Investing in People

The Government of Canada proposes to provide more opportunities for Canadians by increasing its investments in post-secondary education, investing in workplace skills development and employer needs, and improving labour mobility and enhancing labour market information. It also proposes to strengthen partnerships with the provinces, territories and stakeholders to ensure investments meet the needs of both individuals and local labour markets.

Canada is doing well

Canada has one of the best standards of living in the world and one of the most educated workforces – a vital competitive advantage in the knowledge-based global economy.

More than half of adult Canadians have some form of post-secondary education and our youth consistently score among the best in the world in mathematics, science and reading. Canada’s post-secondary education system is world-class: 135 universities, 275 community colleges, and over 10,000 private post-secondary educational institutions.

The economy has produced more than three million jobs since 1993 – that’s employment growth among the highest in the OECD countries. In fact, Canada’s job growth from 2001 to 2004 was the fastest in the G7. As a result, our unemployment rate is at its lowest level in 30 years.

Our investments in education, training and skills development in the past have helped produce these results.

Meeting the challenges of a competitive global economy

Staying on top of the challenges posed by a competitive global economy is the key to our continued success. Ensuring that every Canadian can participate in the economy and that people are not left behind in our rapidly changing work environment is a challenge we cannot ignore.

Competition is increasing. Emerging economies like those of China, India and Brazil are poised to accelerate their growth. Their people are becoming highly educated and their workforces earn far less than the Canadian workforce. The result is that their productivity is higher, increasing their competitive advantage. In Canada, because of demographic factors – principally, an aging society – our workforce is not growing as fast as it was, and yet our need for more productive, more skilled workers is increasing rapidly.

At the same time, we know that in the future, two-thirds of new jobs will require post-secondary education. Less than 5 % of new jobs will be open to those who have not graduated from high school. Investing in post-secondary education and lifelong learning so that every Canadian has the opportunity to meet his or her potential and contribute to our prosperity makes good sense.

The Government of Canada is already investing heavily

The Government of Canada makes substantial and ongoing investments in both post-secondary education and the labour force. It makes investments in, among other measures, training and income and other supports for unemployed workers; post-secondary student assistance and savings vehicles; university research; training for Aboriginal people; and literacy and basic skills programming.

Many of these investments are made through collaborative arrangements with the provinces and territories. The Government of Canada recognizes that maximum results from its future investments will also only come through a partnership approach. Governments must work with each other and with employers, labour, learning institutions and Aboriginal and community organizations to meet the needs of Canadians.

The Government of Canada proposes to invest strategically

To enhance Canada’s world-class workforce by investing in post-secondary students and educational institutions, the proposed measures include:

• $550 million to extend the CanadaAccess Grant for low-income students;
• $2.19 billion to assist post-secondary students by addressing access and affordability, ensuring manageable debt and modernizing service delivery;
• $210 million to expand the number of Canada Graduate Scholarships available;
• $150 million to support international study by Canadians, to attract international students to Canada and to strengthen ties between Canadian and international post-secondary education institutions; and,
• $1 billion to provinces and territories to support the capacity of Canada’s colleges and universities to provide high-quality post-secondary education.

Other measures proposed in A Plan for Growth and Prosperity (in Advancing an Innovative Economy) will also support Canada’s post-secondary education system, particularly in the direct and indirect cost of research and research infrastructure.

In the area of workplace skills development, the Government of Canada proposes to invest $3.5 billion in six priority areas to launch new bilateral partnerships with provinces and territories, employers and unions, to:

• Promote workplace skills development to help existing workers increase their earning potential and ensure that they and their employers can more effectively adapt to technological and other market-driven realities;
• Improve apprenticeship, including pre-apprenticeship, to ensure that more young people can enter and complete apprenticeship programs and that journeypersons can continuously upgrade their skills;
• Allow recent immigrants to obtain recognition of their credentials and past work experience and find jobs that match their skills and experience;
• Assist other Canadians who continue to face specific workforce barriers to fully participate. These groups include persons with disabilities, laid-off older workers, and young people trying to enter the labour market for the first time;
• Enable Aboriginal Canadians to develop their skills and gain the work experience they need to fully participate in Canada’s workforce; and
• Increase access to literacy and essential skills for new and existing workers to help them undertake more specific occupational training programs and find jobs.

To meet the demographic challenges that Canada will face in the future, proposed measures worth $65 million over six years would be put into place to enhance labour market information and improve labour mobility across the country.

Investing in People – Creating Opportunities for All Canadians

Three-pronged approach to proposed investments in people

1. $4.1 billion in post-secondary education, in addition to significant measures to advance an innovative economy, in partnership with provinces and territories
   
   
2. $3.5 billion in workers to increase skills and maximize potential
   
   
3. $65 million to enhance labour market information and improve labour mobility across the country.

Investing in people is key to Canada ’s continued prosperity and growth in a globally competitive environment. The Government of Canada’s goal is to help people maximize their potential in a highly competitive environment.

For example:

An older worker facing a layoff may not have the literacy or computer skills she needs to get another job. These proposed investments would help her prepare for that next job.

There is a shortage of skilled workers in the trades. These proposed apprenticeship initiatives could help Canadian youth interested in pursuing apprenticeship or pre-apprenticeship training.