Apprenticeship registration surpasses pre-COVID-19 levels, marks highest since 2014

Dec. 5, 2023 – The number of new registrations in 2022 surpassed pre-COVID-19-pandemic registration levels and marks the highest number of new registrations since 2014.

In 2022, 81,141 Canadians registered in an apprenticeship program, an increase of 11.6 per cent from 2021. Certifications, by contrast, remained below pre-pandemic levels, having declined by 0.8 per cent to 46,777 in 2022 from the previous year.

Across Canada, elevated levels of job vacancies in the trades, transport, and equipment operators and related occupations continued through 2022. These high levels of unmet labour demand in key industries such as construction and fabricated metal product manufacturing further heightened ongoing concerns about labour supply.

This coincided with an increase in new registrations in almost every trade compared with the previous year. For some trades, such as carpenters, up 28.8 per cent, heavy-duty equipment mechanics, up 22.9 per cent and electricians, up 20.4 per cent, the number of new registrations exceeded their 2019 pre-pandemic levels.

In 2022, most provinces and territories reported an increase in new registrations from the previous year, with numbers surpassing their 2019 pre-pandemic levels in many jurisdictions.

The largest increase in new registrations was in Alberta, up 51 per cent. Quebec reported its highest number of new registrations on record in 2022 of 24,723, representing an increase of 2.3 per cent from the year before. Ontario saw a 7.2 per cent increase and Saskatchewan saw a 21.9 per cent increase in new registration.

The number of certifications in 2022 remained below 2019 levels in all provinces and territories except Ontario, with six provinces reporting decreases in the numbers of certifications compared with the previous year. Ontario reported 13,666 certifications in 2022, exceeding the 13,152 certifications reported in 2019. Increased certifications in electricians, up 26.2 per cent and millwrights, up 29 per cent were the primary drivers of this increase.