HUMA Committee Report

Minority Report, Liberal Party of Canada

Ensuring Canada has a sufficient supply of highly skilled trades people is paramount to making certain companies remain competitive, our workers' wages continue to increase and our economy prospers. The federal government has an important role to play in achieving these objectives.

We would like to thank all of the witnesses that appeared before the HUMA committee during the course of the Economic Opportunities for Young Apprentices study. The Liberal Party supports the intent of the study and many of its recommendations; however, it feels that the final report did not address all of the key concerns or suggestions of the stakeholder groups that appeared before the Committee or submitted briefs for consideration.

The following are some areas that the Liberal Party believes the Report could have been strengthened.

Financial Support for Apprentices

Although the government promotes a number of measures it has introduced to assist apprentices, the apprenticeship program completion rates are alarmingly low. Low completion rates inhibit supply of skilled trades people into the workforce, which in turn hurts the ability of businesses and the economy to grow. There are numerous reasons for low completion rates, but one of the key drivers according to witnesses is an inadequate system of financial support provided to apprentices during their studies.  

Apprentices are on average older than other post-secondary students, and in general, have greater financial responsibilities such as a family. A reduction or lengthy interruption in income can force people to either delay the completion of the apprenticeship or drop out altogether because of these added responsibilities.

That being said, apprentices are ineligible for the suit of grants, loans and other direct financial support programs offered to other post-secondary students. Instead, most apprentices utilize the Employment Insurance program during their in-class portions of apprenticeship programs. As Polytechnics Canada pointed out during committee meetings, the level of financial support provided through this system is simply inadequate.

Further, numerous witnesses cited EI processing delays as one potential cause to why people fail to complete their apprenticeship program. One witness who appeared before the Committee spoke directly to the importance of this fact. Mr. Jeff Ritter from the Saskatchewan Apprenticeship and Trade Certification Commission stated, "For apprentices who attend a five to eight week period of technical training, 28 days can be a significant delay."

In addition, apprentices, like other EI claimants, also must wait 2 weeks after their claims are accepted to receive benefits. This means they often are receiving support weeks after they have started classes and have had to pay for things like tuition, books and tools.

The Liberal Party recommends that the federal government study ways to strengthen financial support for apprentices while in study, including making improvements to the Employment Insurance program for apprentices by, for example: eliminating the waiting period for apprentices; ensuring that apprentice claims are processed quickly; paying benefits as of the first week that apprentices return to class, based on the amount paid during the previous session, subject to eventual adjustment; and reminding employers who hire apprentices of their administrative obligations, in order to accelerate the processing of employment insurance claims submitted by apprentices; and that the federal government report its findings to the Committee within six months of publication of this report.

The government's Apprenticeship Grants (i.e. Incentive and Completion), although important in that they help reduce costs, have not been effective at one of their main goals - increase completion rates. According to the government's own evaluation (HRSDC, Evaluation Directorate, Formative Evaluation of the Apprenticeship Incentive Grant, Ottawa, 2009) of the Apprenticeship Incentive Grant, almost all apprentices who completed their apprenticeship would have done so without the grants.

The Liberal Party also recommends that the federal government assess grants to apprentices, and in particular: whether they are successful in encouraging more candidates to undertake and complete apprenticeship programs; whether they should be increased; whether they should be paid out differently as the program proceeds; and whether they should be made non-taxable.

Labour Market Information

Although we agree with the Report’s recommendations regarding the need for awareness campaigns about Labour Market Information (LMI) in skilled trades, we believe the report does not go far enough to ensure the LMI is adequate and relevant on career prospects in the trades.

It has been four years since the federal government received the final report, Working Together to Build a Better Labour Market Information System for Canada from the advisory panel on Labour Market Information, chaired by Mr. Don Drummond.  Yet the government has failed to implement most of the advisory panel’s report recommendations.

In some cases, the government has gone in the opposite direction of what the advisory panel recommended. For example, the advisory panel recommended that Statistic Canada improve its ability to collect and disseminate labour market data, and that more funding would be required to pay for these improvements. Budget 2012 saw the government cut significant funding ($33.86 million) from Statistics Canada’s economic, social, census, and Aboriginal statistics collection programs, which provided vital labour market information.

The Liberal Party believes the HUMA report should have recommended the adoption of all the advisory panel’s recommendations concerning labour market information.

Addressing Literacy Levels

The lack of basic literacy and mathematical skills can have a major impact on the ability of individuals to enter an apprenticeship and complete it. According to the Canadian Literacy and Learning Network, workers in mature industries need a minimum of Level 3 literacy skills. Approximately 48 per cent of adults in Canada don’t currently have this education level, meaning their ability to utilize new technologies, adapt to new workplace responsibilities and absorb training is constrained.

Funding for Adult Literacy is almost half what it was in 2006-07. The Liberal Party recommends that the government needs to recognize the importance of literacy skills in the workplace and increase funding for programs that invest in improving these skills.