Addressing Skills Mismatch in Canada

G20 Taskforce on Employment April 11, 2014

ANNEX B

UNCLASSIFIED

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Canada’s economy and labour market have rebounded from the recession…

Over 1 million net new jobs having been created since the recovery began in July 2009.– Main source of growth has been high-wage, high-skilled, full-time,

private-sector employment – Unemployment has also declined from a post-recession high of

8.7% in August 2009 to 7% in February 2014.

Despite the overall positive outlook, skill mismatch challenge remains. – “Jobs without people, and people without jobs” – 1.3 million unemployed Canadians and many employers signalling

they have difficulties finding skilled workers– Many unemployed lack the necessary skills or are not located

where jobs are available – Firms citing more difficulty hiring in certain regions and occupation

groups and sectors, even in areas of high unemployment

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…however, a number of key challenges persist…

Scope of the skills mismatch challenge differs significantly across Canada– Tight labour markets in western Canada versus eastern provinces

Suboptimal investments in workplace training– Canada lags behind other OECD countries in terms of the number of

hours that Canadians spend in job-related education and training– Employers continuing to rely on temporary foreign workers to partially fill

gaps

Lack of awareness among youth regarding job opportunities in STEM (science, engineering and mathematics), skilled trades and apprenticeships

– Canadian youth highly educated, however, lower proportion of graduates in STEM and apprentices than other OECD countries

– Despite strong outcomes, skilled trades not a “first choice” career for many high school graduates

– Apprenticeship system responding, however, barriers to completion continue to exist

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…driving the need to ensure that policies and programs remain responsive to Canada’s labour market needs…The Government of Canada is advancing a number of priorities to connect Canadians with available jobs by helping them acquire the skills needed for the labour market.

Ensuring Training Reflects Labour Market Needs– Launching the Canada Job Grant to align training with labour market needs– Reorienting transfers to provinces and territories to better respond to labour

market realities– Investing in programs to better meet the needs of persons with disabilities

and employers

Strengthening Canada’s Labour Market– Investing in programs to assist unemployed older workers – Launching an enhanced Job Matching Service to help connect Canadians

with available jobs– Ongoing reform of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program to ensure that

Canadians are given the first chance at available jobs– Streamlining and ensuring greater consistency of provincial/territorial

eligibility and assessment processes for internationally trained workers– Launching the Expression of Interest to attract skilled foreign workers

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…in order to build a skilled, mobile and productive workforce Training the Workforce of Tomorrow

1. Youth– Focusing federal investments in youth employment to

provide real-life work experience in high demand fields– Review of youth-focused employment programs to better

align with the evolving realities of the job market– Supporting youth internships and in high demand

occupations and in small and medium-sized enterprises

2. Apprenticeship – Helping apprentices registered in skilled trades with the cost

of training by expanding student loans to apprentices – Introducing measures to expand the use of innovative

approaches for apprentice technical training– Harmonization of requirements for apprentices in

collaboration with provinces and territories

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Looking ahead, the Government of Canada will continue to advance key priorities to address the skills mismatch challenge and create jobs and opportunities for all Canadians

While the Canadian labour market is performing relatively well, we cannot afford to be complacent

Work to improve our policies and programs is already underway, however, complex challenges are emerging (“people without jobs, jobs without people”) that require new approaches and sustained efforts

As we move forward, we will renew how we address these challenges in order to put more Canadians in jobs and invest in skills development