Minister Kenney hosts national Skills Summit Bringing together experts to discuss skills challenges facing Canada Français
TORONTO, June 25, 2014 /CNW/ - The Honourable Jason Kenney, Minister of Employment and Social Development, hosted a one-day skills summit with key experts to explore approaches to better link skills training and education with current and future labour market demand. Event participants discussed Canada's skills challenges, found points of consensus on skills shortages and identified best practices and priorities for action.
Participants deliberated on key issues including:
- the extent and nature of skilled labour shortages;
- how to provide better labour market information to support youth and connect Canadians to available jobs;
- how partnerships can improve the responsiveness of the educational system to labour market needs; and
- ways to increase the participation of under-represented groups in the labour force.
The summit gathered over 200 prominent leaders from varying sectors including business, education, labour and policy.
In his remarks, Minister Kenney noted that his recent mission to Germany and the United Kingdom, to learn about other skills training systems, reinforced the importance of working together to address skills challenges. Collaboration across multiple sectors, employer involvement in training programs and addressing skills challenges through innovative approaches all emerged as key themes at the conference.
Minister Kenney highlighted the recent agreements with the provinces and territories on the Canada Job Grant as an example of how the Government is working to secure more employer involvement in training.
He also said that helping Canadians get the right skills and training is a shared responsibility. Employers, workers, unions, educational and training institutions, the provinces and territories all have an important role in supporting Canadians through hiring, training and education.
Quick Facts
- The summit included four panel discussion topics: state of the labour market; labour market information; reforming education and vocational training; and involving under-represented Canadians in the labour force.
- The panels were comprised of the following experts:
Derek Burleton, Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist, TD Bank Group
Ross Laver, Vice President of Policy and Communications, Canadian Council of Chief Executives
Arthur Sweetman, Ontario Research Chair in Health Human Resources, McMaster University
Mike Luff, Senior Researcher, Canadian Labour Congress
Perrin Beatty, President and CEO, Canadian Chamber of Commerce
Paul Davidson, President, Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada
Don Drummond, Matthews Fellow and Distinguished Visiting Scholar, Queen's University
Karen Lior, Executive Director, Toronto Workforce Innovation Group
Michael Atkinson, President, Canadian Construction Association
Bob Blakely, Director of Canadian Affairs, Building and Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO
Glenn Feltham, Vice-Chair of Polytechnics Canada and President of the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology
Sarah Watts-Rynard, Executive Director, Canadian Apprenticeship Forum
Queenie Choo, CEO, S.U.C.C.E.S.S.
Kathy Martin, Chair of Canadian Business SenseAbility
Rita Karakas, President and CEO, Canada World Youth
Karin Hunt, Executive Director, Prince George Nechako Aboriginal Employment and Training Association - Panel discussions were chaired by:
Brian Lee Crowley, Managing Director, Macdonald-Laurier Institute
Bill Robson, President and CEO, C.D. Howe Institute
Michael Van Pelt, President, CARDUS France St-Hilaire, Vice President Research, Institute for Research on Public Policy - Special guest speaker of the day was Robert Hardt, President and CEO of Siemens Canada.
- Canadians can follow the conference on Twitter using the hashtag #SKILLSsummit14.
- Economic Action Plan 2014 proposes several measures to ensure training reflects the needs of the labour market and that Canadians have the skills to take advantage of the jobs and opportunities available to them.
Quote
"Our government's top priorities are creating jobs, economic growth and long-term prosperity. As the first of its kind, this skills summit was a unique opportunity to bring together key players to discuss relevant skills issues and to identify best practices and priorities for action. It will help us move beyond the debate and toward solutions for the benefit of Canadians and the economy."
- The Honourable Jason Kenney, Minister of Employment and Social Development
Associated Links
Photos from the Skills Summit
Economic Action Plan 2014 - Jobs
SOURCE: Employment and Social Development Canada
Alexandra Fortier
Office of Minister Kenney
819-994-2482
Media Relations Office
Employment and Social Development Canada
819-994-5559
[email protected]
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