National Apprenticeship Survey: Canada Overview Report 2015
Section 8 Attitudes toward trades National Apprenticeship Survey: Canada Overview Report 2015
Section 8 Attitudes toward trades

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There are efforts across Canada to encourage more individuals to become skilled tradespeople. Part of this work includes a better understanding of perceptions towards apprenticeship programs in particular and the trades in general. The 2015 NAS asked apprentices to report their level of agreement with the following four statements about apprenticeship programs:

1. Being an apprentice / An apprenticeship program is the best way to learn a trade.
2. On average, trade occupations pay better than other jobs.
3. Trades are a second-choice career.
4. Canadians increasingly see trades as a good career option.

This section highlights apprentices’ responses to these statements and presents the data for apprentices in all trades, versus those in the top 10 Red Seal trades, by age group, and according to the highest level of education of both the apprentices and their parents.

Key findings

• The majority of apprentices expressed agreement with the assertion that “being an apprentice / an apprenticeship program is the best way to learn a trade.” Completers were more likely than discontinuers to strongly agree with this statement (47.2% versus 35.9%).
• More than three-quarters of apprentices agreed with the statement that “trade occupations pay better than other jobs.”
• About 40% of apprentices expressed agreement with the statement that “trades are a second-choice career.”
• The majority of apprentices (more than 90%) expressed agreement that “Canadians increasingly see trades as a good career option.”
• Among Red Seal trades:
  • Higher proportions of steamfitter / pipefitter apprentices and industrial mechanic apprentices than hairstylist and cook apprentices expressed agreement that “trade occupations pay better than other jobs.”
  • More than 90% of hairstylist apprentices expressed agreement with the assertion that “being an apprentice / an apprenticeship program is the best way to learn a trade.”
• Apprentices whose fathers obtained a trade certificate or diploma were more likely than those whose fathers held a bachelor’s degree or higher level of education to expressed agreement that “trade occupations pay better than other jobs” (83.3% versus 74.1%)
• About 50% of apprentices 50 and older expressed agreement that “trades are a second-choice career,” while less than 40% of those younger than 25 shared this opinion.
• Men were more likely than women to express agreement that “trade occupations pay better than other jobs.”

Best way to learn a trade

Generally, apprentices expressed a positive view of apprenticeship. About 9 in 10 apprentices either agreed (48.8%) or strongly agreed (42.4%) with the statement that “being an apprentice / an apprenticeship program is the best way to learn a trade” (Table A.8.1, Appendix A). Chart 8.1, below, shows that completers (47.2%) were more likely than discontinuers (35.9%) to strongly agree with this statement.

Pays better than other jobs

More than three-quarters of apprentices also agreed or strongly agreed with the statement that “trade occupations pay better than other jobs.” Similar proportions of completers (18.4%) and discontinuers (18.7%) strongly agreed with this statement (Table A.8.1, Appendix A).

Second-choice career

With respect to whether apprentices see trades as a second-choice career, less than half expressed agreement (35.2% agreed; 5.3% strongly agreed) with this statement (Table A.8.1, Appendix A). More than one-third of completers expressed agreement with this statement (33.5% agreed and 4.9% strongly agreed), while more than two in five discontinuers shared this opinion (37.6% agreed and 5.9% strongly agreed).

Good career option

Respondents were also asked about their impression of whether “Canadians increasingly see trades as a good career option”. More than 9 in 10 apprentices in the NAS population expressed agreement (58.7% agreed and 34.4% strongly agreed) with this statement (Table A.8.1, Appendix A). Similar proportions were observed among completers (93.3% agreed or strongly agreed) and discontinuers (92.9% agreed or strongly agreed).

Attitudes among apprentices in Red Seal trades

Differences in apprentices’ attitudes about trade occupations also exist across Red Seal trades. Table A.8.2 (Appendix A) provides detailed results for each of the attitudinal questions across the top 10 Red Seal trades in the 2015 NAS population.

Generally, large proportions of apprentices across the top 10 Red Seal trades expressed agreement with the statement that “being an apprentice / an apprenticeship program is the best way to learn a trade.” More than half of industrial mechanic (52.3%), construction electrician (51.8%), and plumber (51.5%) apprentices strongly agreed with this statement, and more than one-third of apprentices across each of the remaining Red Seal trades strongly agreed (Table A.8.2, Appendix A).

Some notable differences in the attitudes of Red Seal apprentices arose in their attitudes toward whether “trade occupations pay better than other jobs.” These results are presented in Table A.8.2 (Appendix A) and Chart 8.2, below. More than 8 in 10 apprentices in steamfitter / pipefitter, industrial mechanic, welder, industrial electrician, plumber, and construction electrician trades either agreed or strongly agreed with this statement. However, lower proportions of automotive service technician (68.7%), hairstylist (67.5%), and cook (61.1%) apprentices, expressed this opinion, while only 10% to 13% of these apprentices strongly agreed with this statement.

There was also some variation across the top 10 Red Seal trades with respect to apprentices’ level of agreement that trades are a second-choice career. About 4 in 10 cook, plumber, automotive service technician, hairstylist, and carpenter apprentices either agreed or strongly agreed that trades are a second-choice career (Table A.8.2, Appendix A). The Red Seal trade with the lowest proportion of apprentices expressing agreement with this statement was the industrial electrician trade (27.3% agreed; 3.9% strongly agreed).

The vast majority of apprentices across all of the top 10 Red Seal trades believed that Canadians increasingly see trades as a good career option. About 9 in 10 apprentices in these trades expressed agreement with this statement. Across these trades, the highest proportion of apprentices who expressed agreement with this were those in the hairstylist trade (37.3% strongly agreed with the statement, and 58.9% agreed).

Attitudes toward trades by age group, sex, highest level of education, and parents’ education

Differences in apprentices’ characteristics and backgrounds can also result in variations in their attitudes toward trade occupations. This section focuses on four factors specifically—age group, sex, apprentices’ highest education level at the time of the survey, and the highest level of education of apprentices’ parents. Parents’ education is presented separately for mothers and fathers.

Most apprentices across the four age groups (younger than 25, 25 to 34, 35 to 49, and 50 and older) agreed or strongly agreed with the statement that “being an apprentice / an apprenticeship program is the best way to learn a trade” (Table A.8.3, Appendix A). Similar proportions of men and women also expressed agreement with this statement; however, men were more likely than women to strongly agree (Table A.8.4, Appendix A). Moreover, the majority of NAS apprentices across all education levels expressed agreement to this statement (Table A.8.5, Appendix A). Across education levels, the highest proportion who strongly agreed that “being an apprentice / an apprenticeship program is the best way to learn a trade” were apprentices with a trades certificate or diploma (46.1%), followed by apprentices with a college diploma / other non-university certificate (43.6%) and apprentices with a bachelor’s degree or higher level of education (41.6%). Additionally, there were few differences in apprentices’ attitudes across parents’ education levels (Table A.8.6, Appendix A). More than 4 in 5 apprentices across all levels of parental education agreed or strongly agreed that “being an apprentice / an apprenticeship program is the best way to learn a trade.”

Apprentices’ responses to the statement that “trade occupations pay better than other jobs” varied little across age groups. About three-quarters of apprentices across each age group either agreed or strongly agreed with this statement (Table A.8.3, Appendix A). However, attitudes about the pay offered by trade occupations differed somewhat by sex as men were slightly more likely than women to express agreement that “trade occupations pay better than other jobs” (Table A.8.4, Appendix A). There were also variations across education levels (Table A.8.5, Appendix A). The highest proportion of respondents who expressed agreement with this statement were those with a trades certificate or diploma (62.2% agreed; 18.8% strongly agreed), while the lowest proportion was among those with a bachelor’s degree or higher level of education (56.6% agreed; 17.4% strongly agreed).

Results based on parents’ level of education indicated that apprentices whose fathers held a trades certificate or diploma had the largest proportion who expressed agreement that “trade occupations pay better than other occupations” (83.3% agreed or strongly agreed; refer to Table A.8.6, Appendix A). The lowest proportions were among those whose fathers had either a university certificate / diploma below a bachelor’s degree (71.5% agreed or strongly agreed) or a bachelor’s degree or higher level of education (74.1% agreed or strongly agreed). There was little variation in the response to this statement by mothers’ education level.

Some attitudinal differences with respect to whether trades are a second-choice career were also found across age groups. Results in Table A.8.3 (Appendix A) and Chart 8.3, below, show that higher proportions of apprentices in the older age groups (35 to 49 years old and 50 years or older) expressed agreement with this statement. Among those age 50 years and older, slightly more than half expressed agreement (46.4% agreed and 6.2% strongly agreed). However, less than 40% of apprentices younger than age 25 and apprentices from 25 to 34 either agreed or strongly agreed with this statement. Women were also somewhat more likely than men to express agreement that trades are a second-choice career (Table A.8.4, Appendix A).

Apprentices’ attitudes about whether trades are a second-choice career also varied somewhat by education level (Table A.8.5, Appendix A). Those with a trades certificate or diploma had the lowest proportion who agreed (32.6%) or strongly agreed (4.8%) with this statement, while a slightly higher proportion with college and other non-university certificates expressed this opinion (35.7% agreed; 6.1% strongly agreed). More than half of apprentices with a bachelor’s degree or higher level of education (52.8%) expressed agreement with this statement.

As well, responses varied across parents’ education levels (Table A.8.6, Appendix A). Slightly more than one-third of apprentices whose fathers had a trades certificate or diploma expressed agreement with this statement (35.1%), while 46.0% of those whose fathers had less than high school either agreed or strongly agreed. There were also differences across mothers’ education levels. The lowest proportion of apprentices who agreed or strongly agreed that trades are a second-choice career had mothers with a college education (35.8%), compared with those whose mothers had less than a high school education (49.4%).

Lastly, more than 90% of apprentices across all age groups reported that they either agreed or strongly agreed with the statement that “Canadians increasingly see trades as a good career option” (Table A.8.3, Appendix A). This was also true for both men and women (Table A.8.4, Appendix A) and across most education levels (Table A.8.5, Appendix A). The highest proportions of apprentices who expressed agreement with this statement were found among those with less than a high school diploma (94.8% agreed or strongly agreed) and those with a trades certificate or diploma (94.0% agreed or strongly agreed). Moreover, most apprentices across all parental education levels expressed agreement that Canadians see trades as a good career option (Table A.8.6, Appendix A).

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