The Task Force was presented with a generic model of an education system for Canada that would focus on facilitating the school-to-work transition (Table 8). We endorse this model, because we are convinced that the present education system needs a major overhaul.
Table 8. An education system to facilitate school-to-work transition for youths and adults
| Year or Grade | Trades, technology, science |
Academic, arts, business |
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| 6th year | PhD | PhD | ||||
| 5th year | MSc | MA | ||||
| 4th year | Certificate of apprenticeship | Honors BSc | Honors BA | |||
| 3rd year | 3-year diploma | BSc | Certificate of Apprenticeship | 3-year diploma |
BA | |
| 2nd year | 2-year diploma | Services | 2-year diploma | |||
| 1st year | Apprenticeship | College | University | Apprenticeship | College | University |
| 80:20 | 60:40 | 40:60 | 60:40 | 40:60 | 20:80 | |
Decision regarding ratio of practical to theoretical training |
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| Grade 12 | Focus on science, technology, and trades. Pre-trades programs, cooperative education programs. | Focus on academic subjects, arts and Business. Pre-trades and cooperative education programs where appropriate. | ||||
| Grade 11 | Education in common core generic skills, including language, mathematics, and technology across the curriculum; summer positions, entrepreneurial programs, workplace tours, guest speakers from all occupations and unions, team projects, career studies | |||||
| Grades 9 and 10 | Education in common core generic skills, focusing on preparing students for school-to-work and transition programs in senior high school. Immersion in reading, writing, mathematics, computers, problem-solving, teamwork, interpersonal communication, personal attitudes, opinions and choices, access to counseling | |||||
| Grades 7 and 8 | Workplace visits, entrepreneurial programs, vocational skills promotion, guest speakers and presentations from all occupations, career groups, unions and ethnic backgrounds, project teams, exposure to technology's impact on society, teacher-employer teams and exchanges, access to counseling | |||||
| Kindergarten to grade 6 | Exposure to technology, workplaces, and unions through visits, introduction of role models for females and males in actual work settings, awareness of cultural and ethnic diversity, practical projects, student teams, issue immersion. Language, mathematics, technology, and problem-solving across the curriculum | |||||
Source: Adapted from a presentation to the Task Force by Roland W. Schnippering.