- The decentralized approach to school-to-work programming in Canada is less
successful when compared to other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development (OECD) countries.
Alison Taylor, in her review of four provincial transition programs at the high school level,
argues that the lengthening transitional period from school-to-work may be because
pathways for youth to the labour market are: “too narrow, too obscure (lack transparency)
and too inflexible (lack of bridging mechanisms)” (Taylor, 2007,1). All provinces have schoolto-
work initiatives; many have partnerships between governments, employers and educators.
However, these initiatives are often piecemeal and not well coordinated (Heinz and Taylor,
2005). Taylor argues that “more successful initial transition outcomes tend to be associated
with [OECD] countries where the connections between pathways and their destinations are
embedded in solid institutional frameworks” (Taylor, 2007, 1). When youth labour market
policies and school-to-work transition programs are compared to other countries, Canada’s
approach tends to be passive (decentralized market approach), general and overall not as
successful as other approaches which have solid institutional frameworks and political
commitment and cooperation across all levels of government (e.g. Finland, Germany and
Norway) (Taylor, 2007; Thiessen, 2001; Gross, 1998).
- The lack of viable educational options such as Vocational Education and Training (VET)
which have certifications or credentials that are recognized by employers.
Vocational high school programs continue to have low take-up among high school students
because they are viewed as the “poor cousin” to academic streams. Vocational education
and apprenticeship training at the high school level remain to be seen as for those who can
not make it academically. In the last 30 years, vocational programs in public secondary
schools have declined. Concerns about early streaming, a decline in manufacturing
occupations and jobs, declining enrolments, challenges to maintain and update equipment,
reliance on post-secondary institutions to fill the gap, disinterest by employers, attitudes of
parents and students and the lack of a strategic policy to address VET at a systems level all
have contributed to the decline (Taylor, 2007).
When compared internationally, Canada does not have a credentialed vocational option in
high school. OECD countries that do, such as Austria, Denmark, the United Kingdom and
Germany who have a strong focus on VET in high school have a greater share of their youth
with high school diplomas in skilled jobs (Saunders and de Broucker, May 2007). This has
lead researchers to question the real value of a high school diploma in Canada beyond a
requirement for further PSE (Taylor, April 2007, de Broucker, October 2005).
In many respects provincial/territorial systems are similar, many have successful vocation
programs, but: “not one offers vocational education with credentials recognized by the
labour market at the high-school level as a significant option to the same extent as in some
European countries” (de Broucker, March 2005). Strong VET systems at the high school level
can also push students to post-secondary institutions for credentials recognized by the
labour market (Taylor, 2007; de Broucker, 2005).