Immigrants,
aboriginals and older workers key to skills solution, new study says
Canada needs to do a much better job of helping
immigrants integrate into the workforce and developing capacity in
apprenticeship programs, according to a report released today publishing the
results of an exhaustive cross-Canada consultation and engagement exercise
organized by the Public Policy Forum and sponsored by the Certified General
Accountants Association of Canada (CGA-Canada).
The report reflects material gathered from eight regional roundtable meetings
that pulled together a cross-section of participants from government, business,
labour, post-secondary education, aboriginal and immigrant
communities, and youth, and culminated in a national summit in Ottawa. The
project was produced to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the CGA
designation in Canada.
Twelve recommendations are set out in Getting on the Same Page: Report on
the CGA-Canada Summit on Skills and Learning Organized by the
Public Policy Forum, which examines the country’s most pressing skills and
learning challenges.
According to the report, Canada should:
- Review and address access to child care programs,
particularly those that allow aboriginal and immigrant women to acquire skills
training and jobs;
- Directly confront the issue of latent racism and
cultural obstacles in the education system and workforce;
- Consider a national credit transfer system to address
the issue of academic mobility and to encourage lifelong learning among a
highly mobile population;
- Create incentives and adapt pension-eligibility rules to
encourage retirement-aged workers to stay in the workforce longer, even if
only on a part-time basis;
- Provide enhanced incentives to employers who offer jobs
to skilled immigrants, recognizing the additional costs of training;
- Create a national workforce database for educational
institutions, as well as public and private sector employers.
The report is being sent to policy and decision makers at the provincial and
federal level to seek their views and assess progress on these recommendations.
“Canada’s skills shortage is a direct result of widespread fragmentation of
both programs and information,” said Anthony Ariganello, President and CEO of
CGA-Canada. “Changing workplace demographics and the current
economic environment have put increased demands on the supply of skilled
workers. Clearly, Canada must work towards refining the delivery mechanisms for
bridging and training programs as well as improved labour mobility and better
information networks.” |
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