Section 1
Profile of the apprentices

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Long-term continuers, completers and discontinuers

Change in apprenticeship program status between 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2007
Profile of long term-continuers, completers and discontinuers
Age, gender and minority status
Province or territory of residence and registration
Highest level of education prior to apprenticeship registration
Employment income
Union participation

Change in apprenticeship program status between 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2007

The nature of the National Apprenticeship Survey provides a unique opportunity to explore the dynamics of apprentice's movement in and out of an apprenticeship program between 2002 and 2007. As mentioned in the Introduction, provincial and territorial administrative data were used to identify three groups of individuals based on their apprenticeship program status as of 2002, 2003 and 2004. These three groups of interest included apprenticeship program completers, long-term continuers and discontinuers, status assigned to the apprentices by the jurisdictional apprenticeship authority. A few years later, in 2007, the NAS collected updated information on the program status for each of these three groups of individuals, based on the self-identification of the apprentice. It was expected that many apprentices would have a different status in 2007 in comparison to their status in 2002, 2003 and 2004. These differences are mostly due to a real change of status between those two periods for the apprentices while some could be due to errors on the administrative records of the apprenticeship authority or by errors in self-identification of their status by the apprentice.

Movement through apprenticeship programs is dynamic and does not necessarily occur in a linear fashion as highlighted in Figure 1.1 (see Appendix 1 Table A.1.1.1).

In Quebec, almost a third (31%) of long-term continuers as of 2004 had completed their apprenticeship programs by 2007 while 61% were still pursuing their programs. Only 8% had discontinued.

It was expected that completers identified as such by the apprenticeship authority in 2002, 2003 and 2004 were to self-identify themselves as such in 2007. However, even if the majority of the completers (92%) were still in that same group in 2007, about 8% self-identified themselves as being something other, either a long-term continuer or a discontinuer. This discrepancy, as explained above, could be due to a mis-identification of their own status by the apprentice or an error on the administrative record.

Of those who had discontinued apprenticeship programs as of 2004, 50% had returned to their programs by 2007, and had either completed them or were still enrolled (17% and 33% respectively). Half were still discontinuers in 2007.

The 2007 NAS revealed an important finding with respect to the qualifications of individuals who had discontinued their apprenticeship program as of 2007. In general there are two mechanisms through which individuals can receive trade certification. The most widely used mechanism is to complete an apprenticeship program consisting of on-the-job training and classroom based studies after which time an individual would sit a trade certification examination. Alternatively, it is possible for an individual to sit a trade certification examination without having first completed an apprenticeship program, providing an individual has acquired a significant amount of time working in the trade. The 2007 NAS revealed that, in Quebec, 3% of discontinuers had completed their trade certification. This group represents those who, although not having completed an apprenticeship program, have successfully passed a certification exam qualifying them as journeypersons.

It should be noted that throughout the rest of this report the term discontinuers includes those who discontinued their apprentice program but successfully passed a certificate exam qualifying them as journeypersons.

Profile of long term-continuers, completers and discontinuers

The demographic characteristics for each of the three apprentice groups in Quebec are summarized in Appendix 1 Tables A.1.1.2 to A.1.1.8. Among the three groups of apprentices, a "typical apprentice" is male, under 35 years old, non-Aboriginal, non-immigrant, non-visible minority, with no history of disability, and is apprenticing in a Red Seal-designated trade. While the three groups are similar in terms of their demographic characteristics, there are some differences.

Age, gender and minority status

The age distribution within the three groups of apprentices is shown in Chart 1.1 (see Appendix 1 Table A.1.1.2). Discontinuers were more likely to be in the youngest age group. Three times as many discontinuers as completers were under 25 years of age (6% versus 2%). Long-term continuers tended to be older; 56% of this group were 40 years of age or older, compared to 31% of completers. In contrast, 48% of completers were between the ages of 25 and 34, compared to 25% of long-term continuers and 41% of discontinuers.

In Quebec, 1% of long-term continuers and completers and 3% of discontinuers were female, reflecting the fact that women are underrepresented in apprenticeship programs (see Appendix 1 Table A.1.1.2).

Between 1% and 2% of each apprentice group in Quebec identified themselves as being of Aboriginal descent (see Appendix 1 Table A.1.1.2), about half of the 4%¹ representation in the province. Immigrant populations were underrepresented; they accounted for between 1% and 2% of each apprenticeship group compared to 11%² of the Quebec population. Apprentices that identified themselves as members of visible minorities were similarly underrepresented; they accounted for between 1% and 2% of each apprenticeship group compared to 9%³ of the population of the province.

Province or territory of residence and registration

This section looked at the provinces where respondents were registered as apprentices as of 2002, 2003 and 2004 and where they resided as of 2007. Virtually all of the people in the three apprentice groups who were registered in Quebec by 2004 were still residents of the province in 2007 (see Appendix 1 Table A.1.1.3).

Highest level of education prior to apprenticeship registration

The education level apprentices reach before they enter apprenticeship programs appears to be related to their program outcomes. In Quebec, as shown in Chart 1.2 (see Appendix 1 Table A.1.1.5), the pre-registration level of education varied across the apprentice groups. Almost 30% of completers had Diplomas of professional studies (DEP) while only about 20% of both long-term continuers and discontinuers had earned their DEPs. By contrast, almost twice as many long-term continuers as completers (34% versus 18%) had not finished high school. Thirty percent of discontinuers and more than a quarter (27%) of both completers and long-term continuers had completed high school.

Employment income

The NAS showed that apprentices who completed their programs fared better than long-term continuers or discontinuers in terms of total employment income in the 12 months preceding the survey (referring to 2006) as seen in Appendix 1 Table A.1.1.6. More than 72% of the completers had an annual income equal or higher than the median annual earnings of Quebecers in 2005 of $37,722⁴, while this proportion is of 41% for discontinuers and 44% for long-term continuers In Quebec, as shown in Chart 1.3, 72% of completers had employment income of $40,000 or more, 28% earned less than $40,000. By comparison, 60% of long-term continuers and 57% of discontinuers earned less than $40,000. The highest proportion of long-term continuers (45%) earned between $20,000 and $39,999. The highest proportion of completers (46%) earned between $40,000 and $59,999.

Union participation

The data on union participation before, after, and throughout apprenticeship programs is shown in Appendix 1 Table A.1.1.7.1. In Quebec, 80% of long-term continuers were union members only before their apprentice programs. This was true for only 9% of completers and 19% of discontinuers. A high proportion of both completers and discontinuers (73% and 63% respectively) were union members both at the beginning and end of their apprenticeship programs.

The data on the type of union membership of the apprentices notwithstanding of the time of their membership is shown in Appendix 1 Table A.1.1.7.2. Across the three groups of apprentices, the largest proportions of apprentices were members of a construction union: 89% of long-term continuers, 89% of completers, and 92% of discontinuers.⁵ The next largest proportions in the three groups (8%, 10%, and 9% respectively) were members of industrial unions.

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Notes

1. Statistics Canada. 2008. Ethnic Origin (247), Single and Multiple Ethnic Origin Responses (3) and Sex (3) for the Population of Canada, Provinces, Territories, Census Metropolitan Areas and Census Agglomerations, 2006 Census - 20% Sample Data (Table). Topic-based tabulation. 2006 Census of Population. Statistics Canada catalogue no. 97-562-XCB2006006. Ottawa. Released April 02, 2008. (accessed May 22, 2008).
2. Statistics Canada. 2008. Visible Minority Groups (15), Immigrant Status and Period of Immigration (9), Age Groups (10) and Sex (3) for the Population of Canada, Provinces, Territories, Census Metropolitan Areas and Census Agglomerations, 2006 Census - 20% Sample Data (Table). Topic-based tabulation. 2006 Census of Population. Statistics Canada catalogue no. 97-562-XCB2006011. Ottawa. Released April 02, 2008. (accessed May 22, 2008).
3. Statistics Canada. 2008. Visible Minority Groups (15), Immigrant Status and Period of Immigration (9), Age Groups (10) and Sex (3) for the Population of Canada, Provinces, Territories, Census Metropolitan Areas and Census Agglomerations, 2006 Census - 20% Sample Data (Table). Topic-based tabulation. 2006 Census of Population. Statistics Canada catalogue no. 97-562-XCB2006011. Ottawa. Released April 02, 2008. (accessed May 22, 2008).
4. Statistics Canada. 2008. Median(1) earnings and employment for full-year, full-time earners, all occupations, both sexes, for Canada, provinces and territories – 20% sample data (Table). Income and Earnings Highlight Tables. 2006 Census. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 97-563-XWE2006002. Ottawa. Released May 1, 2008. (accessed June 24, 2008).
5. There is an important coverage difference for Quebec in comparison to other provinces. In Quebec, almost only the construction trades are represented on the NAS frame. The list of apprentices for the construction trades was provided by "La Commission de la construction du Québec" (CCQ). Emploi-Québec (EQ) provided a list for 4 non-construction trades but this list was incomplete (no completers for 3 of the 4 trades). Therefore, only one trade (industrial electrician) was kept on the NAS frame from the EQ list of apprentices.