Polytechnic Alumni Leaders & Problem Solvers

Polytechnic alumni are a powerful and diverse community – now more than 2.4 million strong – of successful innovators, creators and leaders. From improving healthcare to addressing climate change, they are confronting some of the biggest challenges across Canada and around the globe.

What makes polytechnic alumni so great? They have the skills and motivation to drive the future. They’ve received hands-on training on the latest technology in their fields, ensuring they have both the competence and confidence to hit the workforce at full speed. They established employer networks and gained relevant experience during their studies, propelling them to take the labour market by storm.

In this publication, we highlight just a few inspiring examples of polytechnic graduates who are tackling some of the greatest challenges of our time, including how they are:

• Building a healthier Canada
• Contributing to a net-zero future
• Growing the skilled trades workforce
• Showcasing international citizenship
• Strengthening Canada’s healthcare system
• Creating a more inclusive society

Submission to the Department of Finance in advance of Budget 2023

Key recommendations include:

  1. Enhance the capacity of Canada’s innovation intermediaries to boost performance within small- and medium-sized companies by investing $331 million over five years in the College and Community Innovation Program
  2. Renew support for experiential learning by making the Student Work Placement Program permanent and expanding eligibility to include post-secondary institutions and international students
  3. Strengthen awareness of and navigation to lifelong learning by ensuring Canadians have relevant labour market information and guidance to available training
  4. Invest in the research and learning infrastructure designed to develop a future ready workforce. Ensure all new infrastructure programs can be accessed by post-secondary institutions to make their campuses more sustainable, accessible and better equipped with the tools and technologies used by employers

Polytechnics at Work

Canada’s 13 polytechnics are the post-secondary destination of more than 370,000 students each year, all of whom are looking for a pragmatic, industry-focused education that positions them for speedy entry into the labour market. This brief provides high-level, collective statistics gathered annually from our members.

Polytechnic Applied Research

Applied research is an important way that Canada’s polytechnics support small- and mid-sized businesses that lack internal R&D resources. This four-page brief includes annual statistics gathered from our member institutions and provides ideas for how to maximize the impact of applied research in Canada.

Submission for the Pre-Budget Consultations in Advance of the 2023 Federal Budget

Key recommendations include:

  1. Enhance the capacity of Canada’s innovation intermediaries to boost performance within small- and
    medium-sized companies by investing $331 million over five years in the College and Community
    Innovation Program
  2. Renew support for experiential learning by making the Student Work Placement Program permanent
    and expanding eligibility to include post-secondary institutions and international students
  3. Strengthen awareness of and navigation to lifelong learning by ensuring Canadians have relevant labour
    market information on skills in demand, flexible financial supports to pursue training and guidance to
    available courses
  4. Relaunch a post-secondary infrastructure program that enables investments in green infrastructure,
    new technology and systems designed to develop a future-ready workforce