Apprenticeship and Industry Training’s Registrar’s Report and Statistical Overview 2024-25 provide valuable insight into the performance of the skilled trades programs that are critical to Alberta’s construction industry. These statistics say a great deal about which programs are successful, which need more improvement, and what programs are most popular with students.
A vital aspect of the ACA’s advocacy centers on encouraging young Albertans to pursue the skilled trades by treating career development as a lifelong journey. This “lifecycle approach” emphasizes introducing students to these opportunities as early as kindergarten and continuing that exposure through Grade 12, giving young people more chances to explore their interests, build practical skills, and discover their passions.
The 2024-25 Registrar’s Report highlights several key patterns and developments from the last year of apprenticeship data, including the most popular trades by number of registered apprentices, details on the provincial government’s Apprenticeship Learning Grant (ALG), and more.
Key highlights from the report include:
The Top Five Construction Trades by Registered Apprentices in 2024-25
- Electrician (13,029)
- Heavy Equipment Technician (8,401)
- Welder (6,250)
- Steamfitter-Pipefitter (5,224)
- Plumber (5,090).
Yearly Increases in Seats Covered by the Apprenticeship Learning Grant (ALG)
- The Base Operating Grant (BOG) covers a set number of seats per year, around 16,000 in 2024/25. Extra funding from the Apprenticeship Learning Grant (ALG) for additional seats has consistently increased every year.
- 2024-25 saw an ALG investment of $75,519,533 which equalled to an additional 10,712 seats offered across 11 post-secondary institutions.
- This pattern indicates that demand for trades programs is far exceeding the number of seats allotted by the Base Operating Grant.
Developing Solutions to Lower the Average Age of Working Tradespeople
- Programs such as the Registered Apprenticeship Program are part of an ongoing effort to lower the average age of working tradespeople in Alberta, and to increase the overall amount of skilled tradespeople.
- These efforts coincide with ACA’s own programs that assist in introducing people, especially students into the trades. Programs such as Tools for Schools and Try-A-Trade can directly influence young people into pursuing a fulfilling career in the trades.
Yearly Increase in Registered Apprenticeship Program (RAP) Student Participation
- The RAP program has shown to be increasingly effective in attracting students interested in the trades year by year. Since 2022, there has been a yearly increase in the number of students participating in RAP, with 2024-25’s numbers sitting at an increase of 32% from the previous year with 7,235 versus 5,491 from 2023-24.
- This increase indicates that the RAP program has shown to be influential on high school students who wish to pursue a career in the trades.
While these positive trends demonstrate the high potential in the future construction workforce, ACA has also identified several areas of concern that could affect the industry’s future if left unaddressed, including:
Lack of Participation in Career and Technology Studies (CTS) Program
- In 2024-25. a total of 71 apprentices completed a dual credit CTS program in high school and have since registered as apprentices. This number is very low compared to the 2,784 RAP completions.
- 39 different apprenticeship programs do not have a CTS Program offering.
- Only 21 different programs have CTS certification as an option, with 4 of these courses only having 1 apprentice completion, and 10 courses having had zero completions, including Parts Technician and Instrumentation and Control Technician.
Significant Differences in Apprentice Registrations from 2023-25
- Several programs listed in the report had significant fluctuations in the number of registered apprentices, with the Carpenter program having had 101 registered apprentices in 2022-23, rising to 1,306 in 2023-24, and then to 1,402 in 2024-25.
- Conversely, 2022-23 saw 208 registers for bricklaying, but during the next academic year, this number dropped dramatically down to 40, the year after, the number rose slightly to 54.
Classrooms Not Operating at Full Capacity
- As of the latest Registrar’s Report, no institution of the 13 current training providers has all their offered seats being filled by students.
- This could be possibly attributed to potential students not being aware of programs being offered at institutions, or a lack of insight on post-secondary pathways.
Overall, the Registrar’s report signals that Alberta’s apprenticeship programs continue to be a consistent choice amongst students looking to join the skilled trades. 2024-25 saw the highest number of total apprentices in Alberta in over ten years with 72,748. Furthermore, since 2021, the number of registered apprentices has been steadily rising each year to reach the high of 72,748. If it continues, this pattern would be a key aspect of increasing the number of skilled trades workers to address growing demand in the future.
Meeting the workforce demands of the industry and employers is a vital objective in order to continue accelerating the growth of the sector. A potential issue stems from the apparent lack of popularity amongst certain skilled construction programs which are in-demand by employers, but are not being chosen by students, such as Glazier and Tower Crane Operator, which each had 198 and 138 registered apprentices, respectively.
For Alberta’s apprenticeship programs, the objective should not only be to increase the number of skilled tradespeople, but to continue innovating unique tools and programs to ensure students have the knowledge, access and support to develop careers in all programs of skilled construction.
ACA will continue to monitor the results of this report to work towards expanding trade career pathways and boosting innovative programs to meet the growing demand for skilled tradespeople and support the long-term success of the construction industry.