Promoting and Assessing Essential Skills Apprenticeship Tools within the Aboriginal Community
Canadian Apprenticeship Forum (CAF-FCA) in partnership with Aboriginal service providers including Aboriginal Skills and Employment Training Strategy (ASETS) (now Indigenous Skills and Employment Training Program) agreement holders hosted 29 workshops about essential skills tools and essential skills interventions as they relate to the development and delivery of apprenticeship training for Indigenous peoples. The project findings and best practices for the integration of ES into trades training programs are outlined in CAF’s Guide on Integrating Essential Skills into Apprenticeship Training and in the Project’s final Report.
The goal of the project was to:
• Establish a pan-Canadian working group with representation from ASETS to guide project activities
• Host a series of regional focus groups with front line practitioners to gather feedback on literacy and essential skills interventions to support their use by Indigenous peoples, with each regional session focussing on an Indigenous group (i.e. First Nation, Inuit or Métis).
• Develop a communication piece to support capacity building of ASETS to deliver literacy and essential skills interventions
• Disseminate results to a variety of stakeholders within the apprenticeship community and Indigenous communities
Workshops with Indigenous Communities:
In total, 29 workshops were held in Indigenous communities across the country over a period of seven months (December 2010 to June 2011) to create awareness about essential skills tools and conducting essential skills interventions. Participants at the workshops included employment counsellors, economic development officers, apprenticeship counsellors and trades program coordinators. Workshop objectives were to:
• Increase knowledge and understanding of effective literacy and essential skills interventions for Indigenous people engaged in apprenticeship to ultimately foster greater labour market attachment
• Develop strategies and promising practices for embedding literacy and essential skills into apprenticeship training
CAF-FCA took a consultative and collaborative approach when organizing the workshops. This led to the design and the delivery of the workshops that were effective in meeting the needs of participants and ensured the right people were involved in the workshops.
Resources
The Guide on Integrating Essential Skills into Apprenticeship Training is still available on line. The information in this guide was provided by Aboriginal Skills and Employment Training Agreement (ASETA) (now Indigenous Skills and Employment Training Program) holders who are funded by Employment and Social Development Canada. The guide outlines best practices for the development and delivery of apprenticeship training programs aimed at Indigenous people. It expressly addresses the integrations of ES into these programs.
To maintain momentum, CAF re-visited every group following the introductory workshops, which provided a greater sense of support among participants than could have been achieved by one-time events. It also provided opportunities to build on the initial dialogue
The Guide on Integrating Essential Skills into Apprenticeship Training and project’s final report Promoting Essential skills and apprenticeship training in Aboriginal communities Across Canada: A Summary of Discussion Findings are available on line and available to the public.
Emily Arrowsmith, Canadian Apprenticeship Forum
613-235-4004 x211
emily@caf-fca.org
2197 Riverside Drive, Suite 404, Ottawa, ON K1H 7X3
Initiative Impact
Workshop design and delivery:
- Over 400 people attended the workshops.
- The approach and structure of the workshops led to positive outcomes as it ensured the right participants were engaged, there were opportunities for networking, and the delivery of the workshop met the needs of the workshop participants. Participants also had opportunities for hands on experience.
- To maintain momentum, CAF re-visited every group following the introductory workshops, which provided a greater sense of support among participants than could have been achieved by one-time events. It also provided opportunities to build on the initial dialogue.
Participant Feedback:
Participants provided feedback on the workshops and shared promising practices in supporting Indigenous clients in essential skills training.
Overall, participants thought the tools shared at the workshops were useful and many started using them immediately with clients.
- Almost all of the 205 participants who filled in evaluation forms after the introductory sessions noted that the workshops had increased their awareness of the resources available. At the follow-up sessions, 86 participants filled in the evaluation form. When asked if they felt more aware of the OLES Apprenticeship and Essential Tools almost every respondent said they were more aware.
- Consultations with twenty individual participants who participated in both the introductory and follow-up sessions indicated half of the participants had already used the OLES Apprenticeship and Essential Skills tool with co-workers and clients. The tools were used in career awareness, Essential Skills upgrading, training workshops and curriculum development. For clients, the tools were most helpful in getting them to think about doing a GED or college program.
- High school teachers were motivated to incorporate more literacy and Essential Skills tools into their career awareness, math and English classes. The networking that took place because of the workshops will lead to more efficient and holistic treatment of Aboriginal learners.
- Rather than getting assessed on the same skills multiple times, participants were able to talk and realize where cross-over assessments might be occurring. They discussed how they can work together to share information and to ensure learners are getting help to improve a range of skills. This will prevent some learners from getting frustrated or lost in the system and will lead to more effective interventions. This networking was particularly valuable for participants in the Northern or rural areas.
The information learned at the workshops was also shared with others, increasing the overall impact.
- Almost all of the 205 participants who filled in the evaluation form noted they would share what they had learned at the sessions with their colleagues. About half said they would share the information with employers and policymakers/decision-makers.
- At the follow-up sessions, more than half noted that they would use the tools and information they learned with clients. Almost 80 per cent of respondents said they solidified or gained valuable networking contacts.
Additional Impacts:
- As part of another project, participants in the workshops have already partnered with CAF to hold two Employer Engagement Forums on a reserve. This discussion encouraged employers on reserves to take on apprentices and identified barriers as to why more Aboriginal employers are not currently participating. For those who do not want to leave the reserve, ensuring employers on reserves want to hire apprentices is vitally important to getting people jobs.
- Regional focus groups were held with the construction industry in Timmins, Ohsweken, Sudbury and Toronto. At the sessions, employers and unions emphasized the importance of Essential Skills as an employee requirement and supported the use of interventions prior to seeking an apprenticeship. Industry stakeholders expressed a desire to reduce barriers and provide much needed opportunities for work experience.
Participants shared the following promising practices around interventions with Aboriginal clients:
- Include a cultural element to intervention. Assessment questions should use culturally relevant examples.
- Consider life experiences that enable clients to develop Essential Skills, not just work experiences.
- Build on existing skill strengths and track work so the client can see improvements in their skills.
- Guide the client when using the tools or conducting an intervention. Otherwise, it can be overwhelming and the client will get discouraged.
- Any action plan should have achievable goals with a specific timeframe.
e.g. Skills assessments (pre and post), stakeholder engagement and dissemination, replication/sustainability, recruitment of participants, employers buy-in, service provider expertise in the field of training.
Challenges to Conducting Interventions
- Although participants agreed with the intervention process that was outlined in the workshops and said it would help individuals move forward in their training, in reality, some participants said that implementing interventions on reserves is difficult. Although the sharing of generic information is helpful to a certain extent, a “one size solution” will not fit all. Interventions need to have specific cultural references that are unique to each community. They also must consider the demand in the local economy.
- In some cases, people are assigned specifically to counsel Aboriginal clients in the trades and to coordinate trades programs. In others, the people responsible for employment counseling deal with all of the individuals interested in post-secondary education and may have other job responsibilities, such as managing finances. Due to the number of people they deal with and their numerous responsibilities, they do not have the time to do intense interventions with individuals. The availability of resources and the level of staffing are a challenge in some places.
- The staff may not have a background in Essential Skills. Many participants working on and off reserves expressed an interest in additional training so they could gain additional familiarity with assessments, but indicated there are limited resources. There is often no designated person with Essential Skills expertise to help ensure interventions stay on track.
- Staff may also work in different branches or offices. They do not necessarily have the opportunity to talk with other literacy or economic development officers dealing with the same clients. Given this reality, it is hard for staff to know each client’s background and development. This sometimes results in tests being repeated, causing client frustration. Coordinating an intervention is difficult with all the different players.
- An additional challenge is client tracking. It can be difficult to track learner information to assess the effectiveness of various interventions because some are very sensitive about confidentiality and do not want their information put in a central database. Certain organizations have overcome this problem by asking the clients to sign a waiver. It is made clear to the client that the information is for internal use only.
- Matching upgrading or training to local labour market needs is challenging. By the time an intervention is established, the client may have lost interest in the trade or the jobs may no longer be available.
- The learner needs both a stable life situation and a willingness to complete an action plan for an intervention to be appropriate. Identifying candidates for an intervention and moving them through the process can take longer because individuals do not show up consistently for appointments and may have personal issues that prevent them from continuing with the intervention.
e.g. Skills assessments (pre and post), stakeholder engagement and dissemination, replication/sustainability, recruitment of participants, employers buy-in, service provider expertise in the field of training.
Participants provided feedback on the workshops and shared promising practices in supporting Indigenous clients in essential skills training.
Overall, participants thought the tools shared at the workshops were useful and many started using them immediately with clients.
Incorporation of Essential Skills
During the workshops participants worked to develop strategies and promising practices for embedding literacy and Essential Skills into apprenticeship training. These strategies and best practices are outlined in the Guide.
ES tool and resources were promoted during the workshops. These included self-assessments related to the 9 essential skills. Workshop participants were encouraged to use the various assessment tools with their Indigenous clients.
Project Components
An openness to working collaboratively with partners and listening to different points of view. Be willing to adjust your project based on the needs of the partners.
National Steering Committee Members included:
- Brian Doolittle, Grand River Employment and Training, Ontario
- Jennifer St- Germain, Métis Nation of Ontario
- Solange Loiselle, Kativik Regional Government, Quebec
- Helen Boyce, ACCESS, BC
- Allan Bruce, CAF-FCA Board of Director and International Union of Operating Engineers, BC
- Gary McDermott, BC Industry Training Authority
- Brian Pelletier, Aboriginal Apprenticeship Board of Ontario
- Rachel Burgess, Office of Literacy and Essential Skills, Human Resources and Skills Development Canada
- Emily Arrowsmith, Canadian Apprenticeship Forum
CAF-FCA partnered with these organizations to host the workshops:
- ACCESS Trades and ACCESS Bladerunners Metro Vancouver and Vancouver Island, BC
- BC Métis Nation
- BC United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 310
- Yukon Council of Yukon First Nations
- Kenjgewin Teg Educational Institute, Ontario
- Cree Human Resources Development of the Cree Regional Authority, Quebec
- Aboriginal Apprenticeship Board of Ontario
- Ogwehoweh Skills and Trades Training Centre, Ontario
- Joint Economic Development Initiative, New Brunswick
- First Nations Human Resources Development Commission of Québec
- Kagita Mikam Aboriginal Employment and Training, Ontario
- Mamaaweswen, The North Shore Tribal Council, Ontario