Skilled Trades | Assessment Readiness Program (STAR)

What is an apprenticeship test or pre-apprenticeship assessment?

One of the milestones to becoming an apprentice is taking an assessment. The initial assessment process ensures that the apprentice is in the right program and includes eligibility checks that consist of English and Math attainment. Literacy and numeracy skills empower individuals to make meaning, think critically and creatively, and reach their full potential. In other words, literacy and numeracy skills are the foundations of lifelong learning and participation in society. An apprenticeship test (or pre-apprenticeship assessment) is designed to assess candidates who apply for an apprenticeship within the labour market across Canada.

Most trades’ pre-apprenticeship tests contain the following types of questions:

Reading comprehension
Basic math – Includes some basic geometry and algebra
Mechanical aptitude
Spatial ability
Basic science

Prepare for the pre-apprenticeship assessment

Our STAR Literacy and Basic Skills training is a free program, designed to help aspiring individuals prepare for an apprenticeship assessment. This program will put one on the right track to experience significant improvement in both English and Math leading to a successful career in the trades. The training focuses on math skills in relation to specific trades.

The STAR Program serves learners who have goals to successfully transition to:

Employment
Post secondary
Apprenticeship
Secondary school
Increased Independence

This program is for you if:

You want to pursue apprenticeship
Your chosen program requires you to complete a pre-apprenticeship assessment
You need to refresh/upskill your literacy (reading comprehension)
You need to refresh/upskill your numeracy
You need to work on your study habits as you prepare to take the test dependent on your situation: you’re an adult (18 years or older) not in high school or college; you’re in or about to go to college; you have applied for a trades program at the Centre

Program Breakdown

This training program provides in-class instruction in the following areas:

Reading Comprehension:

Finding specific information in a passage – the information may be stated directly or implied
Meaning of words from the context
Drawing conclusions from the information in the passage

Number Sense and Operations:

Scientific notation
Estimation
Order of operation
Exponents
Operations with real numbers and radicals
Absolute value

Basic Geometry:

Scale drawings
Perimeter, circumference, area and volume
Pythagorean theorem
Trigonometry (sohcahtoa)

Register for Free STAR Program

If you have any questions, please contact Joanne Kristo at doorways@centreforskills.ca or 905-333-3499 x 110 or 1-888-315-5521 x 110

This Employment Ontario program is funded in part by the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario.