Security spending pushes national skills agenda to back burner.
In a budget dominated by spending on national security, there was a small but important signal Finance Minister Paul Martin has not completely forgotten about his government’s promise to help employers find more skilled labour.
Although Martin committed $1.1 billion in new spending to skills and learning, much of it will go into research, and there was little that will immediately boost the supply of skilled workers into the Canadian labour force.
One notable exception came in the form of new funding for Canada’s sector councils. Over the next two years, $24 million in new spending will go to “exemplary” sector councils and, over the next five years, the councils could see as much as $100 million in new funding.
Gary Greenman, executive director of the Alliance of Sector Councils, called the new funding an excellent start. “It is never enough but the really significant thing was that we are in the budget. To this point and time we had never been in the budget and it is a very major step to get in the federal budget.”
Martin reiterated the government’s position that a more educated and skilled labour force is a key driver of productivity and a key to competitiveness.
“Mr. Speaker, knowledge is to the information age what steam was to the industrial age: it is the fuel that drives it, the energy that sustains it,” he said before going on to review earlier contributions by the government to skills and learning.
For more than a year, the federal government, and in particular Minister of Human Resources Development Jane Stewart, has been promising to deliver a national skills agenda — an apparently multi-faceted strategy to enrich Canada’s labour pool through among other things training and development and immigration. In the speech from the throne last January, the government explained its commitment: “Canada will only realize its full potential by investing aggressively in the skills and talents of its people.”
A number of roundtable consultations were held early in 2001 and a joint white paper was to be produced by HRDC and Industry Canada, last autumn.
But in the wake of Sept. 11, the rhetoric was toned down and it seemed likely the government would have to scale back its ambitious national skills agenda.
Graham Lowe, author of The Quality of Work: A People-Centred Agenda, led one of the roundtables and wrote a report for HRDC summarizing themes that emerged. He was disappointed in what the budget had to offer.
“Everybody is talking about how the world has changed since Sept. 11, but one thing hasn’t changed and that is the importance of continuously investing in skills and learning,” said Lowe.
In the speech from the throne, the government said it was important to invest aggressively in skills. But they did not follow through, said Lowe. “The only thing in the budget was the little bit of money they are giving to the sector councils.
“The issue goes way beyond the budget and I don’t think the government can get off the hook that easily. Everyone would agree there has to be money for security but we need to have an innovation strategy,” he said.
“The economists talk about fundamentals, this is a fundamental.”
It is clear that investment has to come from more than just the government, however the government has to play a leadership role, he said.
“We need to have a learning and skills strategy. Ottawa has been developing white papers in both areas, we haven’t seen them.”
Peter Larose, associate director general of skills and learning at HRDC, said they have been working on strategies to address the need for skilled labour but no decision has been made on when the government will produce a paper outlining its strategy or how wide-ranging the strategy will be.
It is a complex problem that must have a long-term vision and it will take time to produce, he said.
“If you rush out and say, ‘Here is what we are going to do,’ you can get into trouble pretty quickly.”
He also said that while the department had been working as if it would be producing a white paper, they were never given official instructions from the federal cabinet to produce one.
After the events of Sept. 11, the strategy may not be as wide-ranging as was originally intended, and in fact they may only be asked for a green paper instead of a white, he said. White papers are generally more specific and consider budgets, while green papers typically only outline what the government may be considering and what issues are on the table without committing to anything.
In a speech at Algonquin College in Ottawa the day after the budget was presented, Stewart said she was pleased Martin committed new money to skills and learning.
“You really never know until Minister Martin stands up and makes his speech and you get all the details, the budget documents, about just which parts of your particular agenda are going to be reflected if any at all. And I can tell you that as Paul was reading the budget yesterday, I was extremely pleased at the indications that were made very clear the government of Canada believes strongly in a national skills agenda and is investing strategically to make sure that we continue our work together.”
“Canada’s 29 sector councils are industry-led partnerships bringing together workers, employers and educators in a new, hands-on approach to skills development,” said Martin in announcing the new funding.
“From textiles to tourism to biotechnology, these councils are examining what skills are needed today and what skills will be needed for tomorrow, developing training programs and pointing workers toward emerging job opportunities. They are producing needed results. And we will expand the network quickly to include other strategic sectors, and we will double the funding for these councils to $60 million.”
“Sector councils help develop skilled labour,” explained Eric Parisien, director of apprenticeship and policy with HRDC. Currently 26 councils covering about 25 per cent of the workforce receive funding from HRDC, he said. “We hope to increase the number and expand the reach.”
The councils bring together key stakeholders in each sector from across the country: employers, unions and institutional training providers to develop co-ordinated plans to respond to human resources challenges by harmonizing training requirements, for example.
Fifteen years ago, the steel industry claimed almost all training was specific to each plant, said Parisien. Today, about 90 per cent of all training is generic and 10 per cent is specific to each company, he said. That helps improve the mobility of labour across the country.
Aside from strategic planning and curricula development, the sector councils also provide more immediate assistance.
The automotive repair service council, for example, developed a training program and broadcast nearly 3,000 hours of interactive distance learning. Employees get high-quality training without being taken out of the workforce, explained Parisien. Similarly, the environment sector council offers online individual skills assessment so that workers in that sector know what they will need for the future.
“This is about skills development and having a workforce that keeps learning throughout their life and turning the workplace into a place of learning,” said Parisien.
In the budget, Martin stipulated additional funding will be for “exemplary” sector councils, though what exactly qualifies a council as exemplary has yet to be defined.
“It means we shouldn’t just fund anything that comes our way from a sector council, it has to be value added,” said Parisien.
For further reading on the government’s proposed national skills agenda see the links below. For information on the sector councils go to www.councils.org.
Although Martin committed $1.1 billion in new spending to skills and learning, much of it will go into research, and there was little that will immediately boost the supply of skilled workers into the Canadian labour force.
One notable exception came in the form of new funding for Canada’s sector councils. Over the next two years, $24 million in new spending will go to “exemplary” sector councils and, over the next five years, the councils could see as much as $100 million in new funding.
Gary Greenman, executive director of the Alliance of Sector Councils, called the new funding an excellent start. “It is never enough but the really significant thing was that we are in the budget. To this point and time we had never been in the budget and it is a very major step to get in the federal budget.”
Martin reiterated the government’s position that a more educated and skilled labour force is a key driver of productivity and a key to competitiveness.
“Mr. Speaker, knowledge is to the information age what steam was to the industrial age: it is the fuel that drives it, the energy that sustains it,” he said before going on to review earlier contributions by the government to skills and learning.
For more than a year, the federal government, and in particular Minister of Human Resources Development Jane Stewart, has been promising to deliver a national skills agenda — an apparently multi-faceted strategy to enrich Canada’s labour pool through among other things training and development and immigration. In the speech from the throne last January, the government explained its commitment: “Canada will only realize its full potential by investing aggressively in the skills and talents of its people.”
A number of roundtable consultations were held early in 2001 and a joint white paper was to be produced by HRDC and Industry Canada, last autumn.
But in the wake of Sept. 11, the rhetoric was toned down and it seemed likely the government would have to scale back its ambitious national skills agenda.
Graham Lowe, author of The Quality of Work: A People-Centred Agenda, led one of the roundtables and wrote a report for HRDC summarizing themes that emerged. He was disappointed in what the budget had to offer.
“Everybody is talking about how the world has changed since Sept. 11, but one thing hasn’t changed and that is the importance of continuously investing in skills and learning,” said Lowe.
In the speech from the throne, the government said it was important to invest aggressively in skills. But they did not follow through, said Lowe. “The only thing in the budget was the little bit of money they are giving to the sector councils.
“The issue goes way beyond the budget and I don’t think the government can get off the hook that easily. Everyone would agree there has to be money for security but we need to have an innovation strategy,” he said.
“The economists talk about fundamentals, this is a fundamental.”
It is clear that investment has to come from more than just the government, however the government has to play a leadership role, he said.
“We need to have a learning and skills strategy. Ottawa has been developing white papers in both areas, we haven’t seen them.”
Peter Larose, associate director general of skills and learning at HRDC, said they have been working on strategies to address the need for skilled labour but no decision has been made on when the government will produce a paper outlining its strategy or how wide-ranging the strategy will be.
It is a complex problem that must have a long-term vision and it will take time to produce, he said.
“If you rush out and say, ‘Here is what we are going to do,’ you can get into trouble pretty quickly.”
He also said that while the department had been working as if it would be producing a white paper, they were never given official instructions from the federal cabinet to produce one.
After the events of Sept. 11, the strategy may not be as wide-ranging as was originally intended, and in fact they may only be asked for a green paper instead of a white, he said. White papers are generally more specific and consider budgets, while green papers typically only outline what the government may be considering and what issues are on the table without committing to anything.
In a speech at Algonquin College in Ottawa the day after the budget was presented, Stewart said she was pleased Martin committed new money to skills and learning.
“You really never know until Minister Martin stands up and makes his speech and you get all the details, the budget documents, about just which parts of your particular agenda are going to be reflected if any at all. And I can tell you that as Paul was reading the budget yesterday, I was extremely pleased at the indications that were made very clear the government of Canada believes strongly in a national skills agenda and is investing strategically to make sure that we continue our work together.”
“Canada’s 29 sector councils are industry-led partnerships bringing together workers, employers and educators in a new, hands-on approach to skills development,” said Martin in announcing the new funding.
“From textiles to tourism to biotechnology, these councils are examining what skills are needed today and what skills will be needed for tomorrow, developing training programs and pointing workers toward emerging job opportunities. They are producing needed results. And we will expand the network quickly to include other strategic sectors, and we will double the funding for these councils to $60 million.”
“Sector councils help develop skilled labour,” explained Eric Parisien, director of apprenticeship and policy with HRDC. Currently 26 councils covering about 25 per cent of the workforce receive funding from HRDC, he said. “We hope to increase the number and expand the reach.”
The councils bring together key stakeholders in each sector from across the country: employers, unions and institutional training providers to develop co-ordinated plans to respond to human resources challenges by harmonizing training requirements, for example.
Fifteen years ago, the steel industry claimed almost all training was specific to each plant, said Parisien. Today, about 90 per cent of all training is generic and 10 per cent is specific to each company, he said. That helps improve the mobility of labour across the country.
Aside from strategic planning and curricula development, the sector councils also provide more immediate assistance.
The automotive repair service council, for example, developed a training program and broadcast nearly 3,000 hours of interactive distance learning. Employees get high-quality training without being taken out of the workforce, explained Parisien. Similarly, the environment sector council offers online individual skills assessment so that workers in that sector know what they will need for the future.
“This is about skills development and having a workforce that keeps learning throughout their life and turning the workplace into a place of learning,” said Parisien.
In the budget, Martin stipulated additional funding will be for “exemplary” sector councils, though what exactly qualifies a council as exemplary has yet to be defined.
“It means we shouldn’t just fund anything that comes our way from a sector council, it has to be value added,” said Parisien.
For further reading on the government’s proposed national skills agenda see the links below. For information on the sector councils go to www.councils.org.
