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As bankruptcies in the Canadian construction industry climb, Blue Seal certification aims to provide Red Seal journeymen the tools to step into self-proprietorship in Alberta, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories, the three provinces that have adopted the certification system.

Historically, the construction industry has had one of the highest rates of business failures and 2023 figures show no relief with federal government figures reporting 681 failures up from 519 in 2022, for a 31.2 per cent increase.

Those administering the Blue Seal programs acknowledge growing awareness among tradesmen today that even with Red Seal skill proficiency, more continuing education is required to run a business and side-step becoming a statistic.

“The goal was to have the journeyperson gain entrepreneurship and additional training in business after they became (Red Seal) certified,” said Evan Jamieson, program developer for the Saskatchewan Apprenticeship and Trade Certification Commission. 

The Blue Seal program was first developed in Alberta in 1998 with Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories later adopting the program.

In Alberta, 2,900 Blue Seal certificates have been issued to date and according to press secretary Mackenzie Blyth for the Ministry of Advanced Education approximately 10 to 20 applications are received each month. More recently, the program have been rebranded as offering Achievement in Business Competencies certificates.

Blyth said the ministry is now wanting to review the program as there are new apprenticeship education credentials introduced in 2022, but there is no timeline for the review.

Currently, a Blue Seal is issued to those completing 150 hours of course study in an approved program.  The courses do not have to be taken within the province but must meet the provincial course requirements.   

“We have seen a 43 per cent increase in our fiscal year in the business management program in the enrolment figures,” said Sarah Stevenson Tweddle, program manager in the business and productivity portfolio for the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT). 

NAIT is one of several Alberta institutions that provide a suite of courses geared towards achieving the needed credit hours for Blue Seal certification.

The 43 per cent increase relates to 2023-24 enrolments over 2022-23. Stevenson Tweddle said the 2024-25 registrations figures in the program indicate enrolment will be even higher for the current fiscal year. 

The figures, Stevenson Tweddle said, are encouraging as they indicate more journeymen are planning to start their own businesses after the pandemic.

“That is a good sign that things are picking up,” she said.  

NAIT offers two programs aimed at achieving Blue Seal certification. They are business fundamentals and project management. 

Business fundamentals offers the business management course plus a supervisory development course.  Project management’s two components are a project leadership course and a second project management course.

She said the business courses cover a range of topics from billing to marketing.

“Marketing is a big component,” she said, as new business owners need to know what sector of the market to capture and what mechanisms are available, such as social media tools.

She said as well as journeymen using the courses to gain business acumen, they are also opting into the courses to gain supervisory competency within their existing company.

“That person may be in line for a promotion,” Stevenson Tweddle said and while that person is technically competent, he or she may never have supervised staff.

Courses offered by NAIT and other Alberta institutions are required to be approved by the province’s Industry and Apprenticeship Training system.  

Saskatchewan also has its own Blue Seal program. Jamieson, who reviews applicants wanting to be accredited, has no comparative numbers but is noting an uptick in all certification areas this year.     

“I know in general the number of apprentices has increased and the number of journeypersons is increasing and so more journeypersons are applying for it. We know we are getting more programs to be reviewed than in previous years,” he said.

Earning a Blue Seal is not complicated in Saskatchewan, he said, as the program allows an individual two options – a suite of courses such as NAIT offers, or the ability to build their own suite of courses suited to their own needs as long as the 150 hours are met.

The courses can be drawn from areas listed on the website such as accounting, management, labour relations and business law.  

 “It is a process of putting in the time and submitting the transcript,” said Jamieson.