Construction Sector Council-NETCO Partnership

The Construction Sector Council (CSC) www.csc-ca.org invited NETCO to partner on an exciting new project funded, in part, by the Essential Skills Workplace Services Initiative (ESWSI) of Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC). This project builds on NETCO’s extensive Essential Skills expertise acquired in three previous projects. It runs from March 2008-December 2009.

Project Objective

In 2003, a pivotal NETCO Essential Skills study concluded that weak or rusty numeracy skills are a barrier to success in apprenticeship. They are also are a barrier among certified journeypersons who want to obtain a Red Seal endorsement on their Certificates of Qualification. This project enables NETCO to action a related recommendation—to promote a harmonized approach to assessment in the electrical industry across Canada and to link assessment and upgrading as a best practice.

The primary objective of the project is to develop a NETCO-endorsed numeracy assessment tool benchmarked to the entry-level foundation numeracy skill requirements of the three Red Seal electrical occupations (i.e., Construction Electrician, Powerline Technician & Industrial Electrician)

The purpose of the numeracy assessment is to identify individual strengths and weaknesses in foundation numeracy skills linked to success in pursuing electrical trades training leading to a Red Seal endorsement.  It is intended for use as a diagnostic tool to trigger numeracy skills upgrading. It is not designed for use in selecting/hiring apprentices.

Working Committee

The CSC awarded the contract to Carol MacLeod & Associates Inc. (www.carolmacleod.com) following a public tendering process. Carol MacLeod is pleased to welcome Gary Lehman, G.W. Lehman & Associates, and Scott Murray, DataAngel Policy Research Inc., to the project consulting team. On March 26, 2008 the consulting team facilitated a meeting of an ad hoc CSC-NETCO Numeracy Project Working Committee created to guide the project.

Pilot Testing by Five Electrical Industry Training Delivery Organizations

NETCO acknowledges the special contributions being made by five electrical industry training delivery organizations that agreed to play a leadership role in the research and development.  Each organization committed to pilot testing the numeracy assessment tool and to financing and delivering remedial training that addresses the identified learning needs. 

NETCO would like to thank the following organizations and their representative to the Working Committee accordingly: