The Labour Education and
Training Research Network

Recent research on school-work transitions acknowledges the importance of personal agency in managing risk but also views gender, class, ethnicity and other indicators of social address as exerting a significant influence. Gender in particular is a structural factor of pressing policy concern as governments (and some businesses and unions) attempt to redress the imbalances of an obviously gendered workplace.

In the past, most apprenticed trades in the areas of construction, manufacturing, fabricating, and repair were accessible only to men. Women typically registered in trades that represented traditional women’s work such as hairdressing and cooking. More recently, women have been supported in their endeavors to register and succeed in non-traditional trades by bridging programs that prepare them for unfamiliar work and by government financial aid packages designed to support them during training. These programs assume that women who choose non-traditional trades and complete their training will be rewarded in the labour market with more stable employment, higher incomes, and greater job satisfaction.

The basic question raised in this study asks whether or not labour market outcomes are influenced by women’s choice of traditional or non-traditional trade and their decision to complete or discontinue their apprenticeship training. Data from the 1994 National Apprenticed Trades Survey (NATS) were analyzed.

The results indicated that employment stability and continuity were greater for those who completed their programs regardless of their choice of a traditional or non-traditional trade. Income was maximized for those who completed a non-traditional trade. In fact, registering in a non-traditional trade but failing to complete training still produced better financial returns than either of the traditional pathways. It may be that, for traditional apprenticeship completers, lack of advantage in labour market outcomes stems from the general disparity in male and female wages. It may also reflect inconsistencies in the status of official credentials. These conditions are unlikely to represent or give rise to the ‘opportunity structures’ that allow effective career building.

General job satisfaction levels were lowest for the non-traditional discontinuers. Among non-traditional completers, income satisfaction was relatively low but apart from this specific financial consideration, there were no marked differences on the remaining satisfaction items between these respondents and those who had chosen a traditional trade, irrespective of their completion status.

Integrating structural factors in the analysis of agency furthers our understanding of individual attempts to cope with change in particular settings. In the context of trades training, women’s aspirations and expectations are sensitive to information that compares the expected costs of and returns to an apprenticeship. While career choices are unlikely to be entirely based on economic considerations, individual decisions are likely to be influenced by a knowledge of the linkages between apprenticeship pathways and labour market outcomes.

Proponents of greater participation by women in the non-traditional trades are, on balance, justified in their enthusiasm. Certainly, the present analysis suggests that support for women in the non-traditional trades should be available to enable them to complete the apprenticeship and acquire the necessary certification.

However, it may be necessary to temper somewhat this enthusiasm for non-traditional work. Despite achieving substantially higher incomes, women in non-traditional trades are less satisfied with their economic returns than might be expected. This may result from the persistent gender wage gap in the Canadian labour market or it may result from setting initial income expectations too high.

It also should be acknowledged that women in traditional trades present a generally positive view of their work, especially in the important areas of job responsibility and interpersonal relations. Given this degree of complexity, there is a need to further research the returns to training for women in both the traditional and non-traditional trades.