Perceptions of trades training gaining traction over university

Canadians twice as likely to advise a young person to take trades or apprenticeship training than they are to recommend a general university program.

The latest wave of the Survey on Employment and Skills asked Canadians to think about what advice they would give to a young person regarding their career path. Specifically, they were asked whether they would encourage a child to enroll in a job-oriented trade school or apprenticeship program, or a general university program. Three in five (59%) said they would encourage the child to opt for a job-oriented trade school, twice as many as the proportion that would recommend a general university program (26%). An additional 15 percent did not express an opinion either way.

This question was asked 30 years ago, in two Environics Focus Canada surveys. At that time, job-oriented trades or apprenticeship training was also favoured over a general university program. Since 1995, however, the proportion favouring trades training has increased by seven percentage points (from 52% to 59%) while the proportion favouring a general university program has dropped by 13 points (from 39% to 26%). The proportion expressing no opinion has increased (from 9% to 15%).

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The Survey on Employment and Skills is conducted by the Environics Institute for Survey Research, in partnership with the Diversity Institute at Toronto Metropolitan University and the Future Skills Centre. Wave 8 of the survey of 5,603 adult Canadians was conducted online (in the provinces) and by telephone (in the territories) between March 12 and April 15, 2025.

The Survey on Employment and Skills is funded primarily by the Government of Canada’s Future Skills Centre / Le sondage sur l’emploi et les compétences est financé principalement par le Centre des Compétences futures du gouvernement du Canada.