Participants suggested that the province must market itself as more than a premier tourism destination, but also as a great place to live, work and do business.
Those at the dialogue regarded education and training as a major driver for economic and workforce development and commented that the Island must create a "culture of learning" and challenge itself towards excellence in its formal education system.
Redefining education: Participants suggested that there is a need to redefine and broaden the notion of "education." They felt the formal education system should be overhauled to better prepare students for the labour market and include important life and workplace skills, like teamwork. In short, participants urged a review of "what we teach and how we teach it." Participants also felt that education could be made more accessible, for example by allowing more flexibility for workers to gain a temporary leave of absence from employment for "training leave" (a model similar to maternity leave model). They also indicated that employers and labour organizations had a key role to play in promoting and/or delivering workplace training and lifelong learning.
Trades: Some participants pointed to the shortage of skilled trades workers in PEI and indicated that young people are unaware of this labour market opportunity. They felt that more emphasis must be placed on trades in schools. They also stressed the need to raise awareness with youth, teachers, guidance counsellors, and parents that these occupations are a viable career choice (e.g., through career days, co-op placements and job shadowing programs). More generally, participants felt that that youth were making career choices without having access to the proper information and that the school to work transition had to be a smoother one.
Literacy: Participants underscored the extent of the literacy challenge in PEI and suggested that this was an issue that must be addressed in the province's schools, as too many youth are graduating without basic literacy skills.
Participants felt that while identifying and implementing solutions was critical, this could only be achieved if certain key strategic conditions were met. Those at the dialogue believed that success could only be achieved through an overarching economic and labour market development vision and strategy for the province. Realizing this vision requires a strong commitment by the provincial government and greater collaboration, communication, and provincial/regional cooperation on economic development issues.
However, many thought it was just as important to develop the "right attitude." Parents and employers should recognize young peoples' desire for challenging, meaningful, and well-paying jobs instead of just "making ends meet." For their part, though, youth need to be willing to devote time to helping the PEI economy to grow, instead of thinking that the Island "owes them."
Throughout the day, participants in the PEI dialogue made it clear that the issue of "skills needs in the context of an aging workforce" is an important one for the province. They also stressed that any attempt to address this issue should be guided by one clear purpose: improving the conditions and circumstances of Islanders or, as many participants stated, "taking care of our people." In other words, they felt that the ultimate goal of workforce development, economic development, and education and training must be to improve the quality of life of all Islanders.
During the dialogue's final plenary, participants expressed an interest in seeing continued communication and collaboration between business and labour and pointed to the absence of formal structures to enable the continuation of this type of dialogue. On this point, the province's sector councils were identified as a potential forum for future discussion. Participants also reiterated that future dialogues on skills-related issue, whether or not they occur under the auspices of sector councils, should allow for the involvement of a broad array of stakeholders at a grassroots level (including community groups and representatives of the not-for-profit sector).