Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario—

The Honourable Jason Kenney, Minister of Employment and Social Development and Minister for Multiculturalism, emphasized to business leaders at the Economic Summit of Ontario the importance of addressing skills shortages and the need for all levels of government  to act to overcome critical labour market challenges.

“Our government is committed to fixing the skills mismatch in Canada, where we have too many Canadians without jobs and too many jobs without Canadians,” said Minister Kenney. “The status quo is not good enough. We need to reform the apprenticeship system, rethink post-secondary education and implement the Canada Job Grant.”

Minister Kenney spoke about the Government’s Speech from the Throne, which reaffirmed the federal government’s priorities as creating jobs and opportunities for Canadians by protecting the economy, keeping taxes low and keeping Canadian families and communities safe. He also reiterated the Government’s commitment to creating opportunities for apprentices.

Minister Kenney stressed the need for provinces and territories to take action to reform their apprenticeship systems and better align post-secondary education with labour market needs, and the need for more employer involvement in skills training.

“Our government wants to ensure that Canadians are aware of which occupations are in demand, such as the skilled trades and STEM-related jobs,” added Minister Kenney. “We are also moving forward with the implementation of the Canada Job Grant and related measures to involve employers in training decisions to connect Canadians with skills and training that lead to guaranteed jobs.”

In addition, Economic Action Plan 2013 proposes to provide more information to youth about on-the-job prospects and the benefits of working in the skilled trades, science, technology, engineering and mathematics to promote education in these high-demand fields.

By:IANS