According to the “Pathways indicators for registered apprentices in Canada, 2021” report by Statistics Canada, the construction sector in Canada displayed significant resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic. While many industries faced apprenticeship disruptions, the construction trades observed stable or even increased apprentice certification rates.
In 2021, certification as steamfitters/pipefitters saw an increase of 9.7 percentage points, heavy-duty equipment technicians increased by 1.5 percentage points, and crane operators rose by 0.2 percentage points. Meanwhile, carpenters had a slight decline, seeing a decrease of 0.1 percentage points.
Conversely, other sectors impacted by pandemic restrictions like hairstyling and cooking faced sharp declines in their apprentice completion rates of 16.3 and 10.6 percentage points, respectively.
Gender-based data from the report also indicates differing impacts of the pandemic on certification rates. Specifically, while female construction electricians saw an uptick in their certification rates by 1.5 percentage points in 2021, their male counterparts experienced a decline of 2.0 percentage points.
You can read the full report on the Statistics Canada website.
