Home education students have access to off-campus education programming through a shared responsibility agreement with a school authority.

Shared Responsibility — Grades 10–12
Students enrolled in Shared Responsibility programming may participate in school-supervised off-campus education, including RAP, Work Experience and other approved off-campus programming.

Under Shared Responsibility, the school authority must provide at least 20% and no more than 80% of the student's educational program. An Alberta-certificated teacher is responsible for the planning, resources, instruction, assessment and evaluation of the school-directed portion.

Students participating in an approved off-campus education program authorized by Alberta Education and Childcare, and who are registered in and attending an Alberta school, are deemed to be workers of the Government of Alberta for Workers’ Compensation purposes and are covered under the Workers’ Compensation Act.

For home education students, access to off-campus education programming is through a Shared Responsibility agreement with a school authority. The school authority is responsible for the supervision and support required under the Off-Campus Education Handbook.

If a student wants to enroll in any off campus courses, they will need to be enrolled into courses attached to the Alberta system, in order to be covered under WCB. Whether a student uses these credits towards earning a high school diploma is entirely up to the student.

Students participating in approved school-supervised off-campus education are covered by WCB through Alberta Education and Childcare and are deemed workers of the Government of Alberta for WCB purposes. Home education students access this coverage through a Shared Responsibility agreement with a school authority.

During Grade 9, students have access to limited off-campus experiences such as Work Study. Once Grade 9 is complete, students may enrol in up to 10 high school credits during the summer immediately prior to entering Grade 10, including eligible off-campus programming. Students must complete the required prerequisite safety course before beginning an off-campus placement.

Students can earn Work Experience credits by enrolling in Work Experience 15, 25 or 35. Each course can be taken for 3–10 credits, with students completing 25 hours of approved Work Experience for each credit earned. Students may earn up to 30 Work Experience credits, although a maximum of 15 Work Experience credits can be used toward the Alberta High School Diploma.

Students do not need to complete Work Experience 15 before taking Work Experience 25 or 35. For example, a student may begin directly in Work Experience 35. However, once a student has enrolled in a higher-level Work Experience course, they cannot later enrol in a lower-level course to earn additional credits. As students progress through the levels, they are expected to demonstrate increasingly advanced skills, proficiency and ability to work in more complex environments.

*Before beginning Work Experience: Students must successfully complete HCS3000: Workplace Safety Systems (or Workplace Readiness 10-4 for eligible K&E students). Students must also be enrolled in an approved Work Experience course before they begin accumulating hours for credit — credits cannot be awarded retroactively.

RAP stands for Registered Apprenticeship Program. RAP allows high school students to earn high school credits while working as a registered apprentice in a designated trade.
To participate, students must be employed by a qualified sponsor and supervised and mentored by a qualified journeyperson. Students are paid for their work and must earn at least minimum wage.

Students can earn up to 40 RAP credits in each trade, with each RAP course worth 5 credits (125 hours). The hours students complete through RAP also count as on-the-job apprenticeship training.

Before beginning RAP: Students must complete HCS3000: Workplace Safety Systems and complete the RAP application with Apprenticeship and Industry Training (AIT).

Parent-directed Home Education students: To participate in RAP through a school and earn RAP high school credits, a Home Education student must access off-campus education through a Shared Responsibility agreement with a school authority.

However, a parent-directed Home Education student who is not seeking high school RAP credits may still pursue apprenticeship directly through Alberta's apprenticeship system, provided they meet the applicable apprenticeship requirements and have a qualified sponsor. This is an apprenticeship pathway, not school RAP/off-campus programming.

Shared Responsibility students: Students in a Shared Responsibility program can participate in RAP as part of their school-supervised off-campus education programming. RAP students must be employed by a qualified sponsor, supervised and mentored by a qualified journeyperson, and registered with Apprenticeship and Industry Training.

Students receive their Apprentice Record Book (often called a “Blue Book”) when they register as an apprentice with Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training (AIT). Before registering, students need to have an employer/sponsor and be working under the supervision of a qualified journeyperson. Once their apprenticeship registration is complete, RAP students should connect with their Off-Campus Coordinator to complete their school RAP enrolment and required documentation.

Schools interested in providing students with opportunities to explore skilled trades and technology careers can register as a Skills School with Skills Canada Alberta. Registration is free and provides access to Skills Alberta programs, events and student competitions.

To get started, an educator:

• Selects their affiliated school.
• Creates and submits an educator profile.
• Receives login information for the Skills Alberta online portal.

Uses the portal to register for available programs, events and competitions.
If your school does not appear in the list, Skills Alberta asks educators to contact them so the school can be added.

Become a Skills School

Once registered, schools can access much more than competitions. Current opportunities include Skills Exploration Days, Skills in the Classroom, Try-A-Trade programming, Girls Exploring Trades & Technologies (GETT), field trips/Skill City, and Regional and Provincial Skills competitions.