This is the second in a series of articles exploring the mystery and history behind trades training and how it has evolved over the years to what it has become today.
Standards are now mainstream within our vocabulary but whose standards are we referring to? Standards are like perspectives; everyone has one, but which is correct?
High standards, quality standards, modern standards and company standards are terms often used in reference to work being provided or training that is made available to employees.
Yet, to whose standards are they being referred, what do they mean and how did these standards come to exist?
Recently, I completed a trip through the western United States.
I enjoy my morning coffee and have a preferred establishment that I frequent where I can order my favourite latte and receive my java exactly the same each time, no matter what city, state or province I find myself in. Because this company’s operational standard is well established and practised with precision at every location operating under their brand, the expectations of their faithful clients are met, regardless of location.
What has become the norm would not exist unless a body of standards had been created and then practised consistently.
Within the world of construction, it is imperative that companies practice the highest standards possible.
Standards take on many different faces across an organization, yet it is well known that a good reputation takes a lifetime to create and only a minute to destroy. Construction firms often employ large numbers of tradespeople.
Getting projects completed relies on craft workers to follow high standards in the building of the projects.
In Canada, public safety relies on high standards being adhered to, therefore each time we step into an elevator, board a commercial flight, or plug-in an appliance to a receptacle within our homes we feel safe knowing that well defined high standards have guided the work.
Training programs that follow well defined standards produce desired results. Successful companies invest in training and employ a highly-functioning, highly-skilled workforce and this provides a definite competitive edge.
Operating to the status quo does not allow a company to keep current in today’s business arena and trades are just one example of a field where new knowledge is constantly being generated.
Training within trades and apprenticeship typically occurs in pre-apprenticeship, apprenticeship and post-apprenticeship forums.
Those with little or no trade experience often begin at the pre-apprenticeship level and move through to certification while journeypersons will continue their lifelong learning post-certification.
Pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship training follow well defined and accepted standards.
The majority of today’s apprentices train in Red-Seal trades.
The Red Seal trades program was established in 1952 and for over 60 years has been the “standard-setter” within the Canadian apprenticeship system. The Red Seal program provides a baseline set of standards that define each Red Seal trade.
Today, many companies work across jurisdictional borders and having a standards and certification system that is accepted across the country is highly advantageous.
Because of the existence of a national standard, the knowledge, skills and abilities of journeypersons are better understood.
Significant time and financial contributions are required to create this national system, yet the end result is a pan-Canadian standard for trades and apprenticeship that is accepted as the benchmark across all jurisdictions.
While pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship training follow well defined standards, post-apprenticeship training does not.
Often post-apprenticeship training is developed by equipment manufacturers, product developers or by industry.
As an example, in the case of welding, post-journeyperson training standards are well defined by specific industry groups such as the American Welding Society, Canadian Welding Bureau or the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
Yet with other trades, post-apprenticeship training is rarely guided by acceptable standards and is ad-hoc at best.
The question of “whose standards” are we accepting is a question that must be asked.
Like the coffee company that invests in corporate training and delivers on well defined training standards, so too must the construction industry.
It is not good enough to send people for training just for the sake of training, but it is of paramount importance to understand the curriculum, the instructor’s pedigree and how the course is structured, delivered, and updated.
Not all courses are created equally and to trust that a training provider knows what they are doing at face value is not doing one’s homework.
Whose standards are we accepting is a solid first question in the conversation.
Dr. Lindsay Langill is a former dean of trades and technology. Langill holds Red Seal certification in three trades and has a bachelor of education and master of arts from UBC along with a doctorate from the University of Calgary. He is president of 3-Degrees Consulting Ltd.
I was glad to read how you define a Red Seal as baseline standard. Too often in industry I hear employers complaining about young people who have acquired a Red Seal not be able to perform to what a employer expects! This attitude is a total misconception by the employer… some employers think hiring a Red Seal employee means they come guaranteed to know the trade inside out and backwards, this is not at all what Red Seal training is about… as you have defined they have simply achieved the base line… once a apprentice becomes a Red Seal journeyman that is the point where they truly start to learn the trade!! Good article