Employer needs

Most Canadian companies require workers with very different capabilities than in the past. Employers need workers with the basic skills that enable them to learn continuously and adapt to organizational change.

The foundation of a continuous learning society and ability to continually upgrade the performance of the labour force depends largely upon basic skills. Society, primarily educators, must ensure that new entrants into the workforce have the basic skills required to progress in an environment of continuous learning. Students must enroll in curricula consisting of language, mathematics, science and other analytical disciplines. These subject areas must be at the heart of the education system. As well, there is a need to promote excellence in the science, engineering, and technical fields as they become increasingly important in today's technology oriented workplace. [Business Liaison Group of the CLFDB, Statement on Training and Education Policy for the Business Community in Canada,Ottawa, 1993]

In 1992, the Conference Board of Canada prepared a report -- Employability Skills Profile: What Are Employers Looking For? -- that identified academic, personal management, and teamwork skills as the basic requirements that employers look for in a worker.

Academic skills: the ability to communicate effectively in the workplace (oral, reading, and writing) and solve problems in an analytical manner using mathematics and other related disciplines, and to learn on a continuous basis.

Personal management skills: skills that display the motivation to progress in the workplace through positive attitudes and behavior, confident self-image, and willingness to accept challenge and adapt to changes in the workplace.

Teamwork skills: the ability to work as a member of a team toward an objective, to understand the importance of the job in the overall context of the organization, and to plan and make decisions collectively.