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Building Talent for Canada’s Frontline
The critical role of Canada’s frontline workforce has never been more apparent than during the COVID-19 pandemic. In industries like healthcare and emergency response, technology, agriculture and construction, Canadians rely on the essential workers who keep the country fed, functioning, safe and healthy. When it comes to developing the skills of Canada’s frontline workforce, polytechnics are the post-secondary institutions feeding this talent pipeline.
Preparing Canada’s frontline workforce is no easy task. Training essential workers requires developing a combination of skills, techniques and knowledge that prepare students to respond to dynamic workplace realities. An applied, hands-on approach to learning that is aligned with sector-specific needs includes workplace experience, simulation, virtual and augmented reality, and practice.
In this publication, learn more about the credentials, programs and professional development opportunities that contribute talent to our frontlines by:
- Keeping Canada healthy
- Keeping Canada safe
- Keeping Canada fed
- Keeping Canada connected
2020 – Written Submission for the Pre-Budget Consultations in Advance of the 2021 Federal Budget
Key recommendations include:
- Create Economic Recovery Hubs hosted at Regional Development Agencies with a view to enabling small- and mid-sized businesses to enhance their productivity and innovation potential with the support of local innovation intermediaries
- Empower Canadians to rapidly retrain and upskill by providing financial support and navigation to short-cycle training programs focused on career-relevant skills
- To ensure talent pipeline continuity for frontline occupations, invest in the digital learning infrastructure required for the delivery of remote, simulated and hybrid hands-on training
- Relaunch the Post-Secondary Institutions Strategic Investment Fund, building in flexible project eligibility criteria to enable both new construction and green retrofits, the repurposing of existing buildings, and health & safety-related transformations required to keep campuses safe, innovative and sustainable
- Introduce a Technology Access Grant within the Canada Student Loan Program to address equity of access to the hardware, software and broadband internet required for postsecondary education delivered in remote and hybrid formats