The completion behavior of registered apprentices in Canada: who continues, who quits, and who completes programs?
Date
2013
Authors
Laporte, Christine
Mueller, Richard E.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
SpringerOpen
Abstract
Background: The number of registered apprentices in Canada more than doubled
between 1995 and 2007, yet successful completion of apprenticeship programs
increased by only about one-third as much. Uncovering the factors related to low
completion rates is a necessary first step to ensuring that today’s skilled labour is
replaced in the future.
Methods: This study utilizes a series of multinomial probit models and the 2007
National Apprenticeship Survey (NAS) to investigate the completion behaviour of
individuals enrolled in apprenticeship programs. These behaviours include
continuing, discontinuing (or quitting), and completing programs. The NAS contains
detailed demographic information regarding respondents’ backgrounds and the
characteristics of apprenticeship programs.
Results: Program completion is positively related to a variety of demographic
characteristics, including being married and having completed at least a high school
education prior to beginning an apprenticeship. Males and females have similar
completion probabilities. Completion is negatively related to time in the
apprenticeship program (beyond the normal program length) and the number of
employers during training. Type of technical training and having a journeyperson
always present enhance the probability of completion. The regional unemployment
rate has little effect on whether an individual completes an apprenticeship program
or not. There are also large provincial and trade group differences.
Conclusions: Although this research has identified a number of factors correlated
with apprenticeship completion, further research could address the benefits of
completion such as wages and probability of employment. A more detailed
examination of the variety of obstacles encountered by apprentices during training
may also be useful in redesigning programs to enhance completion.
Description
Sherpa Romeo green journal: open access
Keywords
Registered apprentices , Discontinuation , Long-term continuation , Program completion
Citation
Laporte, C., & Mueller, R.E. (2013). The completion behavior of registered apprentices in Canada: who continues, who quits, and who completes programs? Empirical Research in Vocational Education and Training, 5(1), 1-30. doi:10.1186/1877-6345-5-1