The contrast between how secondary education is offered to those under 18 compared to how it is provided to those who have not managed to obtain a high-school diploma by the age of 18 is striking. Given the foundational benefits of secondary education, it is hard to see why we would treat its provision to adults differently. At a minimum, high-school-related skills-upgrading programs should be free to all individuals regardless of age. This is currently not the case in all provinces. In addition, we argue that the special circumstances of adult learners should be recognized and appropriate support should be provided.
With respect to accessing educational institutions beyond high-school, the rules of federal and provincial financial aid systems do not work well for adult learners. Most colleges and some universities have flexible admission policies for mature students, as well as a commitment to recognizing prior learning. While these policies are steps in the right direction, for many individuals, the financial barriers to participation are simply too high. The post-secondary student aid systems should be reviewed to ensure that all adults have access to a reasonable combination of student loans and grants.
The problem of how to encourage firms to provide more training is extremely complex. Part of the problem is that Canada’s economy is dominated by small to medium sized firms that simply do not have the economies of scale to implement custom-designed employee training programs. Other problems include structural and institutional issues such as lack of information and the difficulty of calculating return on investment.
On a positive note, a number of Canadian firms are leaders in providing workplace literacy and skills-upgrading programs to less-educated workers. A handful of initiatives at both the federal level (e.g. the Sector Council Program) and the provincial level (both Nova Scotia and Alberta have workplace skills development programs and Quebec has a sectoral approach as well) bring together labour market partners to work on solutions to skills-upgrading problems.
More research needs to be done to determine which incentives and policy levers would be most effective in the Canadian context. Canada can also benefit from a careful examination of the policy levers employed in other countries.
On a more pessimistic note, some barriers to training may be much more persistent. The perpetuation of a low-skill/low-wage equilibrium in significant parts of the Canadian economy needs to be addressed through further research.
None of the provinces included in this study has a coherent incentive framework designed to encourage individuals, employers, community organizations, and educational institutions to engage in learning activities. Making a ‘right to learn’ framework a reality will require increased investments in a number of areas. Perhaps most importantly, it will require increased investments in the form of direct financial support for learners. It will also require ensuring that existing investments are directed towards individuals who are most in need. The evaluation framework for all government investments should provide detailed information on program beneficiaries.