Barriers to dual ticketing are rapidly coming down in Alberta as labour organizations, employers, government and major industry sectors work together to expand opportunities for skilled tradespeople to add a second certification.
Several initiatives are helping drive that change, including adaptive learning programs, premium wage rates for dual-ticket holders written into collective agreements, and employers agreeing to maintain journeyperson-level wages while workers transition into a second trade.
“The main driver is the massive wave of construction happening,” said Wayne Prins, executive director of CLAC.
Alberta is entering a period of major construction and nation-building projects, many of which are only beginning to roll out. The scale of the work, Prins said, is creating an enormous demand for skilled labour.
“The amount of work is staggering,” he said.
Those projects will require more skilled workers at a time when Canada is also bringing more young people, new Canadians, women, Indigenous people and workers displaced from other industries into the labour market.
For Prins, dual ticketing is one way to make better use of the workforce already in place while helping expand the pool of qualified tradespeople.
“Until then, we have to optimize the current workforce and dual ticketing is a way,” he said.
CLAC estimates that Alberta has approximately 45,000 apprentices and 60,000 journeypersons who could benefit from initiatives designed to encourage dual ticketing. The advantage extends beyond employers, Prins noted, because journeypersons with additional qualifications gain access to a wider range of employment opportunities.
Adaptive learning targets second tickets
One of the newest initiatives comes from Built to Learn, a company that prepares apprentices and journeymen for provincial and Red Seal examinations.
The approach to dual ticketing differs from traditional training. Instead of following a linear learning model in which knowledge is progressively added, the online program uses adaptive learning to assess what an individual already knows.
The system then identifies the areas where additional knowledge is needed, allowing the learner to concentrate on the specific skills and information required to obtain a second ticket.
For workers who already have the necessary hours, the program can also provide a pathway to challenge an examination.
The Built to Learn Dual Ticketing and Upskilling Pilot Program has received $4 million in funding from the Government of Alberta in partnership with CLAC.
While the initiative was created to encourage workers to pursue second and third tickets, CLAC provincial lead Curtis Haugan said it is already producing additional benefits. Apprentices who had previously stalled or abandoned their training are returning to the apprenticeship system.
“We are seeing second- and third-year apprentices sign up as they had previously given up on their apprenticeship,” Haugan said.
The online format eliminates the need for many workers to travel to larger urban centres for classes, allowing them to remain closer to their families and jobs.
That flexibility could be particularly important for older tradespeople who may be reluctant to return to a traditional classroom.
The pilot initially covers four trades. A 60-hour welding module was expected to become available during the final week of August, while programs for ironworkers, pipefitters and instrumentation trades are still being developed.
The pilot is scheduled to roll out over two years. Alberta government funding provides $1,500 per place for the first 200 participants, with the remaining $500 covered by the individual or supporting unions.
Workers who successfully complete their Red Seal certification can also qualify for a $5,000 federal grant.
Demand is already significant.
“We currently have a waitlist of 150,” Haugan said.
Employers are changing the equation
The pilot is only one part of a broader series of CLAC initiatives focused on dual ticketing.
Prins said employers such as DOW Inc. are increasingly recognizing the value of having workers who can perform more than one skilled trade on a jobsite.
In February, DOW restarted its massive $10-billion net-zero petrochemical project in Alberta’s Heartland, near Fort Saskatchewan, after a two-year delay. The company is targeting a 2029 plant start-up.
DOW is also prepared to preserve the journeyperson wage rate for workers who begin working toward a second ticket.
“That is an example of a company taking the long view approach and are willing to invest,” Prins said.
Maintaining the higher journeyperson wage while an experienced worker enters an apprenticeship is currently “the number one barrier,” according to Prins. Workers, however, still have to go through a vetting process to establish whether the additional skill is actually required at the jobsite.
He described the cooperation between DOW, CLAC and government as a strong example of the collaboration needed to address Alberta’s skilled-labour shortage.
“It is a sign of incredible collaboration,” Prins said.
CLAC has also negotiated modest hourly premiums into collective agreements with several construction employers for workers holding more than one ticket.
The organization recently introduced its dual-ticketing initiative into the collective bargaining agreement with Kiewit Energy Construction Co. ULC. More than 10 per cent of pipefitters moved toward a Red Seal welding certificate because those additional skills were required on the jobsite.
Industry sees a shift in career paths
The dual-ticketing pilot has also received support from the Progressive Contractors Association of Canada (PCA).
PCA president and CEO Paul de Jong said the traditional idea of a career built around a single trade is changing.
“The mindset for many years has been one trade and one career.”
That approach, however, is increasingly being challenged by conditions on today’s worksites. Surveys indicate that between 40 and 50 per cent of tradespeople now see clear advantages in upgrading their skills with a second, or even a third, ticket.
The benefits become particularly visible on major construction projects, where between 4,000 and 5,000 workers may be required.
Hiring tradespeople with multiple skill sets can reduce personnel-management requirements while also lowering costs associated with housing and maintenance, de Jong said.
“We give a lot of credit to government for supporting this pilot,” he said.
As Alberta moves deeper into a major construction cycle, dual ticketing is emerging as a practical way to expand the skilled workforce, give experienced tradespeople broader career opportunities and help large projects secure the talent they need.
