Resources

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

Report after report on the future of work speaks to the skills that set humans apart, including dynamic problem-solving, teamwork and adaptability. The challenge is to develop the workforce we need today while empowering learners with the skills to succeed tomorrow. Canada’s polytechnics are ideally positioned to lead the charge. Among Canada’s post-secondary institutions, polytechnics have proven themselves to be adaptable, agile and well-connected to industry. They deliver up-to-date and in-demand skills across sectors and to all age groups. They support hands-on, applied and technology-enabled classroom and workplace learning. Best of all, they have the unique ability to pivot quickly as the ground shifts.

In this brief, learn how polytechnics are creating a work-ready talent pipeline that is prepared to take on the future of work, featuring:

• Industry-responsive education
• Industry-academic collaborative spaces
• Mid-career retraining
• Bridge training and advanced placement
• Applied research

The global climate emergency represents one of those rare occasions when the interests of youth, business and politics converge. Even as the social and economic impacts of climate change are increasingly apparent, questions persist about how to move forward and from where leadership will come.

At the intersection of talent development and business innovation, Canada’s polytechnics are well-positioned to address environmental sustainability in three important ways:

• As publicly funded exemplars of net-zero and eco-friendly buildings, behaviours and experimentation
• As hubs for the development of “green skills” among the thinkers and doers who will drive continuous improvement
• As innovation intermediaries, helping businesses rethink their processes, products and systems

Applied research refers to an exceptionally broad range of supports delivered in response to industry demand. Polytechnic institutions across Canada mobilize state-of-the-art facilities, equipment and expertise to deliver solutions for partners across industrial and social sectors, often with the help of student talent. As a result, institutions have a flexible and agile applied research infrastructure that adapts to the unique requirements of a partner and their project. In most cases, intellectual property is retained by the business partner, creating an environment that amplifies the incentive for creative engagement and supports ongoing collaboration.

In this brief, we highlight a number of the projects underway and expertise available at our member institutions. Together, they showcase:

• How applied research supports business development, leveraging innovation know-how to drive business performance
• How applied research contributes to social development by leveraging innovation to improve life in Canada
• How applied research is developing next-generation talent by leveraging innovation challenges