific tasks and duties.

Competency Assessment     
Measurement of skills, knowledge, and behaviours obtained through formal or non-formal education, work experience, or other means, with the purpose of establishing individual's possession of requirements for a trade or profession. Competency assessments may be in the form of examinations or task-based performance testing.

Competency-Based Learning
Training aimed at acquiring discrete sets of associated task-based skills and knowledge that, in combination, make up the performance requirements of an occupation, profession, or trade.

Competency Profile
A curriculum component that graphically and logically delineates an occupation into a performance-based framework comprising major duties, tasks, and sub-tasks. Competency profiles are typically developed with input from practitioners who work in the occupation.

Completion of Apprenticeship
The fulfilment of training requirements, both technical and on-the-job, by registered apprentices. Graduates of an apprenticeship program applicable to the trade and the province and territory will be issued a Certificate of Apprenticeship. In most cases, they will also receive a Certificate of Qualification.

Compulsory Apprenticeship
A requirement in which people entering or working in a designated trade must possess a Certificate of Qualification or register as apprentices with the provincial or territorial authorities. Those working in the trade prior to the compulsory requirement may be exempted by provincial or territorial legislation.

Compulsory Certification
A requirement in which people entering or working in a designated trade must possess a Certificate of Qualification or be registered as apprentices in order to practice in the trade. See alsoVoluntary Certification.

Continuing Competence
The ability over time to integrate and apply the knowledge, skills, judgment, and personal attributes required to practice an occupation safely and ethically. Occupational bodies may require members to verify that they have met continuing competence standards.

Cooperative Education
A program for those enrolled in a school or community college who, through a cooperative arrangement between the training institution and em-ployers, receives part of their instruction in the institution and part on-the-job through an employment agreement.

Core Curriculum
The portion of a curriculum developed to the occupational tasks common to a specific trade in the provinces and territories.

Correspondence Study
A systematic method of distance learning or training consisting of a series of sequentially organized lessons or assignments conducted and maintained through the postal service, electronic mail or a similar service.

Course
A single unit of study offered by educational institutions.

Course Outline
A brief description of the objectives, content and application of a specific program of study. It outlines the material to be learned in major, minor and unit groups in sufficient detail to ensure an understanding of the scope of the program. It may also include an evaluation profile.

Credentialing
Pertaining to the recognition of qualifications through the issuance of formal documentation.

Criterion
An objective and measurable indicator relating to skill level, knowledge, and/or competency.

Curriculum
A structured outline of learning organized into course(s) or work experiences that assist in the development of learners' knowledge and skills. It is a comprehensive term that includes such elements as task analyses, competency profiles/charts, course outlines, learning/teaching objectives and lesson plans.

Curriculum Resources
Resource materials developed to establish the standards for and facilitate the training of apprentices and journeypersons. Resource materials include, but are not limited to, skill profile charts, occupational analyses, apprenticeship program outlines, journeyperson upgrading and updating course outlines, trade/occupation manuals and modularized learning resource materials.

D

DACUM
An acronym for 'Developing a Curriculum', a model used in competency-based training for developing the learning activities that generate specific skills required by an occupation.

DACUM Chart
A listing of skills or competencies in a specific trade or occupation organized and presented in a chart format. The list is prepared using the DACUM (developing a curriculum) method for analyzing a trade or occupation. DACUM involves bringing together practitioners of a trade under the leadership of trained facilitator.

Day Release Training
Technical training for apprentices where employers release apprentices from work for one day to attend in-school training (usually one day a week).

Designated Apprenticeable Trade
A trade that has been formally recognized through provincial or territorial legislation for apprenticeship training and certification. The requirements for in-school and on-the-job training as well as level and certification examinations are outlined in the trade regulations.

Designated Red Seal Trade
A trade or occupation that has been designated by the Canadian Council of Directors of Apprenticeship (CCDA) for inclusion in the Interprovincial Standards "Red Seal" Program. The training and certification is based on a national occupational standard, and provinces and territories participating in the program for that trade or occupation are permitted to affix a Red Seal to the certificates of candidates who meet the standard. Refer also to the definition herein for Interprovincial (IP) Examination.

Discontinuer
An apprentice who terminates involvement in an apprenticeship training program prior to completion.

E

Education Level - Trade/Vocational
Trade/vocational training includes pre-employment or pre-apprenticeship and skill upgrading courses lasting three months or more, but does not include block release apprenticeship training, basic training for skill development, language training and job readiness training.

Education/Entrance Requirements
The level of formal education or other criteria such as an examination or assessment process that an individual must possess prior to becoming an apprentice or attending technical training. While these requirements may vary from trade to trade and province to province, Canadian Council of Directors of Apprenticeship (CCDA) advises that most employers require prospective apprentices to have a grade 12 education.

Employer
A person, corporation, partnership, unincorporated association, or a municipal, provincial or other public authority eligible to sign an Apprenticeship Agreement with an apprentice.

Entrance Requirements
A set of criteria stipulating length, level, and scope of education, or other types of training, or experience, for eligibility to enter an academic institution, trade, or profession. May include stipulated minimal levels or achievement and/or minimal scores on examinations.

Equivalency
In the context of industry training refers to the process of demonstrating that an individual has completed a requirement of an Industry Training Program outside of the traditional program. This may include demonstrating the equivalent of a specified number of work hours related to the program, or demonstrating the completion of technical training equivalent to a technical training component of an Industry Training Program.

Essential Skills
Essential Skills are the "enabling skills" that help people perform the tasks required by their occupation and other activities of daily life. They provide people with a foundation to learn other skills, and enhance their ability to adapt to workplace change. Essential Skills include: reading text, document use, writing, numeracy, oral communication, thinking, working with others, computer use and continuous learning.

Examination Item Bank
A collection or inventory of validated examination questions.

Examination Plan
An outline of specifications or proposed content of an examination. The plan is based on a National Occupational Analysis and will reflect the importance, frequency and complexity of tasks performed in a trade or occupation.

Examination Standards
A set of established standards for a trade and that meet provincial or interprovincial criteria. They include:
a) occupational standards;
b) acceptable development criteria and administrative procedures; and,
c) other factors that contribute to quality examinations.

F

Fixed Entry/Open Exit Training
A system of training based on specific performance criteria where progress in learning is measured in terms of demonstrated skills and knowledge and where an apprentice or other learner is allowed to progress through and exit a course of instruction at a rate determined by his or her own capabilities. This training system is also referred to as the Modified Block Release training system. Learning is usually supported by the use of modularized learning resource materials and the services of a facilitator/instructor.

Flexible/Distance Education
Formal training delivery methods that enable registered apprentices and other learners to complete a course of study utilizing current communications technologies and may include some traditional classroom-based instruction. Some examples of current communication technologies being utilized to reduce the periods of formal classroom instruction include the Internet, interactive computer-based training and video teleconferencing.

Forum of Labour Market Ministers (FLMM)
A forum comprised of the provincial/territorial, ministers and the federal minister with responsibility for reviewing work and setting priorities for federal-provincial/territorial and interprovincial cooperation on labour market issues. The forum is supported through a set of committees at various levels, including: ministers, deputy ministers, senior officials and working groups.

Funding for Apprenticeship Training
The costs associated with the training of an apprentice. Wages are paid during the on-the-job period by the employer. The cost of the technical portion of training is, in most cases, shared between the provincial or territorial government and the federal government, while in others they are paid in total by one party. Employers and apprentices contribute to the cost of institutional training.

G

Grandparenting (Acquired Rights)
The recognition of a person's work experience in a trade prior to the trade being designated for training and certification or a designated trade being declared for compulsory certification. The recognition may be in the form of granting the Certificate of Qualification without examination, a permit to work at a trade for a specified or indefinite period or other forms that permit the person to continue working in the trade in the same capacity as before its designation or certification.

H

Hour Release Training
Technical training for apprentices whereby they are released from work by their employers to attend technical training for a number of hours per day, usually one day a week.

Human Resources and Social Development Canada (HRSDC)
This is the Federal Department that has responsibility for providing the secretariat services for the Inter-provincial Standards (Red Seal) Program including the translation, printing and distribution of interprovincial examinations. The department is also responsible for the development and distribution of National Occupational Analyses.

I

Individualized Instruction
Instruction focused on a single learner (as opposed to a group of learners) and considerers the learner's existing skills, abilities, needs, learning preferences and rate of learning. Individualized instruction is usually accomplished through modular delivery of training.

Industry Trade Advisory Committee
Committee appointed to represent the interests of an equal number of employers and labour, on a committee off designated by a provincial or territorial agency, to offer advice and make recommendations regarding apprenticeship and journey person training and certification standards. Representatives are knowledgeable in the trade or occupation and are seen as the primary vehicle for ensuring industry has a voice in the development and delivery of apprenticeship training.

Industry Training
A broad strategy used to provide individuals with the competencies and attendant credentials required to work in industry. The defining features of industry training, within the context of the Industry Training Authority's (ITA) mandate, are: 1.Occupational competencies and standards for each occupation are defined by industry and approved (recognized and/or accredited) by the Industry Training Authority under the provisions of the Industry Training Authority Act; 2. Demonstration of defined competencies and standards by individuals results in the awarding of a credential by ITA and/or its designates; 3. The training methodologies, while varied and flexible, normally comprise a component of work-based learning and/or experience that enables individuals to practically acquire and/or apply skills and knowledge.

In-School Training
A period of training/instruction usually provided to apprentices in a classroom setting. The emphasis is on teaching the theory component of the trade, and is intended to supplement on-the-job training.

Internship
A period of practical, supervised, on-the-job training designated to give the learner the required skills and knowledge for entry into a trade or profession, supplementing a period of formal study. An intern is an advanced student or recent graduate in a professional field who is getting practical experience under the supervision of an experienced worker.

Interprovincial Common Core Curriculum Standard (ICCCS)
The identification of standards within the technical training component of an apprenticeship program commonly accepted across jurisdictions.

Interprovincial Computerized Examination Management System (ICEMS)
A system intended to manage the inter-provincial standards Red Seal examination development process, Computer technology is used to store and selectively retrieve examination items from a bank, automate the process of examinations and track examination candidates.

Interprovincial Red Seal Examination        
A standardized interprovincial examination available in a Red Seal trades. The successful completion of an Interprovincial Red Seal Examination leads to a Red Seal endorsement which is affixed to the provincial Certificate of Qualification.

ICEMS Steering Committee
A committee comprised of representa-tives with involvement in the Interprovincial Standards Red Seal Program whose mandate is to oversee the development and implementation of the ICEMS initiative.

Interprovincial Standards Examination Committee (ISEC)
A working group of the Canadian Council of Directors of Apprenticeship (CCDA) comprised of staff responsible for the development of certification examinations within the provinces and territories. It includes two representatives from the federal department of Human Resources and Social Development. ISEC oversees the development and administration of interprovincial examinations.

Interprovincial Standards Red Seal Program
A program designated to bring together provincial, territorial and federal governments to achieve increased workforce mobility by establishing common standards for certification in individual trades and occupations. Elements of the program are the National Occupational Analyses and the interprovincial examinations. The program is complementary to provincial and territorial certification programs and administered by the Canadian Council of Directors of Apprenticeship (CCDA). It is also referred to as the Red Seal Program.

J

Journeyperson
A formally certified, fully skilled worker whose combined work experience and training satisfy all the requirements demanded of those who practice in a designated trade.

Journeyperson Certification Only
A provision of prevailing provincial/territorial legislation that provides for the certification of persons at the journeyperson level only but makes no provision for the registration and training of persons as apprentices. This provision is often incorporated to reduce barriers to the mobility of qualified workers.

Journeyperson Certification – Compulsory
A prevailing provincial/territorial legislation requirement in which persons entering or working in a designated trade or occupation must possess a Certificate of Qualification or be registered as apprentices, in order to work or practice in that trade or occupation. Those working in the trade or occupation prior to the compulsory requirement may be eligible for exemption from this requirement by the provincial/territorial authorities. In some jurisdictions, the Certification Program is referred to as the Trades Qualification (TQ) Program.

Journeyperson Certification – Voluntary
A provision of prevailing provincial/territorial legislation that provides a voluntary opportunity for eligible journeypersons working in a specific designated trade or occupation to become certified. In some jurisdictions, the certification program is referred to as the Trades Qualification (TQ) Program.

L

Labour Market
An expression of the interaction that occurs between the supply of labour by the potential workers and the demand for workers by employers.

Legislation – Apprenticeship
The provincial and territorial Acts and Regulations governing the administration of apprenticeship and related programs, including the training and certification of apprentices and tradespersons.

Licence
Document entitling its holder to have the exclusive right to practice a trade or profession, and signifying that the licence-holder meets competency and other requirements for practice.

Licensing
Some "licensed" professions may only be practiced by holders of a licence in the specific field of practice. A licence is required to perform procedures reserved for members of the licensing body. A licence signifies that the regulatory body has examined the holder's credentials and that the holder meets the standards established by it and has undertaken to comply with and apply the standards in force in the profession, occupation, or trade. A licence also entitles the holder to use a reserved title.

Licensing, Certification or Registration
A formal recognition that a person has attained a standard of proficiency in a set of knowledge, skills and abilities required to practice a trade or occupation.

Licensure
Procedures for determining eligibility, granting licences, and protecting the public with respect to the practice of the trade or profession requiring a licence. Licensure denotes to the public that the person who has been granted the licence has the competence needed to provide for the public's protection.

Linkages / Credit
The relationship between training courses and programs in high schools, community colleges and technical institutions and the apprenticeship program. The programs are linked to permit the granting of apprenticeship credits for skills and knowledge acquired prior to enrolling in apprenticeship. See also Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR) and Accreditation.

Logbook
A booklet issued to registered apprentices in which acquired skills, knowledge and time worked at a trade are recorded. The name given to the book may differ between provinces and territories.

M

Maintenance
The process of renewing standards, updating curricula and upgrading professional/occupational training of certificate and licence holders for the purposes of keeping their professional and occupational practice and standards current.

Mentorship
A service associated with educational programs and licensing/registration processes, through which individuals obtain ongoing advice and assistance from persons experienced in their field of study or occupation.

Modular Training
A training program organized and delivered in distinct units or clusters of related materials. The modular training concept allows for individualized instruction and learning, and flexible completion times for apprentices. Competency or performance-based training programs use the modular concept in the organization of units of instruction.

Modularized Learning Resource Materials
Educational packages which include learning objectives, learning activities and self-assessment procedures designed to guide the learning of apprentices and journeypersons for a specific unit of training. Packages may be developed for use in individualized and/or instructor/facilitator driven settings and for apprentice training and/or journeyperson upgrading/updating.

Module
A self-contained unit of instruction that focuses on a single competency to be learned. Modules are normally used in self-paced instructional programs.

Mutual Recognition
Acceptance by appropriate authorities in two jurisdictions that the qualifications of their workers in a given occupation conform to one another's occupational standard without requiring the worker to undergo any additional assessment or training.

N

National Occupational Analysis (NOA)
A document that details tasks and sub-tasks performed by workers in a trade or occupation.  The National Occupational Analyses for Red Seal trades are developed by industry practitioners, under the guidance of the federal government and with the assistance of the provinces and territories.  The National Occupational Analysis is used as the base document to develop an interprovincial Red Seal examination.  The CCDA recognizes the occupational analysis as the national standard for the occupation.

National Occupational Classification ( NOC ) National Standards
A document that classifies all occupations in Canada. This system of coding is the basis for the organization of occupations in Job Futures. A set of standards that are established for Canada through a system of national occupational analyses developed by the industry in association with the provincial, territorial and federal governments. They permit standardization of training and certification programs, and the mobility of tradespersons.

O

Occupation
A set of skills that, with some variation, are similar in their main tasks or duties or in the type of work performed. The skills that comprise an occupation are considered together for the purposes of classification or setting of standards. The definition of an occupation may differ between provinces and territories in Canada or between countries.

Occupational Mobility
When, for whatever reason, an individual moves from one job to another without experiencing an extended period of unemployment.

Occupational Qualifications  Occupational qualifications mean the knowledge, skills, abilitiesand experience of an individual.

Occupational Requirement
Occupational requirement means a condition other than an occupational standard, imposed by a recognized body for the practice of an occupation.

Occupational Standard
Occupational standard means the skills, knowledge and abilities required for an occupation as established by a recognized body and against which the qualifications of an individual in that occupation are assessed.

On-the-Job Training
The component or portion of an apprenticeship training program where apprentices spend time working on the job site learning the skills of the trade under the supervision of a journeyperson.

P

Performance-Based Training
SeeCompetency-Based Learning Performance criterion

Period of Articling / Internship
A period of practical, supervised, on-the-job training designed to supplement a period of formal study and give the practitioner the required skills and knowledge for entry into a trade or profession.

Portfolio
A formally presented document that describes learning achieved from prior experience, articulates learning objectives toward the specific course requirements of an educational institution or professional association or the requirements of an employer, and shows validation or proof through third-party documentation.

Practical Training
The part of apprenticeship training in which an apprentice works on a job site learning the skills of a designated trade under the supervision of a certified journeyperson.

Practical Training Record Book
A component of the Apprentice Portfolio used to record tasks, sub-tasks and practical skill development verified by a certified journeyperson, or designated trainer, and reviewed by the Apprenticeship Training Coordinator.

Pre-Apprenticeship Training
A program mainly of technical and gen-eral education, including a portion of trade practice, offered in high schools, vocational schools, community colleges and technical institutes and linked to an apprenticeship program through the credit system.

Pre-Employment Training
Courses providing intensive instruction for entrance into employment in a specific occupation. Depending on the jurisdiction, these courses may not necessarily be linked to apprenticeship training. In some jurisdictions, however, this term refers to all training leading to employment, including pre-apprenticeship training courses.

Pre-Employment Training – Compulsory
A compulsory pre-employment training course that must be completed prior to participating in an apprenticeship program for a specific designated trade or occupation.

Pre-Employment Training – Voluntary
A pre-employment training course that can be taken on a voluntary basis and is not a prerequisite to entering into an apprenticeship program in a specific designated trade or occupation.

Prerequisite
A level of competence or education required by a person for entrance to an apprenticeship program and to succeed in the subsequent levels of the program.

Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR)
A process under which recognition is extended towards completion of an apprenticeship for skills, knowledge or competencies that have been acquired experientially through work experience, previous education and training or self studies. The prior learning should articulate with the formal technical training or on-the-job training requirements for the trade or occupation in which the apprenticeship is to be served.

Professional Development
Studies completed by individuals to enhance knowledge and skills in their fields of practice.

Program Development Officer
A person in a jurisdiction who is responsible for developing and evaluating occupational training and certification programs, including interprovincial and other examination. In some jurisdictions, these people are called Curriculum and Examination Development Officers.

Program Standards
Expectations of performance and achievement for certification in a particular trade.  These standards include pass marks, quality assurance, program progression criteria and certification criteria.

Provincial Trade Advisory Committee (PTAC)
The mandate of the Provincial-Territorial Advisory Committee is to advise and make recommendations to the Council on matters related to voluntary standardization and to promote cooperation and communication between the provinces, the territories and the Council (Standards Council of Canada — SCC).

Q

Qualification
Possession of set(s) of skills and knowledge for entry into an occupation or an educational institution, or for practice of a profession or occupation.

R

Ratio
The number of apprentices a journey person is permitted to supervise. The procedure for establishing ratios may vary between jurisdictions, for example, the ratio may be set by regulation under the Apprenticeship Act, by the Apprenticeship Board or by individual trade advisory committees or boards. Ratios will vary from trade to trade and, in the absence of an established ratio, a ratio of one apprentice to one journeyperson is used.

Ratio – Journey-person / Apprentice
The number of qualified/certified journey persons that an employer must employ in a designated trade or occupation in order to be eligible to register an apprentice as determined by prevailing provincial/territorial legislation, regulation, policy directive or bylaw issued by the responsible authority or agency. Ratio may be fixed for all employers or variable and can be adjusted by the responsible authority when taking into account an employer's ability to train. Generally, in the absence of an established ratio, a ratio of one apprentice to one journeyperson is used.

Recognized Training Programs
Programs that have been approved pursuant to a bylaw by the Industry Training Authority Board of Directors and lead to a Certificate of Qualification.

Red Seal
A nationally registered trademark symbol adopted for the Interprovincial Standards Program to signify interprovincial quali-fication of tradespersons at the journey person level. It is affixed to the provincial and territorial Certificates of Apprenticeship and Qualifications of those apprentices and tradespersons who have met the national standard in a Red Seal trade. The Red Seal is a passport that allows the holder to work anywhere in Canada without having to write further examinations.

Red Seal Designated Trade
A trade that has been designated by the Canadian Council of Directors of Apprenticeship (CCDA) for inclusion in the Interprovincial Standards Program. The training and certification are based on a national occupational standard, and provinces and territories are permitted to affix a Red Seal to the certificates of candidates who meet the standard.

Registered Apprentice
A trainee who has met all the requirements for entrance into an apprenticeship program and who has signed an appren-ticeship contract or agreement with an employer, sponsor or joint apprenticeship training committee. The term registered is now regularly being substituted for indentured.

Regulations
The formal rules by which the principles outlined in provincial and territorial Acts governing apprenticeship training are to be carried out. Each designated trade may have a set of regulations covering all aspects of training and certification.

Retraining
The training for the acquisition of new knowledge and skills related to a trade other than for which a person was originally trained.

S

Scope of a Trade
The range or extent of skills required or tasks performed in a particular trade or occupation

Sector Council
An organization that represents an industrial sector in terms of occupations, productivity, and viability of the industry.

Self-Paced Learning
The acquiring of knowledge and skills at a pace suitable to the individual learner.

Sequencing of Curriculum
The arranging of learning materials in a logical order for training activity.

Skill
The ability to perform tasks with a spe-cific degree of proficiency.

Skill Level
A designation used to classify occupations in the National Occupational Classification by the level of training, education or experience required to perform an occupation.

Skill Profile Chart
A comprehensive portrayal of the major trade areas and associated tasks for a trade or occupation which an individual must successfully perform to meet job requirements. The profile may be presented in a graphical format e.g., DACUM chart or a narrative format.

Skill Type
A designation used to classify occupations in the National Occupational Classification by the industry or sector in which the majority of the occupations fall.

Skill Updating
The training required to bring a person's skill or set of skills up to date with new methods, technology and procedures re-quired in the trade or occupation in which the person is currently employed or certified.

Specialization
A situation in which a person's training or work in a trade is concentrated or focused on a segment of the trade.

Sponsor
A person or body registered with the Industry Training Authority willing and able to ensure the trainee receives training and related practical experience in the tasks, activities and functions that are carried out in that occupation, and undertakes to attest that the trainee has met the established standards for the Industry Training Program.

Standard
A written description of characteristics which are deemed to be required by users of the standard. A standard serves as a benchmark or point of comparison and it allows the determination of the variability and quality of a product, process or service.

Standard Setting
The process of identifying the pertinent tasks, knowledge, and/or skills within an occupation, profession, trade, sub-specialty, etc., and establishing uniform achievement levels in the performance of those tasks.

Sub-Task
The smallest unit of the Occupational Analysis into which it is practical to divide any work activity. The complete set of sub-tasks and supporting knowledge and abilities describes a "Task".

Supporting Knowledge and Abilities
The element of skill and knowledge that an individual must acquire to adequately perform the task.

T

Task
A work activity that is distinct, observ-able, performed within a limited period of time, and which leads to a product, service or decision.

Task Analysis
A systematic process of identifying and listing job tasks and analyzing the behaviour required to carry out a task with a view to identifying areas of difficulty and the appropriate training techniques and instructions necessary for successful learning.

Technical Training
The part of an apprenticeship training program that is delivered in-school, and includes theoretical aspects of the trade designed to supplement the skills acquired during on-the-job training. It makes up approximately 15 percent of the total apprenticeship training program.

Trade
An occupation for which a provincial or territorial apprenticeship program is available. Trade skills can best be learned through an apprenticeship.

Trade Advisory Board / Committee
A provincial or territorial group appointed to advise and make recommendations regarding apprenticeship training and certification in a designated trade. It is comprised of persons knowledgeable about the trade. Normally, an equal number of employee and employer representatives are appointed to a committee. Some jurisdictions have a single provincial or territorial for each trade, others have local or regional trade advisory committees in addition to the provincial committee. These committees are the primary vehicles for ensuring that the industry has a voice in the development and delivery of apprenticeship programs.

Trade Vocational
Higher level of education that may or may not require the completion of high school and may involve on-the-job training as part of the course requirements.

Trades Qualification
A process of Certification which recognizes workers with a minimum number of years and hours of documented experience in a trade. Workers can apply for certification and write a certification exam for trades qualification.

Trade Qualifier
A Trade Qualifier is an individual who has amassed sufficient practical work experience to meet the established criteria to attempt the certification journey level (provincial or interprovincial) examination. The criteria require relevant on-the-job experience of at least one year in excess of the apprenticeship term.

Train-the-Trainer Program
A program designed to provide training and coaching skills to journeypersons responsible for the workplace training and supervision of apprentices.

Training
The acquisition of knowledge or skills by the performance of tasks under the direct supervision of a person who has already acquired the knowledge or skill. Training can occur on the job or in a formal setting.

Training Course
A period of on-the-job practical training, usually supervised, within a compulsory program of technical or vocational training. May be required in addition to general qualifications for access to a trade, occupation, or profession. May constitute additional training or retraining.

Training Delivery Method – Block Release
Refers to a training delivery method by which apprentices are released from work by their employers to attend prescribed full time in-school technical training for a specified period (usually three to ten weeks, once each year).

Training Delivery Method – Individualized
A single learner focused (as opposed to a group of learners) method of providing apprenticeship technical training instruction utilizing current communica-tions technologies and/or a facilitator/instructor in a classroom, shop or lab. Jurisdictions that are moving to an individualized course method of instruction will show only the total hours of training as opposed to a number of periods and total weeks of instruction. Modularized learning resource materials are often used to support this type of training delivery.

Training Institution
A public or private college or post-secondary institute that provides training services.

Training Manual
A guide for the use of training staff, showing in detail the subject areas and behavioural objectives to be achieved, methods of instruction, equipment and materials to be used, the form of records to be kept and the tests to be administered.

Training Standards
A set of standards set within a trade or occupation to ensure apprentices receive training that will lead to certification at the journeyperson level. They include:

  1. standards of in-school instruction
    1. qualifications of instructors;
    2. program development;
    3. training aids, models and equipment;
    4. facilities;
    5. ratio of apprentices to in-structors; and,
    6. other factors that contribute to quality training.
  2. standards of on-the-job training
    1. qualifications of trainer;
    2. variety and level of work available to the apprentice;
    3. facilities and equipment;
    4. monitoring of training by apprenticeship field staff;
    5. ratio of apprentices to journeypersons; and,
    6. other factors that contribute to quality training.

Transferable skill
Skills acquired through various employment, volunteer and academic experiences that can be applied from one position to another.

U

Unit
The basic component of technical training in a given trade.  It may provide specific technical or complementary content that is delivered and completed in its entirety within one level of training.

Unit Outline
A document that lists unit learning objectives, detailed content and exam plans.

V

Validation
A process whereby industry, under the guidance of Program Development Officers and through provincial and territorial trade advisory boards/committees, reviews and confirms relevant program material (e.g., occupational analyses and examinations) for validity, content and accuracy.

Vocational Counselling
Engaging in career planning with individuals through a process of informing them about various opportuni-ties for education, training and work.

Voluntary Certification
A situation in which certification is available in a designated trade, but there is no legislated requirement that apprentices in a trade should be registered, or that workers engaged in the trade should be certified journeypersons.