Earnings and mobility indicators for newly certified journeypersons in Canada, 2021
Released: 2023-12-14
In 2021, individuals who became journeypersons—either by successfully completing an apprenticeship program or by earning a certificate of qualification—had a median employment income of $56,160. This was a 12.2% increase (+$6,120) from the median employment income of journeypersons who certified in 2020 and marked the highest median income and the most substantial year-over-year growth since the series began in 2008. The sharp increase in earnings in 2021 coincided with a robust demand for skilled tradespeople in a tight labour market and was a sharp contrast to 2020, when COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns and worksite closures hindered tradespeople's capacity to work.
The strong demand for tradespeople in their own province of certification, along with lingering pandemic-related quarantine measures and travel restrictions, led to the rate of interprovincial mobility in 2021 being unchanged from 2020.
Most trades experience large year-over-year growth in median earnings in 2021
In 2021, the median employment income of newly certified journeypersons increased on a year-over-year basis in 22 of the 25 largest Red Seal trades. Journeypersons who certified as landscape horticulturists (+$11,210), ironworkers (+$7,890), cooks (+$7,790) and construction electricians (+$6,540) had the largest year-over-year increases.
Many construction-related trades experienced strong growth in the median employment earnings of newly certified journeypersons in 2021, with those of steamfitter and pipefitters (+$6,410), bricklayers (+$6,400) and carpenters (+$6,240) growing by over 10% year over year. These gains in earnings coincided with strong growth in investment in building construction (+4.6%) and construction employment (+10.2%) and with record-high job vacancies in the construction sector.
Chart 1
Percent change in median employment income of newly certified journeypersons in 2021, by trade
Newly certified hairstylists, who faced the largest year-over-year declines in median employment income at the height of the pandemic in 2020, experienced some recovery in 2021 (+12.3%). However, their median employment income, at $18,450 in 2021, was 22.6% below the pre-pandemic levels of 2019. Median employment incomes of auto body repairers (-7.2%) and early childhood educators (-7.1%) who certified in 2021 also stayed below the pre-pandemic levels of 2019.
Interprovincial mobility remains unchanged from its lowest level observed in 2020
Through much of 2021, pandemic-related restrictions or advisories on travel across regions continued, including proof of vaccination requirements, mandated or recommended COVID-19 testing and self-isolation. The combination of these restrictions and the high demands for local journeypersons likely contributed to mobility remaining at an all-time low.
In 2021, 5.2% of newly certified journeypersons lived or worked in a province or territory other than their province or territory of certification one year after certifying. This continued the downward trend in mobility that began in 2014 and matched the lowest level recorded in 2020.
Chart 2
Annual mobility rate of journeypersons in Canada
Of the 1,685 newly certified journeypersons who migrated in 2021, the vast majority moved to Ontario (24.6%), British Columbia (24.0%) and Alberta (19.6%), while out-migrants remained highest in Alberta (30.9%).
In terms of net migration, both Ontario (+185) and British Columbia (+130) had more journeypersons migrating into these provinces than were moving out. By comparison, Alberta (-190) had a negative net migration, marking the fifth consecutive year when more journeypersons left this province than entered.
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Note to readers
Context
This release includes data from the Education and Labour Market Longitudinal Platform, from 2008 to 2021. For more information on the concepts and the methodology used in this study, consult "Earnings indicators for certified journeypersons in Canada, 2020," and "Indicators on the interprovincial and territorial mobility of certified journeypersons, 2020." Both articles are part of the publication Technical Reference Guides for the Education and Labour Market Longitudinal Platform (37200001).
Data, definitions and concepts
Earnings indicators were derived at the aggregate level for all trades, and at the disaggregate level for select trades, including 25 Red Seal trades with the largest number of certifications from 2008 to 2021 and 5 non-Red Seal trades. Of the five non-Red Seal trades, four (child and youth worker, developmental services worker, early childhood educator and educational assistant) are only considered designated trades in Ontario.
Mobility indicators were derived at the aggregate level for all trades, and at the trade level for 15 Red Seal trades with the largest number of certifications from 2008 to 2021.
Certification: The requirements for granting a certificate vary by jurisdiction in Canada. In most cases, apprentices are issued a certificate when they fulfill such requirements as supervised on-the-job training, technical training and passing one or more examinations. Trade qualifiers, meanwhile, become certified once they pass an examination.
Designated trades: Trades for which apprenticeship training and trade qualifications are available in Canada. These trades are governed by provincial and territorial jurisdictions, which determine the trades for which apprenticeship training is offered and certificates are granted. The jurisdictions also determine which designated trades require certification in order to work unsupervised in the trade.
Journeypersons: Journeypersons are individuals who have completed an apprenticeship program or trade qualifiers who have earned a certificate of qualification.
Registered apprentices: Individuals in a supervised work training program in a designated trade within their provincial or territorial jurisdiction. The apprentice must be registered with the appropriate governing body (usually a ministry of education or labour, or a trade-specific industry governing body).
Trade qualifiers: Individuals who meet the on-the-job experience required to qualify for certification in a jurisdiction, without necessarily having completed an apprenticeship program.
Red Seal program: This program sets common standards to assess the skills of tradespeople across Canada. Journeypersons who meet the Red Seal standards, through examination, receive a Red Seal endorsement on their provincial/territorial trade certificates. There are 54 trades at the national level for which common Red Seal standards are currently available.
Employment income: Includes employment earnings (wages and salaries, commissions from employment, training allowances, tips and gratuities, tax-exempted Indian employment income) and net self-employment income (net income from business, profession, farming, fishing and commissions). It is adjusted for inflation and presented in 2018 constant dollars.
Interprovincial mobility: Interprovincial mobility is calculated by comparing the jurisdiction of certification in a trade (in the Registered Apprenticeship Information System) with the province or territory of residence (recorded in the T1 Family File) and the province or territory of employment (obtained from T4 slips) one or three years after certification.
Newly certified journeypersons who live and work in the same province or territory of certification show no interprovincial mobility.
Newly certified journeypersons who live in a different province or territory from the one where they certified are referred to as the "migrant population of journeypersons."
Newly certified journeypersons who work in a different province or territory from their province or territory of residence and certification are referred to as the "shadow population of journeypersons."
Products
The product "Canadian Apprenticeship Longitudinal Indicators" is available in Statistics Canada – Data Visualization Products (71-607-X).
The following technical reference guides are available: "Earnings indicators for certified journeypersons in Canada, 2020," and "Indicators on the interprovincial and territorial mobility of certified journeypersons, 2020." Both guides are part of the Technical Reference Guides for the Education and Labour Market Longitudinal Platform (37200001).
Contact information
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).
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