"Higher education is more than an economic imperative. It is a measure of our commitment to opportunity -- it is the foundation of an engaged citizenry and a strong democracy."
The Council of the Federation, August 2005
Pressure is building for Canada to develop a comprehensive national skills strategy to address the seismic shifts in the workplace that are threatening the country's prosperity.
To contribute to the creation of a national skills strategy, Ontario's 24 public colleges and institutes have launched Pathway to Prosperity, a province-wide consultation on Canada's workforce challenges for the 21st century.
Pathway to Prosperity includes a discussion paper and background information at a new website, www.pathwaytoprosperity.ca, to gather public input about workforce challenges. A final report will be presented to the provincial and federal governments late this fall, prior to the First Ministers meeting on post-secondary education and the skills agenda, which will take place early in 2006.
The workforce is undergoing major shifts on an order not seen since the industrial revolution. The Pathway to Prosperity discussion paper describes some of the forces deeply affecting Canada now and in the future:
• Countries such as India and China are competing with Canada for business, with a number of Canadian jobs being outsourced overseas.
• Rapidly changing technology is making many of today's work skills obsolete.
• Canada has an aging population and faces a shortage of skilled workers as more workers retire.
The Pathway to Prosperity consultation seeks to gather as much information and as many ideas as possible. The discussion paper, which is on the website, asks participants to respond to three questions:
1) What are the workforce and skill-requirement needs for you and your sector today and in the next five-to-ten years?
2) What is needed from educational institutions, employers, government and individuals to help resolve our labour and skills shortage?
3) What should be the priorities for a National Skills Strategy?
Concerned and interested Ontarians can take part in this Web-based consultation through November. Once the final report is ready, it, too, will be available at www.pathwaytoprosperity.ca.
CONTACT: John Sawicki, 519-748-5220, ext. 3336,
jsawicki@conestogac.on.ca