higher education Archives - Polytechnics Canada

Submission to Finance Canada: Recommendations for Budget 2025

March 10, 2025 | 1.98MB | Download pdf >

Canada is facing grave economic threats from its closest neighbour and long-time trading partner. While issues such as lagging productivity and sufficient housing supply are longstanding issues, U.S. tariffs and an American expansionist agenda have seized the attention of Canadians and policymakers alike. There is an urgent need to safeguard Canada’s interests and rally around pragmatic policy prescriptions. The urgency is undeniable. This must be the driving ambition for Budget 2025.

Polytechnics Canada’s recommendations to Finance Canada for Budget 2025 include:

Support business innovation and derisk technology adoption by making significant new investments in polytechnic and college applied research
Enable quick access to upskilling and reskilling with vouchers to offset the cost of training for employers and individuals
Better position the skilled trades workforce to respond to demand for new housing, domestic manufacturing capacity and the renewal of transportation infrastructure by prioritizing the retention and completion of apprentices in high-demand trades

The Role of Polytechnics in Tech Adoption

By Ricardo Arena | March 4, 2025

No new idea, concept or technical advancement, whether intended to improve our health, protect the environment or revitalize an industry, can make meaningful impact until there is widespread adoption. Without it, potential is diminished and opportunities are squandered. This is why supporting adoption, particularly among Canada’s small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) who play a critical role in the country’s economic wellbeing, is a crucial step on the innovation journey.

It will come as no surprise that many SMEs struggle with technology adoption. Despite ongoing efforts and good intentions, SMEs have competing priorities for limited resources. Government grants, tax incentives and programs that offer support are important avenues for democratizing technology adoption.

Funding changes affect labour-market-driven education capacity

By Randall Anthony Communications | February 21, 2025 | Originally featured in The Globe and Mail

At an annual event for bringing together industry and community leaders and representatives from the colleges and institutes sector, one construction company executive was asked how his organization stays up to date on technology, regulations and industry trends. The answer was simple: “We hire new graduates, who are exposed to all that in school and who come with fresh ideas and new energy.”

This is part of the value proposition of Canadian colleges and institutes, along with their mandate to educate career-ready graduates, says Sarah Watts-Rynard, CEO of Polytechnics Canada, an organization representing publicly supported polytechnics, colleges and institutes of technology.

Why hasn’t AI changed Canada yet?

By Ricardo Arena | January 15, 2025 | Originally featured in The Hill Times

Much has been written about Canada’s lagging innovation and productivity indicators. The federal government has struggled to offer effective solutions, alternating between big gambles on select sectors and splashy announcements that end with a fizzle.

Last month, however, Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne quietly put out a press release detailing plans to allocate the Budget 2024 centrepiece: a $2-billion investment in artificial intelligence (AI). It signaled a welcome shift toward incorporating implementation and impact in Canada’s innovation ambitions.

Reflections of 2024: Resilience in the Face of Adversity

By Kamila Graczyk | December 20, 2024

As 2024 draws to a close, it is hard not to focus on the tremendous challenges brought on by abrupt federal policy changes on the international student file. Our members – like much of the postsecondary community – are grappling with the fallout of sweeping cuts, harsh rhetoric about the quality of Canadian education, then further caps and restrictions to post-graduate work permits.

While the difficulties cannot be overlooked, moments like this can also be transformative. They force us to review, retrench and find new paths forward. As we turn the page on 2024 and look ahead, there are reasons for optimism.

Download

Recent Reforms to the International Student Program

December 10, 2024 | 1.68MB | Download pdf >

Recent changes to international student policy represent one of the most consequential federal actions affecting the post-secondary education sector in decades. The damage to Canada’s international reputation has been profound, tarnishing its image both as a destination for international students and as a welcoming place for immigrants.

Polytechnics Canada’s recommendations to the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration include:

All Bachelor’s degree programs should be treated equally with regard to post-graduate work permit (PGWP) eligibility, reflecting undifferentiated labour market outcomes
Provincial labour market data should inform PGWP eligibility, recognizing that institutions respond to local and regional employer requirements for talent
Desist in making additional changes to the international student program, enabling the sector to stabilize and regroup without threat of continued uncertainty

Download

Study on the new Capstone Research Funding Organization

December 10, 2024 | 1.64MB | Download pdf >

Though Canada makes considerable investments in academic research, its struggle with productivity is well documented. Knowledge mobilization remains a significant challenge. The capstone research funding organization has the potential to address this shortcoming.

As the Standing Committee on Science and Research considers recommendations for a new capstone organization, Polytechnics Canada sees tremendous value in the creation of an organization focused on connecting academic research to the innovation supply chain.

Polytechnics Canada’s recommendations include:

Identify priorities and focus for the new capstone research organization
Assess capacity and expertise to address those priorities across the research ecosystem
Encourage and support inter-disciplinary partnerships, including with industry partners who are positioned to test and implement research findings

Commercialization is critical for Canadian productivity. Colleges can help

By Ricardo Arena | October 9, 2024 | Originally featured in The Globe and Mail

While Canada’s weak productivity performance is not a new phenomenon, its impact is beginning to show more than ever.

Families are struggling with inflated living expenses, reduced job security and the high cost of housing, leaving many feeling as though they are falling behind. Small and mid-sized companies – the backbone of the economy – are burdened by long-standing capital investment challenges and rising operational costs, bogging down their ability to lead an economic expansion.

All signs point to the need to fire up Canada’s innovation engine. Postsecondary institutions can help.

A new model to revolutionize higher education

By Dr. Ann Marie Vaughan | September 19, 2024 | Originally featured in The Globe and Mail

Higher education has the power to change lives, build communities and drive economic growth. And it’s time for the model to change.

For years, education has followed the same approach to delivery: students enroll in a program, take a set of courses and earn a credential. This approach assumes that every student follows the same pathway to graduation.

Higher education has essentially been an assembly line, adhering to a status quo education model where everybody comes in the same way and goes out the same way. This no longer suits the world for which we are preparing our students.