ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the pathways followed by former high school apprentices in Ontario and Alberta, Canada a few years after leaving school. The impetus for most provincial high school apprenticeship programmes is to address labour shortages in skilled trades; for example, an article in the Edmonton Journal suggests that Alberta employers could be short by as many as 70,000 tradespeople by 2020 (Halliday 2012). Educators also see apprenticeship as providing an alternative pathway for youth who may not have stayed in high school to earn a diploma which offers useful work skills that are in high demand.
