National Adult Literacy Database

This report is the result of a project aimed at ensuring that pre-apprenticeship students in Ontario’s colleges are getting an Academic Upgrading (AU) component tailored to their trade and seamlessly connected to the trade component of the program. It outlines the current state of integration between AU and Apprenticeship for Pre-Apprenticeship programming along with the effective practices that are being used at the faculty level.

The authors note that while there is a great deal of integration of AU into pre-apprenticeship and pre-trades courses in Ontario’s colleges, there is still a need for more communication and collaboration. AU faculty interviewed for the project pointed to the challenges posed by both a lack of knowledge of specific trades and a shortage of trades-related AU materials.

The project also involved the development of a handbook entitled “A How-to Guide for AU Professors: Integrating AU into Pre-Apprenticeship Programs,” which the authors say addresses the concerns voiced by AU faculty members.