Program directory · Employment and Social Development Canada
Skilled Trades and Apprenticeship (Red Seal Program)
- Department
- Employment and Social Development Canada
- Program code
- BGO19 (HRSD)
- Core responsibility
- Learning, Skills Development and Employment
- In Departmental Plans
- 2018-19 – 2026-27 · New since an earlier plan
What it does
The Red Seal Program is a partnership between the federal government, the provinces and territories (who are responsible for apprenticeship training and trade certification in their jurisdictions), and industry. The program develops national standards and examinations for each of the designated Red Seal trades. The department sponsors Secretariat services for the Canadian Council of Directors of Apprenticeship, which is responsible for the oversight of the Red Seal Program. The Red Seal endorsement promotes excellence to employers, instills pride in skilled workers, and facilitates labour mobility.
Source: the department's Program Inventory, via GC InfoBase.
History and lineage
First appears in GC InfoBase's actual spending by program in 2018-19. The data does not record when a program was created; it may be older than its first appearance here, which is limited by the sources (program spending starts in 2010-11, Departmental Plans in 2018-19).
| Program | Relation | Years with data | Actual spending over those years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Skilled Trades and Apprenticeship (Red Seal Program) | This program | 2018-19 – 2028-29 | $7.2M |
No earlier or later program in the same department has a similar name.
Significant changes in scope and budget
Detected from the data: renames between plans, programs it appears to replace, merge with or split into (matched by name), year-over-year changes in spending of at least 25% and $5M, or in employees of at least 20% and 25 FTEs, linked budget measures, and results indicators added or dropped.
| Year | What changed | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | Indicators added: Number of Red Seals issued | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2019-20 | Indicators dropped: Percentage of apprentices who complete an apprenticeship program and obtain certification in a Red Seal trade | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2020-21 | Indicators dropped: Number of Red Seals issued | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2023-24 | Indicators added: Number of standards completed and examinations released | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2023-24 | Indicators dropped: Percentage of apprentices covered by a Red Seal trade | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
Success criteria
The program's indicators from its department's Departmental Results Framework: the target set in each year's plan, and the result reported the following year. Source: GC InfoBase.
Historical: targets against results
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-24 | 6 standards and 35 examinations | 2024 | 6 standards and 69 examinations (for 18 trades) The target was exceeded because many exams that were delayed during the pandemic were completed in this period. | Met |
| 2024-25 | 7 interprovincial standards and 32 examinations for 8 trades | 2025 | 8 interprovincial standards and 11 examinations for 3 trades The development of Red Seal examinations was delayed for several reasons: extra work was needed to replace examinations that were shared illegally, provinces and territories had other competing priorities, and it was challenging to get industry experts to participate in translation workshops. | Not met |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | ≥ 75% | 2019 | — 2017-18 actual result was 79%, with a target of 75% Source: 2017 RAIS Registered Apprenticeship Information system (RAIS) is released with a lag (2018 Survey to be released in December 2019). | No result reported |
| 2019-20 | ≥ 75% | 2020 | 77% From the most recent date collection, (Stats Can Registered Apprenticeship Information System – 2018). | Met |
| 2020-21 | ≥ 75% | 2021 | — There is a one-year lag in data. This means that results for 2020-2021, which will be available in April 2022, will be reported in the next Departmental Results Report for 2021-2022. | No result reported |
| 2021-22 | ≥ 75% | 2022 | 77% This percentage is based on the Registered Apprenticeship Information System (RAIS) from Statistics Canada. RAIS is an annual survey that is released on a 12-18 month delay. The latest data was reported in December 2021 and is for 2020-2021. Given the lag in data availability, data for 2021–2022 will be reported in the 2022-2023 Departmental Results Report. | Met |
| 2022-23 | ≥ 75% | 2023 | 76% This percentage is based on the Registered Apprenticeship Information System (RAIS) from Statistics Canada. RAIS is an annual survey released on a 12-18 month delay. The latest data is for 2021-2022. Given the lag in data availability, data for 2022–2023 will be reported in the 2023-2024 Departmental Results Report. | Met |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | ≥ 25,500 | 2020 | 25,640 Total is for the most recent data collection period, which is the calendar year of 2019. | Met |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | ≥ 50% | 2019 | — 2017-18 actual result was 45%, with a target of 50% Source: 2017 Registered Apprenticeship Information System (RAIS) Explanation: Completion rates are affected by many factors (e.g., economic conditions, training availability) that can cause fluctuations Registered Apprenticeship Information system (RAIS) is released with a lag (2018 Survey to be released in December 2019). | No result reported |
Current: the 2026-27 plan's targets
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | • Five standards • 204 exams for seven trades | 2027 | — | Planned |
Future goals: targets due after 2026-27
No targets with a later due date.
Spending and employees: planned against actual
Spending
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | $644K | $715K |
| 2019-20 | $1.1M | $731K |
| 2020-21 | $1.1M | $1.1M |
| 2021-22 | $1.1M | $1M |
| 2022-23 | $1.5M | $1.2M |
| 2023-24 | $1.4M | $1.3M |
| 2024-25 | $1.2M | $1.2M |
| 2025-26 | $1.3M | — |
| 2026-27 | $1.4M | — |
| 2027-28 | $1.4M* | — |
| 2028-29 | $1.4M* | — |
Employees (FTEs)
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | 52 | 59 |
| 2019-20 | 88 | 57 |
| 2020-21 | 88 | 75 |
| 2021-22 | 86 | 78 |
| 2022-23 | 86 | 86 |
| 2023-24 | 87 | 81 |
| 2024-25 | 88 | 78 |
| 2025-26 | 88 | — |
| 2026-27 | 88 | — |
| 2027-28 | 88* | — |
| 2028-29 | 88* | — |
Planned spending, plan by plan
Each row is one year's Departmental Plan and its forecast for the next three fiscal years; read a column down to see how the forecast for one year changed. The last row is what was actually spent. Click an amount for its source. Biggest changes in federal spending plans
| Plan | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | 2026-27 | 2027-28 | 2028-29 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 plan | $643,906 | $643,906 | $671,269 | ||||||||
| 2019-20 plan | $1,145,015 | $1,149,181 | $1,149,181 | ||||||||
| 2020-21 plan | $1,111,627 | $1,111,627 | $1,111,627 | ||||||||
| 2021-22 plan | $1,126,944 | $1,127,841 | $1,141,606 | ||||||||
| 2022-23 plan | $1,507,418 | $1,367,578 | $1,144,762 | ||||||||
| 2023-24 plan | $1,389,543 | $1,166,802 | $1,166,802 | ||||||||
| 2024-25 plan | $1,157,546 | $1,169,517 | $1,171,763 | ||||||||
| 2025-26 plan | $1,296,639 | $1,299,129 | $1,299,129 | ||||||||
| 2026-27 plan | $1,394,553 | $1,394,553 | $1,389,993 | ||||||||
| Actual | $714,666 | $731,257 | $1,054,144 | $1,037,167 | $1,174,246 | $1,299,489 | $1,209,128 |
Actual spending is from Departmental Results Reports and the Public Accounts, as published in GC InfoBase. FTEs are full-time equivalents.
