6. Is there an incentive structure for employers to provide learning opportunities for low skilled?

6.1 Introduction

Participation in job-related training is lower in Canada than in several other countries considered as important economic competitors (OECD, 2005). When employers do provide training, they are more likely to provide it to higher-skilled workers than to lower-skilled workers. Some other key facts about less-skilled adults are.

• In the last decade, the proportion of the population with low levels of literacy remained stable at 42 percent.
• Close to 1.5 million of 25- to 64-year-olds with less than high-school education, and 3.6 million with just a high-school diploma are employed – they form respectively 11 percent and 27 percent of total employment in this age group.
• 5.9 million 16- to 65-year-olds are employed and have low levels of literacy – 38 percent of total employment in this age group.

This means that a significant proportion of the workforce is comprised of the less-educated
and/or the low-skilled. Workplace-based training matters not only to maintain and upgrade the skills and knowledge of the highly educated/skilled workforce, but also to enhance the skills and knowledge of the more educationally disadvantaged working adults.

Speaking at the 2004 Annual Meeting of The Alliance of Sector Councils, the Deputy Minister for Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, Wayne Wouters, “suggested that the key objectives of the Workplace Skills Strategy are to ‘ensure the Canadian workforce is highly skilled, adaptable and resilient; build a labour market that is flexible, efficient and productive; and work with employers to ensure that workplaces are healthy, productive and innovative.’ In his view, ‘this is not just a social policy issue but darn good economics.” (TASC, 2005) But, he said, sector councils have “been less successful in changing the skills development culture among employers” and questioned whether Canada’s CEOs have “bought into this.” He said, “As a CEO myself, I ask to what extent have we invested in our own people? What can we do together to shift this culture? Workplace training in Canada is below the OECD average.”

In this section, we will first draw attention to one of the main challenges that has to be addressed: the trap of the low-skills/low-wage economy. We will then review some of the government and partnership initiatives aiming at raising the general level of employer-supported training in the country.