OTTAWA,
ON, Aug. 13, 2024 /CNW/ - As labour dynamics
across the world change for workers and employers alike,
Canada has a generational
opportunity to develop a new worker-centric, forward looking, and
sustainable economy.
Today, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and
Official Languages, Randy
Boissonnault, launched an online engagement with the eye of
doing just that. By pooling together diverse views from across
the country on how to drive a modern, inclusive, and productive
labour market for the 21st century, the government will be better
positioned to identify ways to build on our strengths, address
challenges and seize opportunities to better prepare Canadians for
success today and tomorrow.
In addition, the Minister will be inviting leaders from across
Canada representing industry,
employers, labour, education and training institutions, Indigenous
and not-for-profit organizations, governments, academics, and
others to a workforce summit this fall to further the
discussion.
To inform the online engagement, Canadians are invited to read
an online discussion paper that provides an overview of the current
labour market context, major trends, a snapshot of Canada's skills development landscape and
future opportunities. Feedback can be provided by responding to an
online questionnaire, available until September 30, 2024. The results of the online
engagement and summit will be accessible publicly.
The online engagement and the summit are the beginning of a
national dialogue on modern approaches to skills development,
education supports, and lifelong learning to equip the workforce of
tomorrow.
Quotes
"Canada is home to the smartest
minds, the most talented workers and a strong education, training,
and employment system. Building on these strengths will help us
adapt to a changing global economy and get ahead. This online
engagement is step one of that process and will help us identify
all the ways we can build a more innovative, productive, and
competitive
labour force that benefits Canadian workers and employers
alike."
– Randy Boissonnault, Minister of
Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages
Quick Facts
- The discussion paper outlines three priorities for building the
workforce for the 21st century:
- Ensuring better alignment between workforce strategies,
training institutions, labour groups, employers, and economic
priorities
- Eliminating inefficiencies and barriers in Canadian labour
markets
- Maximizing labour productivity through strategic skills
development and lifelong learning
- Labour market trends and key drivers of change
- Canada had one of the fastest
employment recoveries in the G7 following the pandemic, with total
employment in Canada reaching 20.5
million in June 2024.
- According to IBM, Canada had a
rise of 1.1% in real gross domestic product (GDP) in 2023 and
projected GDP growth through 2025. According to the Conference
Board of Canada, generative AI has
the potential to add almost 2% to Canada's GDP.
- Between 2019 and 2023, the participation rate for women 25 to
54 years old with children under 6 years old increased by 3.8
percentage points to 79.7%, representing over 51,000 additional
women joining the labour force.
- In 2021, 3.2 million persons with disabilities aged 15 to 64
were employed. However, in 2022 over 1 million persons with
disabilities aged 15 to 64 have potential for paid employment in an
inclusive, accessible, and accommodating labour market.
- Many older workers are choosing to remain in the labour market.
According to Statistics Canada, the participation rate for people
over 55 was 37% in 2023, compared to 25% in 1998.
- Youth have experienced rising unemployment rates (13.5% in
June 2024) and Indigenous people at
all education levels had higher unemployment rates in 2023 (7.7%)
than the non-Indigenous population aged 25 to 54 (4.5%).
- 600,000 skilled trades workers are set to retire over the
2022-2031 period. This trend will drive both loss of skills and
opportunities for restructuring labour demand with tighter labour
supply.
- According to the Royal Bank of Canada, the transition to a sustainable
economy is driving demand for new skills. Over the next 10 to 20
years, this demand could see up to 400,000 jobs added where an
enhanced skill set will be critical.
Associated Links
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SOURCE Employment and Social Development Canada