News Articles

COVID-19 has disrupted labour markets unlike anything since the Great Depression. Young people have been especially hard hit by the economic slowdown, with school closures and a transition to remote learning. Youth were also among the hardest hit when employers reduced operations. 

Read More > “Connecting work to education should be priority beyond pandemic”

As governments across Canada plan for a post-pandemic reset and recovery, ensuring businesses have workers with the skills to help them transform and innovate should be a high priority. A resilient labour market is the answer to two important challenges ahead: It stands to reconnect workers with paid employment and diminishes reliance on government supports.

Read More > “A resilient workforce is Priority 1”

While the COVID-19 pandemic has brought much uncertainty into our lives, the sudden shift to working and learning online has made one thing clear: Canadians must get comfortable with rapidly advancing digital technologies — or risk being left behind.

Read More > “Reimagining education for a digital world”

The rebuilding of the Canadian economy in the wake of the pandemic is an opportunity – even an obligation – to finally get short-term skills training right. And on a massive scale.

Read More > “Pandemic recovery offers opportunity to get short-term skills training right”

When it comes to tragedy, the human instinct is to assign blame. In the case of pandemic-induced deaths in Canada’s long-term care facilities, there are no end of culprits: governments for regulatory and oversight failures, owners and managers for poor employment practices, workers for abandoning their posts. Regardless of the direction the finger is pointing, the reality is that the senior population is growing, the cost of high-quality elder care is sky-rocketing and demographics dictate that the need for long-term care is here to stay.

Read More > “Elder care reform must start with skills training”

The important role of front-line workers has never been more apparent than over the last several weeks.

They include nurses and personal support workers, paramedics and other first responders, technology professionals and skilled tradespeople, and those working in advanced manufacturing or supplying us with food.

Read More > “Polytechnic education critical to the frontline workforce”

Since the outbreak began, polytechnics have responded – fast-tracking courses and expediting graduation for frontline healthcare workers, donating life-saving equipment to local hospitals and healthcare facilities, and supporting students’ mental and physical health. This page offers a snapshot of what Canada’s polytechnics are doing.

Read More > “Polytechnics and COVID-19”