B. Manpower and Employment

These two policy areas are administered under the single concept of employment and provide two directions: to increase the demand for workers and to supply the workers necessary to meet this demand. On the demand side policies relate to job creation schemes. On the supply side policies relate to the provision of information on labour market conditions to both employers and employees; to the availability of skilled workers in the occupations, industries and geographic areas where they are needed; and to the training, counseling, referral and hiring of workers.

These policies are complex and require a more extensive treatment than is possible in this report. Those selected for discussion appear to have some significance for CCLOW.

1. There are several shifts taking place in CEIC policy which, in combination with shifts in the labour market, may work against women. These shifts are:

• CEIC plans to shift its emphasis away from alleviating unemployment through training programs and moving toward providing training in areas of economic and employment growth. The recent review of Manpower programs states that:

"... funds are disproportionately allocated to Provinces having high unemployment rates and relatively few job opportunities. This effort to utilize training as a means of alleviating unemployment has not produced the desired results. The time has now come to orient training program expenditures more firmly towards those occupations and regions where the majority of job opportunities exist or are likely to emerge in the near future..." ^l

The net result is a shifting of training expenditures so that, while no region will actually decline in CMTP funds (unless there are further cutbacks), the five western regions from Ontario to British Columbia will expand in training services. The eastern regions, from Newfoundland to Quebec, which tend to have high unemployment rates, will have no further increases in training expenditures. This will result in increased competition for training places, a competition in which women will be at a disadvantage.

^l. CEIC, "The Canada Manpower Training Program: A policy review" (Ottawa: CEIC, Manpower Training Branch, 1977), pp. 11 - 12.