Essential Skills - Get Ready to Succeed

To do well in apprenticeship, you need solid practical skills and a good understanding of your trade. You also need good “Essential Skills” … trade-related reading, calculating and thinking skills. Study and test-taking skills are essential too. They are the “tools” that will help you succeed in technical training and on the job.

Prepare ahead!
If you can prepare yourself ahead of time, you can reduce the stress and improve your marks. You’ll get more out of technical training and have new skills to take back onto the job.

What are “Essential Skills"?

"Essential Skills” are skills that help you to perform the tasks required by your trade and other activities of daily life. They provide the foundation for learning other skills, and make it easier for you to adapt to workplace change.

"Essential Skills” include:

• Reading text
• Document Use
• Writing
• Numeracy (math)
• Oral communication
• Thinking
• Working with others
• Computer Use
• Continuous learning

How do I know if I need help with my Essential Skills?

When some people first return to school for technical training, they have difficulties because they have been out of the classroom for a long time. Skills like reading textbooks, writing notes and trade math skills are rusty. Study and test-taking skills need to be tuned up. In addition, technical training can be intensive; there is a lot of new material to cover in a limited time. Instructors may not be able to offer individualised tutoring to learners who are having difficulty with some parts of the course.

Learning so much in an intensive program can be stressful if you are not well-prepared. If you think that this could be you, read through the information below to help you to prepare.

What to Do to Prepare for an Apprenticeship

1. Do a reality check
Think about your school skills. Be honest with yourself. How good IS your math? When was the last time you wrote a test? How ready are you to tackle homework? When did you last read a textbook? Are you worried about failing?

2. Inform yourself about what’s required
Talk to your Apprenticeship Training Coordinator (ATC) about your school skills. What areas are you good at? What could you use some help with? Talk to someone at the college or school you will be attending. What kinds of documents or textbooks will you have to read? What kind of math will you be doing? Then think about how your skills compare to what is needed. Talk to people who have been through technical training to find out what they found easy or difficult. Getting good information can help reduce anxiety.

3. Do some upgrading
Doing something is better than doing nothing! Anything you do to refresh your Essential Skills will benefit you in technical training. It will also help reduce anxiety. If you think you will need extra tutoring or if you have special learning challenges, contact an adult learning centre near you, or call the student support services at your college to find out how they can help you. Colleges may be able to offer you support services if you give them enough advance notice. Your ATC can also give you some suggestions.

4. Plan your time
Don’t leave it to the last minute. Start refreshing your skills at least two or three months before technical training starts. Even doing one or two practise exercises a week can make a difference. The more you can do, the better you’ll be.

Tips To Prepare for Technical/in-School Training

• Flip through your Apprenticeship Portfolio - to find places where you will need to read, write or calculate something. Pay special attention to the sections called “Occupational Skills” or “Trade Math”.
• Get your textbooks early and start to look through them
• Talk to the instructor and get suggestions on what you should upgrade
• Read trade magazines to find out what’s new in the trade
• Check out some of the manuals and trade books in your workplace
• Help younger children with their math homework
• Buy a G.E.D. prep book and try some of the math questions or practise tests
• Buy a book on study skills for adults
• Go to the library and ask for math tutorials for adults. Take out a book on study skills.
• Check out websites that refresh math skills (type in “decimals” or “fractions”, for example)
• Check out websites on study and test-taking tips
• Go to a local Adult Learning Centre and ask about their upgrading courses
• Check out the upgrading courses your local college offers
• Take a course in anything that interests you, just to get used to being in class again

Self-Assessment Quiz

Check out your comfort level with these important back-to-school skills. Are you ready for technical training?

True	Somewhat True	False
			I can comfortably read books like paperbacks, manuals or code books.
			Reading and understanding longer articles in the newspaper is not a problem for me.
			I can easily read two or three chapters in a textbook and remember the main information.
			I can find information in tables, charts and graphs.
			I can comfortably write a short report, memo or letter.
			I have no problem taking notes when I’m listening to someone teach me something.
			I can perform a variety of calculations with decimals, fractions and percent without too much trouble.
			I have no difficulty calculating area or volume of different shaped objects.
			I have good problem-solving skills.
			I find it easy to organize myself and my work.
			I don’t mind asking questions in class when I don’t understand something.
			I have good study skills (highlighting important information I read, memorizing, planning out what I have to learn).
			I have good test-taking skills.
			I feel confident about going back to school.

If you answered “false” to a number of these Essential Skills, you should contact your Apprenticeship Branch Training Coordinator or the college where will be taking your technical training. Take in the results of this quiz, and they will give you more detailed information about what you can do to get “tooled up” for technical training.

Contacts for Upgrading Advice

• Apprenticeship Training Co-ordinator (ATC) of your trade, who may direct you to an Adult Learning Centre.
• Your apprenticeship training college. Find out about what is required for your success in your chosen field of study, what kinds of documents & textbooks you will be studying, what types of math are required and any upgrading courses that may be available.
• Don’t forget to speak with other apprentices who have been through the experience of technical training and can offer useful advice.
• Essential Skills Drop-In Centre for Trades - Tec Voc High Shool