“We are living in an era of increased global competition and the continuing aftermath of the financial crisis and global recession” writres Gord Nixon and Kevin Lynch in the LETTER TO ONTARIANS introducing the report of the Jobs and Prosperity Council ADVANTAGE ONTARIO (Adapted choosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor to follow)
Economic globalization has at once undermined traditional strengths and presented new opportunities. Ontario has some important advantages when it comes to positioning itself to benefit from these economic shifts, but it also has some difficult challenges to overcome.
While unemployment rates remain high, many employers cite the dilemma of their inability to find skilled labour. Education and training programs should be better aligned to ensure that young Ontarians are getting the skills that employers really need, and that will lead to good, sustainable jobs. The aging of Ontario’s population makes the successful integration of young Ontarians, new Ontarians and Aboriginal Ontarians – all of whom have above-average unemployment rates – into the labour market more important than ever.
The Council believes there should be a focus on export opportunities where Ontario has an inherent advantage and where global demand is rising. We have identified sectors where these new global opportunities currently exist: agri-food, advanced manufacturing, tourism, health care, education, housing, infrastructure, financial services, natural resources, information communications technology and life sciences.
The Council calls on government to convene business, educational institutions, labour, financial institutions and others to develop concrete action plans for Ontario’s key tradable sectors. These plans should map out specific sectoral opportunities,
and what it will take to achieve them.
Ontario’s recent track record on productivity leaves much to be desired. The gap in machinery and equipment investment is a core driver of Ontario’s overall productivity gap with the U.S., and it is undermining our competitiveness.
But, Ontario’s greatest strength is its people. The province has one of the most educated and diverse workforces in the world: it leads the OECD in educational attainment, with 64 per cent of the adult population holding postsecondary redentials. In a demographically challenged world, this is a real asset.
However, despite our high-performing education system and talented population, a number of sectors have identified challenges recruiting workers with specific skill sets and experience. Many firms identify a shortage of workers in the skilled trades, for example. As described in a recent report by CIBC, this shortage is limiting employment growth – the jobs are there, but the skills are not (see Figure 7).
A number of factors contribute to this shortage. Parents and students do not appreciate the benefits of trade and apprenticeship relative to other Ontario postsecondary education credentials. As a result, too few young Ontarians pursue the skilled trades as a career; only half of those that select apprenticeship will actually complete the training and receive a certificate of qualification. Various models exist at the local level to help identify and solve labour market gaps by engaging local employers and industry. Ontario needs a strategic approach to partnering with employers and industry leaders.
Workplace training and lifelong learning are also critical in today’s knowledge-based economy; they help employees adapt to evolving market needs and increase a firm’s ability to be globally competitive. However, Canadian employers underinvest in orkplace training compared to their U.S. competitors. In 2010, Canadian employers invested only $688 per employee in learning and development, compared to $1,071 per employee in the U.S. Investment in training by Ontario employers has also lagged behind other provinces in recent years, particularly Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia.
Ontario’s youth and their parents are often unaware of job opportunities in the skilled trades and the variety of educational programs that can prepare them for these jobs. The Council believes that it is the responsibility of business, government and the education sector to develop and disseminate up-todate information on labour market opportunities and make it available when students are making decisions about what
career path they will take.
Source:
Job Market Monitor 
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