The number of new registrations in apprenticeship programs across the country rose to their highest level in eight years in 2022, reaching above pre-pandemic levels.

Statistics Canada reports that 81,141 Canadians registered in apprenticeship programs in 2022. That figure was an increase of nearly 12% above 2021 levels.

Despite this, the news is not all good. Certifications remained below pre-pandemic levels, having declined by 1% to 46,777 in 2022 from the previous year.

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 (+28.8%), heavy-duty equipment mechanics (+22.9%) and electricians (+20.4%), the number of new registrations exceeded their 2019 pre-pandemic levels.

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 51.0% (+5,349). This rise comes amid years of decline when Alberta faced economic difficulties following the drop in oil prices in 2014. Quebec (24,723) reported its highest number of new registrations on record in 2022, representing an increase of 2.3% (+558) from the year before. Ontario (+7.2%, or +1,263) and Saskatchewan (+21.9%, or +312) also recorded large gains in the number of new registrations.

Meanwhile, the number of Canadians certifying in the trades remained below pre-pandemic levels.

Statistics Canada suggests this finding may be attributable in part to the impact that the pandemic and its associated public health measures had on certain trades.

For instance, trades in the service sector, such as food and beverage services (-54.1%) and hairstylists and estheticians (-33.7%), were disproportionately affected by the pandemic, and its effects continue to persist three years after the onset of the pandemic.

Conversely, certifications exceeded their pre-pandemic levels in a few trade groups, such as landscape and horticulture technicians and specialists (+30.2%), millwrights (+8.5%) and refrigeration and air conditioning mechanics (+4.2%).

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 (+26.2%) and millwrights (+29.0%) were the primary drivers of this increase.