Excerpt from the article below, see the complete special report here (in pdf format)
Leading academics and industry bodies warning of a future plagued by recession- or even Depression-level unemployment are finding new hope in programs aimed at bridging Canada’s skills gap
Demographers have long predicted a massive skills shortage as Canada’s baby boomers retire, with just one Canadian worker aged 24 to 35 available to replace every three workers aged 55 and older.
Last year, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce called Canada’s labour shortage “desperate.” It predicted a shortfall of 163,000 workers in construction, 130,000 workers in oil and gas, 60,000 workers in nursing, 7,000 workers in trucking, 22,000 workers in the hotel industry and 10,000 workers in the steel trades over the next decade.
The Association of Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC) is the national voice for 129 publicly funded colleges and institutes with campuses in 1,000 communities, serving 1,500,000 full- and part-time learners. Ninety per cent of their students are employed within six months of graduation.
Their third showcase, Increasing Productivity Through Incremental Innovation – Colleges, Institutes and
Polytechnics: Applied Research for Economic and Social Development, is available at accc.ca
At Northern Lights College, community and industry partners are key contributors to programs that meet the current and future needs of B.C.’s labour market.
“I’ve never seen this level of multi-partner collaboration before,”says Laurie Rancourt, the college’s president. “We don’t just get donations, or school district letters of support.
Local industry contributes the expertise our students need. Highly skilled operators come to work with us on projects.”
Read the complete special report here (in pdf format).