Prior learning and skills assessment
A prior learning and skills assessment system aimed at facilitating transitions into employment must recognize:
Canada requires a highly skilled labour force if it is to compete successfully in the global economy. Producing skilled workers does not refer only to the youth population currently in school. Maintaining a skilled labour force requires continual upgrading, retraining, and lifelong learning among the adult population, including those in the labour force and those wishing to make the transition into work. However, the needs of adults are very different from those of young people for whom the education system is largely designed. Adult workers have generally been out of the formal education system for many years and may lack the self-confidence to return. Some have had negative experiences in schools in their youth, many have never mastered the core skills of literacy and numeracy, and most lead busy lives with family and work responsibilities. Consequently, innovative and flexible measures must be developed to accommodate the unique needs of the adult learner.
Prior learning assessment (PLA) has been referred to in previous sections. It deserves further attention as it should play a key role in the development and maintenance of a highly skilled labour force and facilitate the transition into occupations requiring such skills and paying high wages. PLA can be carried out using a variety of methods designed to assess two types of learning: prior experiential learning and prior academic learning. PLA provides a flexible, dynamic approach to upgrading the skills of adult learners and has the potential to be an effective and efficient method of integrating immigrants and out-of-province workers into the labour force at the level for which they were trained. Although there are many advantages to implementing a national PLA system, we realize that there are many obstacles to doing so.