CEWIL Resource Hub: Apprenticeship at Sheridan College

Sheridan College, School of Skilled Trades

About half of the students in the apprenticeship program complete pre-apprenticeship training to gain the necessary skills and knowledge needed to secure an apprenticeship position as a millwright. These students then start the program in the field working as an apprentice. While students are in-class, 70% of their time is spent in a lab setting to develop their technical skills, which are then applied within the apprenticeship.

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Key success factors

  • Students who complete the pre-apprenticeship program develop basic employability skills and undergo technical training, helping them secure a job as an apprentice.
  • The program offers flexibility for employers in terms of when students leave for in-class learning.

Unique characteristics

  • Employers develop supportive relationships with their apprenticeship students, course instructors, and Sheridan. A few employers serve on the Program Advisory Committee to provide input on continuous improvement of the program.
  • Several students have won competitions at a wide variety of levels, including college-specific, provincial (Skills Ontario), national (Skills Canada), and international (WorldSkills) competitions. Competing isn't mandatory, but it's encouraged. In 2019, a student secured a spot on Team Canada to compete at the WorldSkills Competition in Russia. 

Challenges

  • Sheridan is still trying to reach its enrolment goals for its apprenticeship programs. In addition to marketing apprenticeships in an institution-specific context, the program is trying to counteract common cultural misperceptions regarding skilled trades; for example, some students who would be well-suited for the trades as a career path may not consider apprenticeship if it's viewed as less prestigious than traditional undergraduate programs. 

Resources

Key characteristics

  • Type: Apprenticeship
  • Year program was established: 1984
  • Number of students per year: 107 in 2018-2019
  • Number of employers/partners per year: 40
  • Programs/academic disciplines participating: Industrial Mechanic Millwright
  • Duration of experience: 7,200 hours over the course of the program; 90% on-the-job (paid) and 10% in the classroom
  • Submitted by: Joanne Islip