D. Necessity for women to fulfill family responsibilities.

The problems associated with combining family responsibilities and work is the greatest block to women's undertaking further training. This is the conclusion of our study, as well as those of researchers into the European experience of Skills Development Leave. The primary consideration here has to be adequate time off work for training. That is, women must not be expected to undertake training over and above the hours they would normally spend at work. Widely available programs accessible to women on day release, block release and extended leave bases (as long as adequate, paid, child care provisions are made available) will help to meet these needs. Flexibility in the scheduling of courses and a wide variety of courses are also necessary.

Women working in the home are making a very special contribution to the community and the state, and should not be penalized in terms of exclusion from Paid Skills Development Leave. Just as men who served the community and state in the military during wartime received, through the Department of Veterans' Affairs, tuition fees and a living allowance for educational purposes, we recommend a system whereby individual homemakers can call upon the resources of the Paid Skills Development Leave Program.

Recommendation 10.
That Paid Skills Development Leave programs provide for compensatory time off for participants.

Recommendation 11.
That homemakers have full access to Paid Skills Development Leave programs.

E. Interrupted working life due to child bearing and child care.

Survey takers in West Germany found that a great deterrent to women's participation in training leave was the prospect of failure to continue or complete a course because of responsibilities to children. This is a current difficulty for women in Canada. A condition under which women could best acquire qualifications include the guarantee that flexibility of programming will allow for the successful completion of the training program following the illness of a child or a pregnancy. 48

Recommendation 12.
That opportunity for successful completion of training programs be guaranteed if interrupted by the illness of a child or a pregnancy.

F. Part-time employees are denied benefits and opportunities.

Women form the greater number of part-time workers, and this marginalization will be greatly exacerbated unless training and education addresses their special needs.

Recommendation 13.
That all Skill Development Leave provisions include part-time employees.