OTTAWA — Nearly two in three individuals who registered in an apprenticeship program in Alberta in 1993 had completed their training a decade later — usually in the same trade they started in a decade earlier.

A new study by Stats Canada that examines trends in completing or discontinuing apprenticeship programs found that 60 percent of Albertans finished the training, while about 50 percent of registered apprentices in New Brunswick and Ontario who started their program in 1993 followed through.

The median duration for completing an apprenticeship trade program was four to five years. Few who once discontinued a program returned and eventually completed it.

In all three provinces, the rate of completion was higher among apprentices registered in the industrial and mechanical trades; and lower among those training in the building-construction trades.

There was no apparent relation between the nominal duration of a program and the likelihood of completing it. However, in two of the three jurisdictions (Ontario and Alberta), there was a connection between the age of the apprentice at the start of the program and the completion rate; younger people had a higher completion rate.

Younger apprentices have a better chance of finishing program

Apprenticeships have for years been discussed for the trucking industry.

Ontario has a voluntary apprentice or “mentorship” program for truckers. In the 2007 budget, the province also announced a refundable Apprenticeship Training Tax Credit, as offered in other industries.

In B.C., a survey indicated that 97 percent of carriers agree that a provincial driver-training program is a necessity.

The vast majority of respondents said they’d sign up for a non-mandatory, professional driver training standard proposed by the association and B.C. Trucking Human Resources Planning Committee.