Categories

Amy Kaufman – Whither new grads? Labour market prospects and outcomes of the class of 2020

At the start of the year, the class of 2020 was expecting to graduate from college or university into a healthy labour market. Instead, the pandemic has reshaped the economy — and the career trajectories of new grads — virtually overnight. What does this mean for grads entering the labour market, and how can governments ensure they […]

Categories

Jackie Pichette and Rosanna Tamburri — An agile system of lifelong learning is needed now more than ever

Measures to stop the spread of COVID-19 have left the economy reeling. Employment in Ontario fell by a record 403,000 jobs, or 5.3%, in March from February, according to Statistics Canada. The province’s unemployment rate rose to 7.6%, up from 5.5%, the largest monthly increase on record.* No one could have predicted the severity of the COVID-19 […]

Categories

Amy Kaufman – Let’s hear it for our dedicated workers, and the institutions that trained them

HEQCO CEO David Trick has mused in recent weeks (see here and here) about how Ontario’s postsecondary education sector can look to lessons from the past to help us deal with today’s exceptional circumstances. This idea of finding precedents for the unprecedented is one that we will return to, but this week I’d like to take a moment […]

Categories

David Trick – Precedents for the unprecedented (part 2): The year the music stopped

Last week I looked at whether Ontario’s experience with the double cohort in 2003 could offer some lessons for the coming years. If large numbers of students decide to take a gap year this September and enrol in September 2021, the planning processes adopted in 2003 might bring some order to an enrolment surge. Sadly, Ontario […]

Skills, Signals and Labour Market Outcomes: An Analysis of the 2012 Longitudinal and International Study of Adults

Skills, education credentials important predictors of income and employment status When it comes to predicting the future income and employment status of Canadians, which has more influence: skills, such as literacy and numeracy, or postsecondary credentials? A new report published by the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HEQCO) concludes that skills and credentials are […]

Immigrant Labour Market Outcomes and Skills Differences in Canada

Immigrants more likely to be unemployed than Canadian-born adults, study finds Immigrant workers were more likely to be unemployed than Canadian-born adults, even when other factors such as skill levels were taken into account, according to a new study published by the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HEQCO). The probability of being unemployed declined […]

Gendered Returns to Cognitive Skills in Canada

Higher earning workers derive greater benefit from skill levels than lower paid counterparts Canadian workers who hold higher paying jobs derive greater benefit from having higher literacy, numeracy and problem-solving skills than those at the lower end of the wage spectrum, according to a new report published by the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario […]

Great Divide or Small Fissure? A Comparison of Skills, Education and Earnings across Standard and Non-standard Workers

Higher skill and educational levels lead to greater job security, higher earnings Canadian workers with higher levels of education are more likely to be employed in permanent, full-time jobs while those with higher literacy, numeracy and problem-solving skills are likely to earn more money, according to a new report examining the relationship between skills, educational […]

Lifelong Learning in Ontario: Improved Options for Mid-career, Underserved Learners

Report calls on Ontario PSE institutions to introduce programs for displaced workers, adult learners As Ontario’s economy continues to undergo rapid change, the province’s colleges and universities will need to introduce new short-term, flexible training programs that cater to the needs of displaced workers and other adult learners, recommends a new report by the Higher […]