News & Events
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”
The COVID-19 pandemic has created complex challenges across nearly every facet of society, students included. As the pandemic emerged through the spring and kept its grip into the summer, there has been no shortage of emotional and financial turbulence. In March, post-secondary students experienced the panic of packing up and storing their possessions at a moment’s notice when residences and campuses shut down. The summer has proven difficult for many financially; students who thought they had summer jobs had placements postponed or eliminated. As we look toward fall, the turbulence has yet to abate.
Read More > “Back to school in a pandemic: A student perspective”
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”
I have always understood the importance of hands-on learning. Growing up in southwestern Ontario’s Perth County – home to farmers, millwrights, nurses, plumbers and mechanics – my hockey team was organized by an electrician, an operating room nurse and a nursing home dietary manager. My parents were both healthcare professionals. What the people who worked in my neighbourhood had in common was an applied, hands-on education. A polytechnic education.
Read More > “Virtual work-integrated learning: A student’s perspective”
Across sectors and across Canada, workplaces are undergoing transformative change. The competitive environment requires employers to innovate continuously, embracing new technology and processes, while hiring and developing the right people to grow alongside the business. Polytechnic institutions are ideal partners for this transformation. They offer industry-relevant programs, equipment and facilities that ready learners for the workplace, support mid-career workers updating their skills and help solve real-world innovation and productivity challenges.
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”
Less than a year ago, thousands of protesters marched through the downtown Ottawa streets demanding climate action, while hundreds more watched through their office windows. Today, with offices empty and large gatherings restricted, the global pandemic has grabbed the headlines and our collective attention is focused elsewhere. It remains to be seen whether climate change will take a backseat to economic recovery and other urgencies of the day, as it has so many times before.
Amid a flurry of activity focused on COVID-19, Canada passed legislation to implement the new North American Free Trade Agreement in mid-March. The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement has now been ratified in all three countries. NAFTA was initially implemented in 1994 and has led to economic integration across the continent, with trilateral trade now worth approximately $1 trillion annually.
Read More > “Partnership beyond trade: A North American workforce development agenda”
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.
