The Impact of Digital Technologies, Automation and ...

ARPesPeRarEcNh RTeIpCoErtS IN CANADA ePANEL

The Impact of Digital Technologies, Automation and Technological Change: Apprentice Perspectives

July 2018

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About the Canadian Apprenticeship Forum

The Canadian Apprenticeship Forum ? Forum canadien sur l'apprentissage (CAF-FCA) is a national, not-for-profit organization working with stakeholders in all regions of Canada. We influence pan-Canadian apprenticeship strategies through research, discussion and collaboration ? sharing insights across trades, across sectors and across the country ? to promote apprenticeship as an effective model for training and education. Our Board of Directors is comprised of representatives of business, labour, the jurisdictional apprenticeship authorities, education and equity-seeking groups. Through our work, CAF-FCA has shed light on a number of key issues affecting apprenticeship, such as the perceived barriers to accessing and completing apprenticeship and the business case for apprenticeship training. For more information, visit the CAF-FCA website at caf-.

About the Apprentices in Canada ePanel

The Apprentices in Canada ePanel is an online survey panel of apprentices from across the country, in multiple trades and sectors. They share their experiences, opinions and other feedback on issues of interest to the wider apprenticeship community. Members of CAF-FCA gain insights about apprenticeship training from those inside the system, ensuring the supports and resources they develop are targeted and appropriate. Working together to understand and respond to the challenges and barriers apprentices face, the skilled trades community is able to strengthen apprenticeship training in Canada.

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Table of Contents

1.0 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2.0 Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 3.0 Participant Profile. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

3.1 Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 3.2 Location. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 3.3 Trade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 3.4 Equity Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 4.0 Main Findings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 4.1 Digital Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 4.2 Interest in Electronic Log Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 4.3 Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 4.4 Coping with New Challenges in the Workplace: Practices and Approaches . . . . . . . 12 4.5 Coping with Technological Change: Training Needs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 5.0 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Table of Figures

Figure 1: Common Ways Tradespeople Use Smartphones by Trade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Figure 2: Smartphone Use: Carpenter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Figure 3: Smartphone Use: Construction Electrician. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Figure 4: Smartphone Use: Plumber, Steamfitter & Pipefitter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Figure 5: Smartphone Use: Automotive Service Technician . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Figure 6: Desirable Smartphone Applications and Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Figure 7: Desirable Smartphone Applications and Features by Trade. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Figure 8: Practices When Encountering a Challenge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Figure 9: "Tradespeople Need More Training to Keep Up with Technological Change" . . . . 14 Figure 10: Supports Tradespeople Identify as Required . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

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1.0 Summary

Pre-apprentices, apprentices and early-career journeypersons (N=371) shared insights about the use of smartphones on the job, their attitudes toward automation and technological change, and supports required in an Apprentices in Canada ePanel survey.

Y Tradespeople use smartphones when finding

directions to a worksite (60 per cent), looking up codes and regulations (59 per cent) and recording work to show their supervisors (57 per cent)

Y Tradespeople are most likely to ask a

journeyperson for help when encountering a new technological challenge (84 per cent). They also search online (63 per cent) or watch videos (40 per cent)

Y Automotive service technicians are the most

concerned about losing their jobs due to automation and believe, more than other trade groups, that training will be required to cope with technological change

Y Tradespeople thought these technology

enhancements would be useful: ? an increased number of trades-specific or

skills-related applications (80 per cent) ? smartphones with greater durability to

withstand dust and water (65 per cent) ? improved mobile compatibility of code books

and regulatory websites (63 per cent) ? apprenticeship-specific applications and

mobile-compatible information (59 per cent)

Y Tradespeople sought online training and learning strategies in these areas: ? technical skills development and equipment use (64 per cent) ? finding information online (31 per cent) ? using smartphones for work-related tasks (30 per cent) ? essential skills courses (27 per cent) ? mentoring (26 per cent)

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2.0 Context

Skilled trades workplaces are becoming increasingly reliant on mobile technologies and new equipment, systems and techniques requiring enhanced digital skills.1 As Ken Coates notes in his paper, Future of the Trades-Trades of the Future: Thinking Outside the Tool Box, "Diagnostic tools, in everything from automotive repair to electrical work, plumbing and construction, will provide more precision and confidence in field operations. The average worker already has, in their cell phone, a tool of staggering potential."2 Coates observes, the "unique interplay of tools, machines and human intelligence" in the skilled trades will become increasingly sophisticated and complex.3

Ontario employers observed the impact of technological change when surveyed by CAF-FCA in 2013.4 Ninety per cent of businesses used digital technologies such as computers and smartphones at the workplace. Employers identified the latest technological trends, including incorporating electronic sensors and controllers in equipment, the increasing use of diagnostics and electronicsbased testing equipment and the programming of machinery and equipment.5 Thirty per cent of companies reported tradespeople's work was impacted by technological change in the past 18

months, with the automotive service trade identifying the biggest impact. Across sectors, 90 per cent of employers said journeypersons are the tradespeople most impacted by technological change.6 When results were analyzed, employers including many auto shop owners - identified apprentices as the group most impacted.7

Coping with these technological changes requires high-quality workplace training and skills such as flexibility and adaptability. As Coates states, "...workers have to be properly trained for the work of today, alert to the prospects for the introduction of distributive technologies, and adaptable to changing systems as they emerge."8 Tradespeople need exposure to new technologies, constant upgrading and a commitment to "continuous personal improvement."9 According to the 2013 CAF-FCA survey, employers are now placing a premium on the capacity to learn new skills efficiently, adapting to change and thinking independently to solve problems.10 Understanding technological change and the impact on skills and apprentices is crucial.

1 CAF-FCA, The Impact of Technology on Apprenticeship, (Ottawa: CAF-FCA, 2013). 2 Ken Coates, Future of the Trades-Trades of the Future: Thinking Outside the Tool Box, (Winnipeg: Red River College, 2017), 9. 3 Ibid., 10. 4 N=440 5 CAF-FCA, The Impact of Technology on Tradespeople: Views of Ontario Employers, (Ottawa: CAF-FCA, 2014). 6 Ibid. 7 Ibid. 8 Ken Coates, Future of the Trades-Trades of the Future: Thinking Outside the Tool Box, (Winnipeg: Red River College, 2017), 8. 9 Ibid., 14. 10 CAF-FCA, The Impact of Technology on Tradespeople: Views of Ontario Employers, (Ottawa: CAF-FCA, 2014).

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3.0 Participant Profile

3.1 Approach The ePanel survey was implemented from September to November 2017. Pre-apprentices with work experience (N=42), apprentices (N=264) and early career journeypersons (N=65) completed the survey online or in writing (total N=371).

3.2 Location Survey respondents from all regions in Canada are represented in the survey. The majority of respondents were from Ontario (N=121), British Columbia (N=92), Alberta (N=57) and Nova Scotia (N=47).11

3.3 Trade Most respondents worked as construction electricians (N=65), plumbers, steamfitters and

pipefitters (N=46), carpenters (N=37), automotive service technicians (N=32), industrial mechanics (millwrights) (N=25), heavy-duty equipment technicians (N=18), welders (N=15), refrigeration and air conditioning mechanics (N=12) and industrial electricians (N=11).12 Trade-specific analysis was completed for the automotive service technician, carpenter, construction electrician and plumber, steamfitter and pipefitter trades.13 Results were also analyzed by training status: preapprentice, apprentice or early-career journeyperson.

3.4 Equity Groups Seventy-one females and two transgender persons completed the survey. Respondents self-identified as visible minorities (N=35) or Indigenous (N=24).14

11 N=369; Two respondents did not identify their location. 12 N=371; All other trades had fewer than 10 respondents. 13 The number of respondents was too low to do trade-specific analysis for the other trades. 14 N=318

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4.0 Main Findings

4.1 Digital Technologies The majority of tradespeople feel comfortable using digital technologies. Eighty-six per cent of respondents agreed with the statement, "I feel comfortable using digital technology as part of my job."15 Pre-apprentices (94 per cent) were more likely to agree than apprentices or journeypersons (both 85 per cent).16 Eighty-two per cent of automotive service technicians agreed, which was higher than carpenters (65 per cent) or construction electricians and plumbers, steamfitters and pipefitters (both 63 per cent).17

4.1.1 Smartphone Usage by Tradespeople 4.1.1.1 Overview Sixty-seven per cent of respondents used smartphones at work. Journeypersons (74 per cent) were more likely to use smartphones than apprentices (68 per cent) or pre-apprentices (45 per cent).18 Eighty-two per cent of automotive service technicians said they used smartphones at work, followed by 72 per cent of construction electricians, 70 per cent of carpenters and 67 per cent of plumbers, steamfitters and pipefitters.

Eighty-five per cent of respondents used their personal smartphones when completing workplace tasks. Few employers provided smartphones (10 per cent) or reimbursed smartphone costs (4 per cent). These findings were consistent across respondent and trade groups.19

Tradespeople used their smartphones to complete these work tasks:

Y finding directions to a worksite (60 per cent) Y looking up codes and regulations online (59

per cent) Y recording work and showing it to a supervisor

(57 per cent) Y staying connected to what is going on in

industry (48 per cent) Y finding user manuals to identify fault codes (45

per cent) Y using smartphones as a part of the diagnostic

process (35 per cent) Y accessing blueprints (30 per cent) Y doing orders and billing (19 per cent) Y accessing standard smartphone applications

such as the calculator and camera (10 per cent)20

4.1.1.2 Trade-Specific Results Smartphone usage varies by trade depending on the nature of the work and the sector. Those in the construction sector move from one site to another whereas automotive service technicians are typically stationary. Carpenters, construction electricians and plumbers, steamfitters and pipefitters used their smartphones when finding directions to a worksite (all 77 per cent), recording their work (73, 68 and 55 per cent respectively) and looking up codes and regulations (69, 70 and 52 per

15 N=356; Only respondents with on-the-job experience answered this question. Percentages may not sum to 100 per cent due to rounding. Eighty-six is the percentage when the "strongly" or "somewhat" responses are combined. 16 "Strongly" and "somewhat" agree responses were combined. 17 A higher percentage of pre-apprentices in the automotive service technician trade may account for this positive response. 18 N=360; Only respondents with on-the-job experience answered the question. 19 N=360 20 N=241; Respondents also had the option of answering "other" and providing a written response.

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cent). Automotive service technicians used smartphones in the diagnostic process (56 per cent) or for finding user manuals (48 per cent). Other tradespeople were less likely to use smartphones for these purposes (less than 45 per cent). Similar to other tradespeople, automotive service technicians used smartphones to record their work (41 per cent). When examining the top three most common uses of the smartphone, there was a higher level of consensus (more than 60 per cent) among carpenters and construction electricians than among automotive service technicians (less than 60 per cent). Most plumbers, steamfitters and pipefitters used smartphones for finding directions (more than 60 per cent), but other uses of the smartphone varied (less than 60 per cent).

Figure 1: Common Ways Tradespeople Use Smartphones by Trade21

21 Overall N=241, includes four highlighted trades plus others.

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