Survey of Alberta Apprentices and Journeymen

Detailed information for 1989

Status:

Inactive

Frequency:

Annual

Record number:

3842

This survey, which was conducted in 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988 and 1989, identified the number of Alberta-registered apprentices and Alberta-certified journeymen who were active in their trade, as well as the trades in which they were active. The 1989 survey also identified the number of apprentices and journeymen willing to work fewer hours per week at the same hourly rate but with an equal reduction in pay and benefits.

Data release - May 22, 1990

Description

Apprenticeship is a combination of on-the-job and technical training which leads to certification as a qualified journeyman in a specific trade. There are 52 trades designated in Alberta. Alberta Manpower administers the program, which is jointly funded by the federal and provincial governments.

To become an apprentice, an individual must:
- be at least 16 years old;
- have a minimum level of education (usually Grade 9);
- be employed with an employer who is a journeyman or who employs a journeyman in the required trade.

Once all of these conditions are met, the individual becomes a registered apprentice by signing a contract with his employer. Depending on the trade, the term of apprenticeship varies in length from two to four periods, (approximately two to four years). During this time the employer provides the opportunity for the apprentice to work and gain experience in the trade.

In Alberta there are two types of regulated trades, Proficiency Trades and Qualification Trades. (The Proficiency Trades are indicated by a (P) on the Code Sheet.) To work in a Proficiency Trade an individual must either be a registered apprentice in that trade or have a Proficiency Certificate. Individuals can work in a Qualification Trade without being registered apprentices or holding Qualification Certificates if they have two to five years of acceptable work experience and are paid a journeymen's wage.

After successfully completing his/her apprenticeship the apprentice becomes a journeyman and receives either a Proficiency Certificate or a Qualification Certificate (also known as a "ticket"). Journeymen certification can also be obtained by qualifying for the Interprovincial Red Seal which means an individual's trade qualifications are recognized throughout Canada.

At present in Alberta there are approximately 18,000 registered apprentices and 40,000 to 60,000 journeymen. Under the apprenticeship and trade certification program, Alberta Manpower monitors the status of registered apprentices and schedules them for technical training at post-secondary institutions. Therefore, the provincial government knows when apprentices become unemployed in their trade. With current data, however, it is not possible to determine if apprentices not working in their registered trades are working in related occupations.

Once an apprentice has received a journeyman certificate, it is possible to determine if he/she is active in his/her trade only if he/she is working for an employer who has apprentices registered. As a result, nothing is known about those journeymen working for employers who do not have registered apprentices in their trade or about journeymen who are not working in their registered trade themselves.

This survey data will be used to identify, in a reliable manner, Alberta-registered apprentices and Alberta-certified journeymen who are active in their trade, as well as the trades in which they are active. This data will then be used to plan enrolment levels in the various apprenticeship programs for the next five to ten years. The data will also be useful in the refinement of labour supply projection models developed by Alberta Manpower.

Reference period: This study will use two reference periods: the Labour Force Survey (LFS) reference week in October of the reference year; and the 12 months preceeding the LFS reference week in October of the reference year.

Collection period: The Labour Force Survey interview week, usually the third week of the month.

Subjects

  • Education, training and learning
  • Employment and unemployment
  • Labour
  • Occupations
  • Outcomes of education

Data sources and methodology

Target population

Data were collected for the civilian non-institutionalized population of Alberta aged 16 to 65 years. Specifically excluded from the survey's coverage are persons living on Indian Reserves.

Sampling

This is a sample survey with a cross-sectional design.

The Survey of Alberta Apprentices and Journeymen was conducted on a sub-sample of the October 1989 Labour Force Survey. Hence, the survey design is based on the LFS frame and sampling procedures. The LFS uses a multi-stage area sample which is based upon information from the 1981 Census of Canada. Five of the six LFS rotation groups were used, rotation groups 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6. The survey applies to each civilian household member 16 to 65 years of age inclusive, in the province of Alberta only.

Data sources

Data collection for this reference period: October 23, 1989 to October 29, 1989

Responding to this survey is voluntary.

Data are collected directly from survey respondents.

The survey will be a non-proxy interview with each eligible respondent and will be conducted using the regular interviewing procedures of the Labour Force Survey. It is necessary, due to the nature of the survey, that interviews be non-proxy. Regular LFS respondents may not know about trade certificates held by other household members.

View the Questionnaire(s) and reporting guide(s) .

Error detection

Data entry was completed in the Statistics Canada Regional Offices using the mini computers situated there. Following capture, the data was subjected to validation, edit and correction procedures. Partial non-response to the survey was identified by subjecting raw data to an exhaustive computer edit.

Imputation

Records with missing or inconsistent data were imputed from similar records.

Estimation

The principals of the calculations for the weights for the Survey of Alberta Apprentices and Journeymen are identical to those of the Labour Force Survey. Three adjustments are made to the final LFS weights in order to derive a final weight for the individual records on the Survey of Alberta Apprentices and Journeymen microdata file. The adjustments made to the LFS weights account for:
1) a factor to adjust for the use of a five-sixth sample;
2) a factor to adjust for the non-response to the Survey of Alberta Apprentices and Journeymen supplement;
3) a factor to adjust for sub-provincial and province-age-sex projections.

The first weight adjustment mentioned above is to account for sub-sampling of rotation groups.

The second is to account for the non-response rate to the Survey of Alberta Apprentices and Journeymen supplement. Some households that responded to the LFS refused to respond to the supplementary questions.

The third adjustment, which is actually a series of adjustments, is to balance weights to age and sex population estimates at the sub-provincial and provincial level.

Disclosure control

Statistics Canada is prohibited by law from releasing any information it collects that could identify any person, business, or organization, unless consent has been given by the respondent or as permitted by the Statistics Act. Various confidentiality rules are applied to all data that are released or published to prevent the publication or disclosure of any information deemed confidential. If necessary, data are suppressed to prevent direct or residual disclosure of identifiable data.

In order to prevent any data disclosure, confidentiality analysis is done using the Statistics Canada Generalized Disclosure Control System (G-Confid). G-Confid is used for primary suppression (direct disclosure) as well as for secondary suppression (residual disclosure). Direct disclosure occurs when the value in a tabulation cell is composed of or dominated by few enterprises while residual disclosure occurs when confidential information can be derived indirectly by piecing together information from different sources or data series.

Documentation

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