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Mindsets and Decision-Making in the Trades

tradesmart23 on December 16, 2024

Mindsets and Decision-Making in the Trades

The Skills That Pay Series: Mindsets and Decision-Making in the Trades.

In the trades, where hands-on skill meets technical expertise, the way decisions are made can significantly impact both the quality of work and the trajectory of a worker’s career. While technical proficiency and physical dexterity matter, the underlying mindset that drives decision-making is more important. Workers in the trades face a range of challenges that require them to make decisions quickly, often under pressure, and in dynamic environments. The mental approach one takes to these decisions can not only affect job performance but also influence long-term professional growth and reputation. In this blog we’ll tackle some of the key points for enhancing decision-making in the trades, focusing on a growth mindset, a bias toward quality work, the importance of pre-planning, and task concentration.

A Growth Mindset in the Trades

The concept of the growth mindset, developed by Carol Dweck and her colleagues, is the idea that if we merely think that our abilities and intelligence can be improved through dedication and hard work, our chances of success are vastly improved. In the context of the trades, adopting a growth mindset is essential for long-term success. Workers who view challenges as opportunities for growth are more likely to persist in the face of setbacks and continuously improve their skills. This mindset encourages a proactive approach to learning, whether it’s mastering a new tool, understanding a complex technique, or providing a better experience to a customer.
For tradespeople, one of the most important things a growth mindset can offer is a constant openness to learning new things. Many students pick a trade with almost no understanding of what that trade actually involves. For instance, lots of students think that plumbers do nothing more than install toilets and showers in houses, while electricians wire light fixtures and outlets. And too many of them say no, or become resentful when asked to “go over and help Pat” if they think what Pat is doing isn’t related to their trade. These people have no idea about the opportunities available to people who can let go of these caricatures, and they are routinely passed over for advancement. Having a growth mindset is critical in an industry where technology and opportunities are constantly evolving.

A Bias Toward Quality Work

In the trades, the quality of work can be a direct reflection of a worker’s skill, commitment, and professionalism. Having a bias toward quality work means that decisions are made with an emphasis on doing the job right the first time, even if it takes more time, requires more effort, or requires additional resources. For entry-level employees, this bias is integral to establishing a reputation for quality work and reliability. People who are reliable and work hard are difficult to replace, and are offered many more opportunities than the average worker.
A bias toward quality work also influences how decisions are made on the job site. Tradespeople with this inclination are more likely to take the extra step to ensure that the project has been thought through, measurements and materials are correct, and that the work is completed with integrity. Although striving for perfection can sometimes conflict with the pressures of time and cost, those who prioritize quality are ultimately more likely to produce results that exceed client expectations, leading to greater job satisfaction and professional credibility.

The Importance of Pre-Planning

Effective decision-making in the trades doesn’t begin when you pick up the tools—it begins with careful pre-planning. This involves thinking through every aspect of a project before execution begins, from assessing the tools and materials needed to anticipating potential challenges. Pre-planning allows workers to map out the most efficient approach while also identifying areas where problems might arise. Whether it’s a large-scale construction project or a smaller repair job, taking the time to plan ahead can save both time and money, reducing the likelihood of errors or rework.
Pre-planning also helps tradespeople make more informed decisions when unforeseen issues arise during the course of a project. By having a clear plan in place, workers are better equipped to pivot and make adjustments as needed, ensuring that the overall project remains on track. This approach not only ensures higher-quality outcomes but also minimizes the risk of safety incidents, which can have costly and even catastrophic consequences. For those who manage teams, pre-planning becomes a tool for communication, setting clear expectations and creating a roadmap for success.

Task Concentration: Staying Focused Under Pressure

Trades work often takes place in high-pressure environments where multiple tasks and distractions compete for attention. Task concentration refers to the ability to stay focused on the immediate task at hand despite these external factors. Skilled tradespeople are adept at managing their attention, focusing on quality execution and making thoughtful decisions even when under time constraints or dealing with competing priorities. Maintaining task concentration ensures that work is carried out with precision and reduces the likelihood of mistakes that could result in costly delays, re-dos, or safety hazards.
Effective task concentration is the ability to remove distractions before they become an issue. This is increasingly difficult today, where many people work with earbuds in their ears, or are constantly looking at their phones. In the trades, these are both extremely bad looks, because most trades work does not involve listening to music or watching videos. Not only is this poor impression management, it is a safety hazard, and will not be tolerated on most jobsites. In addition, when a person is distracted or on their phone, the quality of their work will always be worse, and they will take longer to do it. Very few companies are interested in paying people to deliberately take more time to do inferior work.

Conclusion: Integrating Mindsets for Optimal Decision-Making

In the trades, the way a worker approaches decision-making can have a profound impact on both the immediate quality of the work and the overall trajectory of their career. A growth mindset fosters continuous improvement, ensuring that skills evolve with changing industry demands. A bias toward quality work guarantees that decisions prioritize precision and integrity, bolstering both reputation and job satisfaction. Pre-planning provides the foresight to make well-informed decisions and adapt to challenges, while task concentration allows tradespeople to remain focused on the task at hand and make effective choices under pressure.
At Trade Smart College, all of these skills are part of our curriculum and we encourage our students to adopt a more methodical approach to their work. These skills apply to every task, from the most menial to the most complex. We reinforce the idea that, “how you do one thing is how you do everything”, so our students know they must approach even the simplest task with diligence and integrity. Ultimately, decision-making in the trades is not just about choosing the quickest or most convenient option; it’s about creating value, mastering the craft, and building a reputation for excellence. Our students know that this is how you get a job, and keep a job, in the trades.

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Workplace Readiness Skills and Routines in the Trades

tradesmart23 on December 16, 2024

Workplace Readiness Skills and Routines in the Trades

The Skills That Pay Series: Workplace Readiness Skills and Routines in the Trades.

In the trades, workplace readiness is about far more than technical expertise. It is primarily about developing skills, routines, and habits that foster preparedness, focus, and reliability on the job. As demand grows for skilled trades professionals, employers increasingly seek individuals who possess essential workplace skills such as the ability to communicate, manage time, and persevere through adversity. This blend of abilities not only enhances workplace efficiency but also reduces risks and promotes positive, collaborative environments. In this blog we will explore these key workplace readiness skills in the trades, and how adopting effective routines supports these skills in practice.

Communication Skills: Keys to Effective Collaboration

Trades work is teamwork, so effective communication is the cornerstone of workplace readiness in the trades. Collaboration between a single tradesperson and a client, up to the coordination of diverse teams on complex projects all require effective communication routines. Verbal, nonverbal, and written exchanges, as well as active listening practices must be routinized to maximize understanding and prevent costly mistakes. Skilled trades workers frequently need to interpret blueprints, follow precise instructions, and/or convey technical information to teammates efficiently and clearly.
In many cases, communications can be routinized to increase efficiency and clarity. Written messages can be sent through construction management software so that all relevant information is available to those on the tools and in the back office. Verbal instructions can be relayed via daily meetings, call and response protocols, and planning routines before complex projects. And given their importance to communicating messages, nonverbal communication habits can be built to demonstrate interest and attention to detail. No one wants a slow-moving, slovenly tradesperson on their jobsite, or one who can’t seem to put their phone away. Instead of getting fired or written up for sending the wrong nonverbal cues, at Trade Smart College we teach our students how to develop routines to improve the impression they make with clients and teammates.

Time Management and Organizational Skills: Maximizing Efficiency

Time management and organizational skills are essential in the fast-paced environment of skilled trades, where projects are often time-sensitive, and efficiency is critical to profitability. Professionals who can always show up on time, prioritize tasks, adhere to schedules, and manage tools and materials effectively contribute to smoother operations and timely project completion. We teach our students how to develop pre-routines for each workday, how to track their time and build goal-setting and organizational habits that they use each day. This helps them begin each workday with a strong head start over people who do not take the time to organize themselves before work, but rather try to organize themselves during their work hours.
Developing routines such as setting daily goals, organizing tools systematically, and reviewing task lists at the start and end of each shift helps trades professionals stay prepared and focused, enabling them to meet project deadlines without compromising quality. Additionally, effective time management extends to managing physical resources—tools, materials, and workspaces. For example, experienced construction workers assert that at least 70% of construction is “staging” – managing, moving, and organizing materials, crew and construction waste. Workers who develop routines for tool maintenance, inventory checks, and workspace organization minimize downtime, enhance overall productivity, and can contribute to significant cost savings on every project.

Perseverance and Problem-Solving: Navigating Changing Work Environments

Perseverance and problem-solving skills are essential in the trades, where projects often present unexpected challenges, from weather-related delays to material shortages. Skilled trades professionals who don’t give up or disappear when faced with a challenge are better equipped to handle these changes while maintaining project integrity and quality. Developing routines such as working on one task at a time, and staying off your phone will dramatically increase a person’s ability to tough things out and find solutions to problems.
In addition, effective problem-solving requires a mindset where one is open to continuous learning and improvement. This is another reason why documentation routines are so critical, for companies and employees. WHen employees routinely record solutions to past issues, log photos of completed projects, and regularly archive relevant documents, this helps build a repository of practical knowledge for everyone in the organization to draw from. Ultimately, this enhances the effectiveness and resilience of the entire company.

Conclusion: Building a Culture of Readiness in the Trades

Workplace readiness in the trades is a critically important blend of technical proficiency built on a foundation of professional skills, and a commitment to efficiency and adaptability. Communication, time management, perseverance, and problem-solving abilities are not only valuable on an individual level but also contribute to a safer, more efficient, and cohesive work environment. Trade professionals who build routines that support these skills—such as communication routines, managing their nonverbal cues and miscues, and pre-shift planning—are well-equipped to navigate the demands of this dynamic industry.
As skilled trades continue to play a vital role in Ontario’s economic landscape, the importance of workplace readiness skills cannot be overstated. For both new entrants and experienced professionals, cultivating these abilities through structured routines and a proactive mindset is essential to achieving long-term success and contributing positively to the trades workforce.

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What is the Purpose of an Apprenticeship?

tradesmart23 on August 15, 2024

What is the Purpose of an Apprenticeship?

Apprenticeships are an educational model with a long history. They were initially conceived as a way to educate the whole person – to teach someone how to be a contributing member of the community as well as a skilled artisan. And it was critical that the apprentice be a good citizen first, before they were granted access to the technical skills of the trade. In recent years, we have forgotten to start with character when preparing people for apprenticeships and have focused instead on the specific techniques of a trade. The problem with this is that companies still require character and professionalism before they will sign an apprentice.

The European Origins of Apprenticeships

Apprenticeships emerged across Europe and other parts of the world around 500 years ago, in many different occupations or trades. And while there was a great deal of diversity in how apprenticeships were carried out, there were also some important similarities. Placing apprentices was an informal process where a teenager was sent to live with a master and her/his family to learn the trade. The craft knowledge was closely guarded by the master, and would only be given to the apprentice once they had proved themselves worthy. This control of knowledge was reinforced by the Guilds, or the groups of masters who regulated the trade. Interestingly, a ratio of apprentices to masters was common in virtually all trades during this time.

What was also common was the nature of the complaints, from apprentices and masters. Some common complaints from apprentices were that they were not progressing quickly enough in learning their trade, and that they had to do “irrelevant and menial” work. On the other hand, masters often griped that their apprentices were not committed enough to the trade, that they think they know more than they do, and that they lack the work ethic of the master’s generation. Ironically, 500 years later the complaints on both sides are the same.

Character, then Craft

Despite the complaints, the apprenticeship system that emerged out of Europe was an integrated model of education, with a specific purpose. In fact, it is this purpose that made the complaints more likely, and not just that older generations always complain about younger generations. Specifically, the purpose of an apprenticeship was to, “instill positive and productive cultural values”, and to look after the “moral welfare” of that person. The apprentice was first taught to be a good citizen and to have strong moral character before they were entrusted with the technical skills of the trade.

This order of teaching was a matter of individual self-preservation for the master, and the long-term sustainability of the trade. The blacksmith, the baker and other skilled tradespersons were pillars of the community, and none of them would pass on their skills to a lazy or unscrupulous apprentice. No master tradesperson could afford to be seen as the person who certified someone who ripped off the community. And if bakers or blacksmiths as a whole were regarded as scoundrels, the whole trade could be put in jeopardy. Preventing this was one of the main reasons that guilds were formed in the first place.

Character Gets Pushed Aside

As the number of trades and their technical sophistication increased after the Industrial Revolution, more and more technical knowledge was required in order for apprentices to become competent journeypersons. Technical knowledge was easier to incorporate into college curriculums than the character of the student, and the art of the trade. Over many years, this is what happened across North America as colleges taught technical skills and abstract concepts in their classrooms and workshops. In the process, technical knowledge came to be regarded as the only “essential” knowledge required in a trade.

The development of character and craft were sidelined in part because colleges could not teach the “feel” of the trade on an actual jobsite. They also lost interest in teaching “the basics” like character, preferring instead to leave that up to the family or school system. One consequence of this is that people who want to get into a trade think they only need some technical skills and they’re ready to go. But an apprenticeship is a much more holistic model of education than the teaching of a few technical skills. And craft and character are, and always have been, the most important component of a trade, even if they’re not taught in many campus classrooms and workshops.

Lessons from History

At Trade Smart College, we are committed to re-introducing character and craft into the trades we support. We start by teaching character skills, so our students are set up for success during their internship with a company. And during this internship, they will begin to learn some of their tradecraft in real-world situations.

We do it this way because it respects the traditional order of apprenticeship learning. And just as importantly, we do it this way because our companies have told us that they are always interested in employees who have shown they can be professional. And they simply aren’t interested in students who don’t have good character as a pre-requisite.

Conclusion

Historically, the apprenticeship pathway was clear – a master took on an apprentice and taught them how to be a good citizen before passing on the technical arts of the trade. We have lost our way a bit on this, and have come to see technical skill as the only qualification for becoming an apprentice. We need to correct this so that people who want to go into the trades actually have the skills and mindset that companies use to select candidates for apprenticeship.

Starts September 3rd

Want to learn more about Trade Smart and our upcoming Fall Term? You can now schedule an in-person meeting with Carrie, our Student Success Manager. Pick the date and time that works best for you and that’s it, you’re one step closer to your path in the Trades.

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Is it Hard to Get an Apprenticeship in Ontario in 2024?

tradesmart23 on August 15, 2024

Is it Hard to Get an Apprenticeship in Ontario in 2024?

Ontario needs over 100,000 new tradespeople in the next five years. With all that demand, getting an apprenticeship should be easy. However, it is the most difficult step in becoming a journeyperson. This is partly because companies cannot afford to take on poor apprentices, and partly because some would-be apprentices feel that the grunt work should be done by others. So the short answer to the question is Yes, it is hard to get an apprenticeship, and below we explain why.

Doesn’t Everyone Get an Apprenticeship?

It seems like every month there is a new announcement that Ontario is in dire need of more skilled tradespeople. At the end of 2023, the estimate was that 100,000 new tradespeople in construction alone would be needed by 2030. And now in 2024, the figure has climbed to around 140,000. With all this demand, it would be reasonable to assume that getting an apprenticeship would be easy. Unfortunately, the reality is far different. In fact, it turns out that this is the hardest part about becoming a journeyperson. It is the point where the largest number of people are excluded from the tremendous opportunities available in the trades.

It is challenging to get a complete picture of how hard it is to get an apprenticeship in Ontario. The reason is that one of the main ways to get signed is through personal connections. There aren’t any good data on this, but we do know that most people don’t have access to a friend or family member who can get them an opportunity.

What we do have data on is the percentage of students who graduate from pre-apprenticeship programs who get signed as apprentices. In the majority of trades, less than 30% of people who start a pre-apprenticeship program end up getting an apprenticeship, and in some cases it is as low as 10%. Why then, is it so hard to become an apprentice? One of the main reasons is that for most companies, they would rather not take on a new apprentice than hire a bad one.

No Apprentice is Better Than a Bad Apprentice

Many of the companies we work with could take on more work and more licensed journeypersons. Most Trade Smart certified companies would immediately hire several more journeypersons, if they were available. The problem is, most journeypersons are already working for other companies. Poaching a competitor’s employees may be a viable short-term strategy, but it rarely works in the long run because those employees often return to the original company, or go elsewhere when they are poached again. Poaching also does not address the overall shortage of tradespeople. So the best long-term strategy is for all companies to bring new talent into the trades.

But bringing new people into the trades means bringing in new apprentices and pre-apprentice candidates. As is covered in more detail in another blog, taking on a new apprentice is a costly undertaking, so companies do not do this lightly. In fact, most companies would rather not hire an apprentice than hire a bad one. The main reason is that a bad apprentice introduces uncertainty into the company’s operations. The most obvious example of this are questions like, “will the apprentice show up for work today?” or “will we have to redo the apprentice’s work?” At a business level, a bad apprentice also means that the company doesn’t know how much work it can take on. In most cases, companies would rather stick with their current staff and workload, even if it feels untenable, than take on a bad apprentice and over-commit to new projects. When a bad apprentice drops the ball, the company is then in an even worse position, having to complete more work with no more staff.

Everyone Starts at the Bottom

If you are looking to get into the trades, it is imperative that you show your employer that you will be a good apprentice. At its core, this means that you must be a professional, but even before that, you must understand a key point about the structure of trades work. Everyone starts at the bottom. And this means you start by doing a lot of things that some people think are beneath them.

But this “menial” work of cleaning, organizing, staging equipment and supplies, etc. is the foundation of all trades work. The glamorous, technical tasks cannot happen without meticulous preparation. Entry-level employees must learn this through experience from day one. It is why apprenticeships have been modelled this way for hundreds of years, and it is not going to change anytime soon.

Everyone starts out doing this work, and most people continue to do it for years as they take on more technical tasks as well. It doesn’t matter that your grandpa taught you how to use a table saw, that you rebuilt your cousin’s Subaru, or that you learned electrical theory in a pre-apprenticeship program. You don’t get to skip ahead and leave the grunt work to others.

Progress is Probable

Starting at the bottom with a professional attitude will lead to great opportunities in the trades. Unlike other jobs where advancement is difficult if not impossible, career progression in the trades is extremely likely. It won’t happen right away, so you will have to learn the skill of delayed gratification. But for tradespeople who are consistently professional, they will have more opportunities than they can handle. The good thing is that delayed gratification not only helps you in the trades, it is associated with a whole range of positive outcomes in people’s lives. It is a truly transferable ability.

Progressing in the trades depends on being able to get signed as an apprentice. And even with the critical shortage of tradespeople, this is still the most difficult part of the process. At Trade Smart College, we want to give our students the best chance of success, so we don’t accept any student into our program unless we have an apprenticeship opportunity for them.

Conclusion

It is gratifying to see that many more people are considering careers in the trades. But despite all this interest, the most difficult step is still getting signed. Companies are reluctant to make the significant investment required to take on an apprentice, unless that person has demonstrated that they can be a professional and that they understand the value of starting at the bottom. At Trade Smart College, we currently have apprenticeship opportunities in all five of the trades we support for our upcoming semesters. Contact us to schedule an information session or drop by for a visit.

Starts September 3rd

Want to learn more about Trade Smart College and our upcoming Fall Term? You can now schedule a meeting with Carrie, our Student Success Manager. Pick the date and time that works best for you and that’s it, you’re one step closer to your path in the Trades.

Contact the Team

Hamilton Campus

Campus Hours

  • Mon- Fri: 7am- 5pm
  • Open House - See Schedule

The Sizzle of the Trades

tradesmart23 on July 10, 2024

The Sizzle of the Trades

Becoming a skilled trades apprentice opens up a massive range of career possibilities. More people are being attracted to these opportunities, in part because HGTV and the various renovation and real-estate shows play up the glamorous parts of trades jobs. While this is all good for generating interest, it is not sufficient for actually getting people started on the pathway to these careers.

Selling the Sizzle

Almost 100 years ago, Elmer Wheeler advised salespeople to, “sell the sizzle, not the steak”. In other words, sell the excitement, the experience, or the dream that the product or service makes possible, not the thing itself. By doing so, he transformed sales and marketing processes, and it has long been the standard practice across most industries. It is so prevalent in fact that even governments, colleges and universities use it.

Governments and colleges sell the sizzle of the trades and other programs by promoting the excitement and opportunities available. To sell the trades, especially to women, youth, and new Canadians, governments fund trades days and “try the trades” programs in schools and community centres. To help encourage girls and women to go into science and engineering, colleges and universities run science camps and “lab days” for girls. And when it comes time to recruit students, colleges and universities show students the fancy labs and equipment rather than the custodian’s closet, health and safety binder, and researcher’s notebooks that keep the whole operation running.

At Some Point, the Steak Matters

There are obvious benefits to selling the sizzle, in the trades, in science, or indeed in any profession. We have to play up the possibilities to sell any career. So we turn on the sirens and let people slide down the firepole to get people to join the fire service and we showcase brand-name tools and sportscars to get people into the trades. It’s hard to attract firefighters by telling people that most of their day will be spent cleaning, organizing equipment, and waiting. Very few girls, or boys for that matter, will want to go into the trades if we tell them that 80% of trades work is staging – organizing, recording, maintaining, and transporting goods and tools, plus cleanup and disposal.

Having said that, there is a danger of selling past the close, to use another sales mantra. In this case, If we only expose people to the glamorous parts of a trade once they have decided to pursue it, we run the risk of creating unrealistic expectations. For instance, many students graduate from pre-apprenticeship programs thinking that they are fully qualified to do the exciting tasks of their trade and are unwilling to tackle the menial work. Plumbing neophytes want to install the multi-head shower, or would-be carpenters want to build the mahogany mantle, and they get frustrated when they’re told to sweep the shop instead. But sweeping the shop, sorting bolts, cutting boxes and moving pipe are all essential tasks in the trades. None of this is “just labour” or “not real trades work”. It is the steak that makes the sizzle possible.

Trades Work is Teamwork

There is another dimension to the reality of trades work, and it is something that doesn’t get covered in most programs and “try the trades” days. Trades work is fundamentally about team work. Every trades project gets done by a team, even if that team is only the tradesperson and the customer. This means that the needs of the team are paramount, and this plays out in several ways. The most basic requirement of being on a team is showing up on time and being ready to contribute more than your fair share. These are the go-to people on any team regardless of their skill, and they are the ones who consistently get picked for the next project.

Being a good team member is pretty similar to being a good citizen, or being a good professional. The skills are the same, and are based on taking personal responsibility, acting with integrity, and being willing to cheerfully put in the work required to get the job done. All of this is necessary before the glamour can happen. In any trade, be a professional and you will have jobs and opportunities. Be self-absorbed and you won’t.

How Companies Actually Award Apprenticeships

As I explain in another blog, taking on an apprentice is a costly endeavour for any company. The natural assumption then is that companies are looking for people to have some fairly well-developed technical skills in a trade before taking them as an apprentice. Lots of pre-apprenticeship programs are based on this idea, where the emphasis is on the amount of time a student spends in a workshop doing the “hands-on” work of the trade. This dovetails nicely with selling the sizzle, because students get to use some of the latest tools in clean, climate-controlled workspaces.

The problem is that companies do not choose apprentices based on their pre-existing technical skills or how well they use tools in an artificial environment. Instead they hire, and fire, on professionalism. Pre-existing technical wizardry is an afterthought at best. Being a professional is rarely glamorous, but it is the steak that makes the sizzle possible. And it is the only thing our Trade Smart certified companies look for when they decide to bring someone on as an apprentice.

Conclusion

There are tons of great opportunities in the trades in Ontario, and across the country. And there is some glamour and glory in most of these possibilities. But that comes later, after one has become a consummate professional and can be trusted to approach every task with integrity. As in most other careers, the hard work comes first.

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Company Costs in Hiring Apprentices and Why it Matters

tradesmart23 on July 10, 2024

Company Costs in Hiring Apprentices and Why it Matters

An apprenticeship is a form of education. Knowledge and skill are transmitted to students who earn a credential, and in many trades the credential is required in order to work in that trade. What is different about an apprenticeship vs college or university is where the learning takes place. And this means that the costs of training are distributed differently as well. This has implications for how easy or difficult it is to get an apprenticeship, and for the kind of training a student should pursue in order to become an apprentice. And because it can be so costly to take on an apprentice, this is another reason why students should develop their professional skills first, not their technical skills.

A Degree or Diploma Versus an Apprenticeship

In a traditional post-secondary degree, a college employs staff and teachers and has a physical infrastructure with classrooms and labs, libraries and perhaps residences. Students pay tuition and fees to cover the costs of these services and for the opportunity to learn what is required to earn the credential.

When students graduate, they enter a job market and companies sort through the various candidates and choose the ones they want to hire. Companies do not pay anything towards the skills and knowledge that their new employees have acquired. In other words, students (and governments) pay the full freight for traditional degrees and diplomas while the companies that hire these graduates pay nothing.

In standard economic theory, there is some justification for this distribution of costs. Most of the skills and knowledge that students learn in a college program are general and transferable. This means they can be used at any organization, so in theory companies should pay as little as possible for skills that an employee can readily take with them to a competitor.

In an apprenticeship, the costs of education are distributed differently. This is something that isn’t often talked about or understood, but it has a big impact on the availability of apprenticeships and how they are awarded. In apprenticeship education, companies take on the lion’s share of the costs so they are selective in who they educate and how they provide training. There are three main costs that companies incur when they take on apprentices: Supervision and instruction; decreased productivity, and; mistakes and corrections. These costs are comparable to, and in many cases greater than, the wages an apprentice earns.

Supervision and Instruction

Apprentices must be supervised and taught by journeypersons or masters because this is the central dynamic of the whole model. In most cases, this is an intensive form of learning with a low apprentice-to-master ratio. In Ontario in most compulsory trades, the ratio is 1:1 – one master for every apprentice. This is a political choice rather than a necessity because there are many fields where one expert can teach several novices at once. For instance, aspiring doctors serve as interns where the ratio is often 10 interns to one doctor, so there is no magical limit on this ratio.

When a journeyperson is supervising and teaching an apprentice, they are taking time from their regular job to provide these benefits to the apprentice. The company pays the journeyperson for this service, but it is not work that can normally be charged to a customer. You will rarely see an invoice with a charge for, “master to apprentice instruction, 2 hours” on it. Journeypersons are often paid $50/hour or more so the real cost to the company is significant.

Decreased Productivity

Technically, the fact that companies cannot charge a customer for the instructional work a journeyperson performs is a loss of productivity. However, there is another element here, and that is the slower pace of work that occurs when an apprentice is involved. Showing apprentices how to perform a task takes time, and the apprentice is never as good at it as the journeyperson until they gain years of experience. Sometimes companies can charge a customer for this, but if they have bid for a job, they often have to leave out the extra hours required in order for their bid to be competitive.

It is true that having an apprentice around can also increase productivity at times. Having an extra pair of hands around to haul goods and tools, clean up, organize and pack the van and many other tasks is beneficial and may offset the extra time it takes for the apprentice to perform other work. It is important to remember though, that companies can simply hire a labourer to do some of these supposedly menial tasks, without taking on that person as an apprentice. Apprentices earn more and their wages go up every year, so there is still a cost to hiring an apprentice. But that extra cost is worth it for the company and the apprentice if both sides are committed to the relationship. The company trains someone who can take on more and more responsibility and the apprentice gets a proper understanding of how important the “menial” work is in any project.

Mistakes and Errors

Entry-level employees make mistakes in every profession. In some jobs, these errors have little to no cost. For instance, college teaching assistants and graduate students often make mistakes in marking papers and exams until they get more experience. But these mistakes have no real cost. Students complain and the grade gets changed and life goes on. But it isn’t that simple in the trades. When an apprentice doesn’t dig a trench to the proper specifications, an entire job can be held up while the mistake is corrected. This is a real cost when the job is delayed, or a sub-trade has to charge more because of the hold-up. Similarly, if an apprentice stages the pipe or lumber and it blocks the access route, delays, cancellations and extra charges ensue.

Neither of these scenarios is catastrophic, but that is by design. No employer in their right mind is going to allow an unproven apprentice to perform a project where the costs are high. If a toilet isn’t seated properly and it leaks, or a wiring mistake starts an electrical fire, the damage quickly escalates. Companies have to minimize these risks for their own survival, so they limit the potential damage they can do until they prove themselves capable of handling more technical tasks.

Conclusion

An apprenticeship is a form of learning that is distinct from a college diploma. The emphasis is on learning the technical skills of a trade. We often point to the fact that the purpose of an apprenticeship is to learn the technical skills of a trade, and that apprentices get paid, as the distinguishing features of the model. While these are indeed features, it is also important to understand that the costs of apprenticeships are also different. Companies take on the majority of the costs in an apprenticeship, so they have to be selective about who they will accept. In practice, this means that companies will only take a chance on people who have demonstrated their ability to be a professional. This means that would-be apprentices should take programs that focus on professionalism over trade-specific skills if they want a company to make this investment in them.

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Should Your College Find You an Apprenticeship? Matching Students with Local Jobs in the Trades

tradesmart23 on July 10, 2024

Should Your College Find You an Apprenticeship?
Matching Students with Local Jobs in the Trades

Students go to college or university to get jobs. This is the overwhelming reason that students and parents give for going to college and it has been true for decades. Despite the other reasons why people pursue post-secondary education, and there are some, it is naive to think that they outweigh the importance of getting a job. So the obvious question is, “should your college or university find you your first job opportunity?”

Colleges Have No Obligation to Find You a Job

The first answer to this question is No, a college has no responsibility for finding you a job. There are two main reasons for this. First, going to college is about so much more than getting a job, and to focus on employment minimizes all of these other benefits. People go to college to expand their minds, to learn new things, meet new friends and hopefully become better citizens. This is the real benefit of post-secondary education, so to reduce the experience to a mere exchange – tuition for a job opportunity – is the wrong way to think about it.

The second reason is that a college, or a professor, cannot control what you will do with a job opportunity, how much effort you will put in, or whether you will show up every day with a good attitude. “We gave them all the knowledge, now it’s up to them to use it and find a job”, is the common refrain. Since colleges cannot control how their graduates will perform, they should not be obligated to find them a job.

Colleges Should Find You a Job

The other answer is Yes, colleges should be responsible for finding you that first job. Every institution, implicitly or explicitly, sells seats in their classrooms with the promise of a better job. “What career are you interested in?, “What are your career goals?”, or “What do you want to do with your degree?” are some of the most common questions that college recruiters ask potential students. Their answers are then focused on explaining how some of their programs are great preparation for the student’s goals. It’s a very effective strategy, but the message is clear – getting a degree or diploma gets you a better job.

When a student, or their parents, pay thousands of dollars a year for a credential and they are encouraged to believe that this will get them a job, they have a right to expect that there will be a job when they graduate. Yes it’s complicated, and yes it’s a lot of work to ensure that students have a chance at employment when they graduate. So if the college doesn’t know how many jobs will be available when students finish, or they know there are far fewer jobs than graduates, students have a right to be frustrated.

We Start with the Opportunity

Students come to Trade Smart College because they want to become a journeyperson in a specific trade. We feel obligated to maximise those chances by teaching the right things at the right time. But more importantly, we feel it is our responsibility to make sure there is at least a potential entry-level job available when they graduate. And not just any job. We want to help address the shortage of skilled tradespeople, so we want our students to get into apprenticeships. This is the starting point for great trades careers.

We find these apprenticeship opportunities locally, in Hamilton and the surrounding area. The reason is that skill shortages, job openings, and company expansions are almost always solved locally, not regionally or provincially. The province may need 100,000 skilled tradespeople, but that shortage isn’t going to be solved unless qualified people are matched with apprenticeship opportunities. Simply dumping 100,000 newly minted graduates into the province won’t work. College to work connections must be done locally, in local labour markets.

If Everyone Graduates at the Same Time, Lots of People Don’t Get Jobs

Many colleges offer their programs 2 or 3 times per year. One of the disadvantages for students in this model is that there are 2 or 3 large clumps of graduates each year, meaning that lots of people are competing for the same jobs at the same time. Some Career Colleges have recognized this problem and offer multiple start dates to spread out the number of graduates at any one time.

At Trade Smart College, we only graduate 120 students a year, and we only take 25 students per class. We don’t dump a bunch of students into the market so they can all compete with each other for a small number of jobs. We talk to our certified companies first and get a sense from them whether they will be able to take somebody in a couple months or not. If the answer is no, we move on to our other companies to see if they can take people. And if we get 5 spots in a trade, we take five students for that cohort. If we don’t get any, we don’t take any students in that trade for that cohort. It’s not a guarantee by any means, but at least it’s a fair shake for the students and the companies to get what they both want – a job and a good employee.

Conclusion

If you’re looking to get into a skilled trade, the most difficult part of the journey is finding a company or union that will sign you as an apprentice. You can have the highest grades, or demonstrate superior technical skills in a lab, but none of that matters unless you have a genuine opportunity at earning an apprenticeship. Some colleges leave it up to you to find those opportunities. At Trade Smart College, we think that is our job. If you agree, contact us for more information about our program.

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How to Become a Skilled Trades Apprentice in Ontario in 2024

tradesmart23 on June 18, 2024

How to Become a Skilled Trades Apprentice in Ontario in 2024

The first step in taking advantage of the tremendous opportunities in the skilled trades is to become an apprentice. We get questions from prospective students almost every day that ask us how to do this. They’ve often done an online search, but even after that they don’t have a clear picture of how to become an apprentice. While the actual steps seem simple, the reality is that becoming an apprentice is the most difficult part of the journey into the skilled trades.

The Four Steps

If you go to the Ontario government’s website, you can find the four steps you need to complete in order to become an apprentice. https://www.ontario.ca/page/start-apprenticeship Those steps are:

  1. Find out if you qualify
  2. Find an employer or sponsor
  3. Apply for an apprenticeship
  4. Sign a Training Agreement

So what do these steps mean? Starting with step 1, in order to be eligible for an apprenticeship in Ontario you must be at least 16 years old and have legal permission to work in Canada. In some trades there are also some educational requirements, most commonly a high school diploma. The educational requirements are intentionally low because an apprenticeship is first and foremost a form of education, more than it is a form  of work. 

Assuming you meet the requirements above, the next step is to find an organization  (a company or union) who will sponsor you in your apprenticeship. You can send your resume to companies or knock on doors and hope that somebody will take you on as an apprentice. If they do, you can then apply for an apprenticeship, and then you work with that organization to sign a “Registered Training Agreement” with the government. After that, you are officially an apprentice and on your way to an amazing career in the trades.

If only it were that simple.

Step 2 is a Doozy

While these steps are technically correct, they tell you almost nothing about how to actually get an apprenticeship. This is like saying, there are only four steps for running a marathon:

  1. Buy shoes and the necessary equipment
  2. Train yourself to be able to run a marathon
  3. Sign up for a marathon
  4. Complete the race

If you said to a marathoner, “I can now run a marathon because someone told me these four steps”, they will probably pat you on the head and wish you good luck. And the same is true for the steps to become an apprentice. In both cases, there is so much that goes into each step that just knowing them does you no good. And in both cases, it is step 2 that prevents almost everyone from becoming an apprentice or running a marathon.

For apprenticeships, the reality is that even if your age, work status and educational background qualify you to become an apprentice, the same is true for thousands, perhaps millions, of other people. So “finding an employer or sponsor” is actually the most difficult part of the entire process of getting into the trades. It is more difficult than learning the technical skills of any trade, writing the exams in compulsory trades, or finding a job once you’re licensed. 

Nobody Gets Signed Without a Connection

The main reason why step 2 in becoming an apprentice is so difficult is because the cost of sponsoring an apprentice, for a company or a union, is very high. As I mentioned above, apprenticeships are primarily educational experiences, not work experiences. We as a society have decided that training people in the skilled trades is better done on a jobsite than in a classroom. So companies or unions have to provide significant resources to train new recruits in the technical skills of a trade. I’ll break down these costs in more detail in a future blog but the main costs are: having a journeyperson or master available as a teacher, decreased productivity, mistakes and corrections, and turnover costs.

Organizations cannot afford to invest these resources on just anyone. And when they receive over 200 applications for an apprenticeship opportunity, all with roughly the same  qualifications, they have no rational way to pick the best candidate. Moreover, most places have been burned in the past when they have taken on a candidate and set aside the time and money to train them, only to have the candidate quit in the first week or two. Given how frequently this happens, the only sensible thing for a company or union to do is to pick people who have a connection to the organization. Is your uncle in the union, or does a family friend own a plumbing company? If so, you have a reasonable chance of being sponsored as an apprentice. If you don’t have a connection, your chances are abysmal.

How to Find a Sponsor if You Don’t Have a Connection

While relying on connections is the rational, and perhaps the only, way for organizations to screen apprentice candidates, it is not sustainable, does not promote diversity, nor does it help fill the critical shortage of tradespeople. So if you want to get into the trades but you don’t have a connection, there are a couple of things you can do. The two most common approaches are to take a pre-apprenticeship program at a college to learn some skills in your trade, or take a job as a general labourer and hope to get signed as an apprentice later. 

The problem with getting a job as a labourer is that you are still waiting for an apprenticeship opportunity. Some labourers work for years before getting signed, and for others the opportunity never materializes. If you take a pre-apprenticeship program, at most colleges you still have to find your own apprenticeship. And you will graduate with dozens of others, so you are all competing for the same spots. 

At Trade Smart College, we don’t admit a student until after we have secured an apprenticeship opportunity for them. We don’t guarantee that you’ll become an apprentice because you still have to earn it, but at least you know you are working towards an actual position. 

Conclusion

Becoming a skilled trades apprentice in Ontario is more difficult than it should be given that we need over 100,000 more people in the sector in the next five years. While the theoretical steps are straightforward, the reality is that getting an apprenticeship without a trades connection is virtually impossible. If you want to get into the trades and you have a connection, you should use it. If you don’t, at Trade Smart College we currently have companies with apprenticeship opportunities in five different trades. Contact us for more information.

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What’s the Highest Paying Trade in Ontario in 2024?

tradesmart23 on June 18, 2024

What’s the Highest Paying Trade in Ontario in 2024?

Many of our prospective students ask some version of the question, “what is the highest paying trade in Ontario?” We understand the impulse behind this – many people want to go into a field where they can make the most money. University students ask the same question, “what subject should I study to get the highest paying job?” The best answer in both cases is not so much about choosing a specific field or trade, but which opportunities a person decides to pursue. I’ll have more to say  in a later blog about university choices but for now let’s look at some of the different trades options.

The Four Main Trades Sectors:

There are currently thousands of open jobs in the majority of trades in Ontario, and across the country. The majority of these trades fall into one of four categories: Construction; Industrial/Manufacturing; Transportation, or; Service. As a general rule, average salaries are lower in the service trades like hairstyling, cooking and network cabling (or the rather esoteric “horse harness maker”). Annual earnings in many service trades are often in the $40,000- $60,000 range even for people with many years of experience. 

In contrast, in construction trades like plumbing, electrical and HVAC, people often earn six figures a year while they are still an apprentice or shortly after becoming journeypersons. The same is true for many industrial and transportation technicians as well. Heavy equipment, and truck and coach technicians in the transportation sector, along with millwrights and welders in industrial/manufacturing trades are able to earn over $100,000 a year within a few years of becoming a qualified journeyperson. 

If you Google the highest paying trades in Ontario in 2024, you’ll get a range of answers. Some sites will tell you electricians make the most money, with an average salary of just over $90,000. Other sites, including some of the major job boards (Indeed, etc), will list millwrights, truck drivers or HVAC technicians at the top. So which one of these is right? Frankly, that is the wrong question.

What Difference Does a Dollar (or Two) Make?

You could spend a great deal of time in the rabbit hole trying to figure out which trade pays a dollar more an hour than the others, which internet site uses the best data, which one uses the best estimation methodology, or has the largest sample size. But the fact is, that is a waste of your time. All of the job sites use a similar methodology based on data collected from their own job banks, and none of these are any better or worse at estimating the average salaries of different tradespeople. They reach different conclusions because they use different data.

More importantly, these estimates are not meaningfully different from each other, or between the top-paying trades. Most sites peg the average hourly rate for electricians, plumbers, HVAC techs, truck and coach mechanics, millwrights and others at around $48-$51 per hour across the province. Is it wise to choose a trade based on a difference of $1-2 in the hourly wage? The clear answer is No, and here’s why.

Get Qualified, and Make the Most of Your Trade

I would urge you to be cautious about going into a trade based primarily on the average wage you see on the internet for two reasons. First, you need to become a licensed journeyperson in any of these trades before making $48/hour or more is even possible. If you don’t finish an apprenticeship in any of these trades you’ll be stuck making $25/hour for your career. So pick a trade where you have the greatest chance of finishing your apprenticeship. In other words, not finishing your apprenticeship in a trade with a $51/hour average wage is much worse than getting certified in one with a $48/hour rate. 

 Second, how you approach your chosen trade, and which opportunities you pursue, will have more impact on your annual income than some slightly higher average hourly wage in another trade. There is a critical shortage of licensed tradespeople in all of these high-wage trades, so you’ll always have an opportunity to work overtime or on-call. Working a few extra hours each week can greatly increase a person’s annual income. The impact will be far greater than a couple dollars on an hourly rate. Doesn’t mean you have to do this for the rest of your life, but if you want to earn more money, this is one of the best ways to do that.

There’s More to Life Than Money…

It is certainly worth knowing the highest paying trade in Ontario, especially in 2024 when inflation and the general cost of living is so high across the province. However, there can be more to life than money, so it is important to choose a trade that interests you, or gives you other things besides money. I’m not saying “follow your passion”, or “find your passion” because that is nonsense. I’m saying try to choose a trade that is likely to sustain your interest.

Even if you don’t believe that there’s more to life than money, you should still pick a trade that interests you. The reason is that most people who get into the trades don’t spend their entire careers on the tools. Lots of plumbers, electricians, millwrights and welders hang up their tools to get into sales, estimating, project management, equipment and supplies, or business ownership. 

Sometimes they do this because they can make more money, but many of them pursue these other opportunities because they are interested in the field, and this gives them the confidence to try something new. It is worth remembering that if you open your own HVAC business or start managing large electrical projects, the hourly wage for HVAC techs or electricians on some internet sites no longer applies. So why choose a trade now based on a number that might not apply to you in a few years? 

Conclusion

Starting out in a trade, especially a compulsory trade like the ones we support at Trade Smart College, opens up a huge range of career possibilities. If you’re willing to work hard and you make some good decisions, you will probably have more opportunities than most university graduates. This is because there are far fewer people in Ontario in 2024 with a journeyperson’s ticket than with a university degree, and there are thousands more open jobs for journeypersons than for university grads. If you just want to make money, you can do that in any compulsory trade without obsessing over which one has the highest average wage right now. If you think there’s more to life than money, you’ll find that in the trades as well.

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Need more info? Looking to register? Want to find out about financing or start dates? Book a call, meeting, or text chat with Carrie our Student Success Manager.

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Your Chances of Getting an Apprenticeship in Ontario: By the Numbers

tradesmart23 on June 18, 2024

Your Chances of Getting an Apprenticeship: By the Numbers

By any measure, Ontario is desperately short of skilled tradespeople. We need people now, but the first step in becoming a tradesperson is to get signed as an apprentice. The only way into a skilled trade is to complete an apprenticeship. You’d think that with the shortage, almost everyone who wants to get into the trades can get an apprenticeship. Well, the numbers tell a very different story, and getting signed is one of, if not the most difficult steps in becoming a tradesperson. So how does one get signed as an apprentice?

If I take a pre-apprenticeship program at college, will I get an apprenticeship?

This is perhaps the most important question that you should answer before deciding to spend your time and money on a pre-apprenticeship program. By their very name, these programs should prepare you for an apprenticeship, so the question is how well do they do it?

The reality is that no college in Ontario will guarantee you an apprenticeship once you graduate. By law, and by common sense, they can’t. So if there is no guarantee, what are your chances of getting signed? One way to find out is to look at what’s happened to students in the past. Luckily, the Ontario government provides data on this.

If 100 students start a pre-apprenticeship, how many end up getting signed?

This is a more specific, and more testable question for anyone considering a pre-apprenticeship program. Hypothetically, if you are one of 100 students who enrol in, for instance, a pre-apprentice electrical program, how many of you will end up getting signed as an apprentice? The answer is obviously less than 100 because:

  • Not everyone who starts the program will finish or graduate;
  • Not everyone who graduates will end up working or looking for work, and;
  • Not everyone who wants to work will get an apprenticeship position.

In other words, some of the people who start the program will fail or get kicked out, some people who graduate will decide to do other things (go back to school, stay home, travel), and some people will get jobs, but not as electrical apprentices. So what do the numbers tell us? Unfortunately, the results are a bit depressing.

In Many Trades, Less Than 30% of People Who Start a Pre-Apprenticeship Program Get Signed in Ontario

When we use the government data collected for four major trades and we account for the students who don’t graduate, who don’t stay in the labour force, and who don’t get jobs in their field of study, we end up with the percentages in the table below.

 

Program/Trade% Chance you will get an Apprenticeship*
Carpentry24
Electrical20
HVAC (sheet metal, gasfitter)23
Plumbing26

 

These percentages seem distressingly low, but they are based on official government data. I have some personal, anecdotal experience with these percentages. My oldest son graduated from an electrical pre-apprentice program several years ago and he was one of only 4 graduates from a class of 40 that eventually got signed as an apprentice. In fact, that 10% success rate was one of my personal motivations for helping to start Trade Smart College. I just figured there had to be a way to do better than this.

Why do so Few People Actually Get an Apprenticeship?

There is no single reason why these percentages are so low. In fact, there are even some good reasons why people don’t end up continuing in their chosen trade. Some people genuinely find better opportunities, decide the trade isn’t right for them, or get excited about doing something else. But this doesn’t detract from the fact that lots of people spend a lot of time and money on pre-apprenticeship programs and can’t get into their field. 

For us at Trade Smart College, we think these percentages are too low. And we think they point to a whole series of problems along the pathway into apprenticeship. The three main problems are:

  • Student and employer expectations do not match
  • There is no coordination of the supply and demand for apprentices in local labour markets, and;
  • Employers are reluctant to take on apprentices because of the significant costs involved in doing so.

Our diploma program addresses all three of these problems head-on. To find out how, please check out my other posts, or reach out to us and one of our team members will be happy to answer your questions. We are not perfect and we do not promise anyone a job, but we are determined to raise these percentages.

Conclusion

There is a shortage of qualified tradespeople in Ontario, but there are lots of people who want to fill that gap. Unfortunately, for every 100 people who want to go into some of the main construction trades, only about 25% are able to do so. This means there are barriers along the apprenticeship pathway, and they need to be addressed for the sake of students, trades companies, and the economy. Contact us, or come by for a visit, and see how we’re trying to eliminate those barriers.

*Footnote: Here is the basic formula to arrive at the numbers in the table.

C = G x P x F

Where C is the % chance of getting signed as an apprentice,

G is the Graduation Rate for the program

P is the Labour Force Participation Rate for the program, and

F is the percentage of labour force participants who are working in their field, or a partially related field.

For example, the numbers for Carpenters are as follows:

G = 60%

P = 73.5%

F = 53%

So C for carpenters is: .60 x .735 x .53 = 23.37%.

In other words, out of 100 people who start a carpentry pre-apprentice program, only 23 of them get signed as apprentices.

Here are the numbers for the other three trades in the table (expressed as decimals).

 

 G (grad rate)P (part. rate)F (in Field rate)C (chance signed)
Electrical.64.71.44.20
HVAC.72.39.82.23
Plumbing.70.84.44.26

 

Data for this table is provided by the Ontario Ministry of Colleges and Universities for the 2017-18 year (the latest year for which data are available). The data used for these calculations can be found at: https://www.app.tcu.gov.on.ca/eng/labourmarket/employmentprofiles/index.asp . The programs pulled for analysis are: Carpentry and Renovation Techniques; Electrical Techniques; Plumbing Techniques, and; Heating, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Techniques. All programs are Ontario College Certificate programs.

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