News & Events
In times of economic downturn, investing in infrastructure is often viewed as a way to stimulate the economy and expedite recovery. U.S. President Joe Biden just announced a $2-trillion infrastructure plan, in part to spur economic activity. Here in Canada, despite less-than-ideal progress on a 12-year, $188-billion Investing in Canada Plan, the truth is that economic and labour market recovery will depend in part on our ability to get building.
Headlines across Canada and around the world continue to be filled with news of shutdowns, widespread economic chaos and the race to vaccinate. Where we once defaulted to small talk about the weather, conversation has turned to daily case counts, ICU beds and vaccination statistics. Health has become a national obsession, with all signs suggesting it will remain so until the pandemic fades into memory.
That’s why now is the right time to talk about – and invest in – the future of Canada’s healthcare system.
Read More > “Window of opportunity for feds to address healthcare deficits”
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, organizations in virtually every sector have needed to adapt and pivot, implementing new practices and technologies to support their sustainability and growth. This rapid change has accelerated challenges that Canadian companies were facing even before the pandemic, including the urgent need for workforce upskilling and the search for new talent with already acquired competencies. Here’s where Ontario’s colleges can help.
As Canadian businesses look beyond the COVID-19 pandemic and toward recovery, many will want to revamp or re-tool their operations. This is where applied research can be a game-changer, a ready-made solution for post-pandemic economic recovery utilizing post-secondary innovation capacity to help businesses respond to challenges. Canada’s polytechnics bring space, equipment and expertise to the table, supplementing the capacity of Canada’s business community to engage in pragmatic research and development.
Read More > “Applied Research: Supporting a Business-Led Recovery”
As Canadian businesses look beyond the COVID-19 pandemic and toward recovery, many will want to revamp or re-tool their operations. This is where applied research can be a game-changer, a ready-made solution for post-pandemic economic recovery, utilizing post-secondary innovation capacity to help businesses identify and respond to challenges. Canada’s polytechnics bring space, equipment, and expertise to the table, supplementing the capacity of Canada’s business community to engage in pragmatic research and development.
In an interview with Ulrike Bahr-Gedalia, Senior Director of Digital Economy, Technology, and Innovation at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Sarah Watts-Rynard, a member of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and CEO of Polytechnics Canada, explains how applied research can address the unique challenges that lie ahead for Canadian business.
Read More > “How applied research can support a business-led recovery”
This year’s International Women’s Day is an opportunity to reflect on the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on women and young workers. Those from racialized groups and in low-paid positions have been disproportionately affected. Between February and November 2020, 58,000 men joined the labour force, whereas 31,000 women left it. In an economic downturn that affected some sectors and occupations much more than others, the divide in the Canadian workforce has never been so stark.
Read More > “Unprecedented employment disruption calls for a new approach to skills training”
It’s time for a national skills and experience strategy.
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Canadians are retiring or are being laid off in greater numbers and taking their much-needed skills and experience out of the workforce. At the same time, many others are facing career disruptions and have had to quickly retool just to survive.
As we work towards a long-term economic recovery, policy makers and postsecondary institutions need to ensure younger learners and mid-career professionals are acquiring the right mix of skills for the future. Often forgotten in the discussion around skills development are the critical ‘soft skills’ that are essential to every workplace and much sought-after by employers.
Read More > “We need to start giving soft skills more credit”
In March of 2020, students and faculty across Canada were displaced from their classrooms by COVID-19 shut-downs. The impact of this shift was felt by institutions in every branch of the education system; from grades K-12, to colleges and polytechnics, to universities. We were so pleased to partner with the The Canadian Club of Ottawa this month for an event on Virtual Education discussing how schools responded to these challenges.
Established in May 2020, the Industry Strategy Council undertook an extensive consultation to consider sectoral pressures resulting from the pandemic, releasing its initial report at the end of the year. At this session, we engaged three Council members to discuss their recommendations and next steps.
