Research ReportsThe Future of Work: Confronting B.C.’s Labour Shortage Challenge
(September 2008) - Report - Free Download
British Columbia—along with the rest of Canada and much of the developed world—is already facing growing labour shortages. Between 2005 and 2015, 1.1 million jobs will need to be filled in B.C., including new jobs as well as openings resulting from retirements and deaths. Assuming that all 542,000 in the K to 12 education system during this period enter the labour market, the gap will be reduced to 558,000 job openings. However, taking into account additional factors, including migration and participation rates, the Conference Board of Canada estimates that there will be a shortage of 160,000 workers to fill these jobs. The labour shortage is forecast to intensify beyond 2015.
The Conference Board has undertaken an analysis of B.C.’s labour shortage and related challenges, and has examined best practices that are helping to alleviate shortages in B.C. and other jurisdictions across Canada. The resulting report, The Future of Work: Confronting B.C.’s Labour Shortage Challenge brings together evidence of the province’s labour shortages and provides insights, strategies and recommendations for addressing them.
The report looks at the implications for employers facing major challenges associated with labour shortages. These challenges include wage inflation, demand for new skills, increased capital investment, recruitment and retention, and the risk of foregone opportunities. The study explores strategies for harnessing valuable sources of talent to address labour shortages—including six groups that are under-represented in today’s labour force: youth, immigrants, women, mature workers, Aboriginal peoples, and persons with disabilities.
The Canadian Health Leadership Network Learning and Development Outlook
(December 2007) - Report - Free Download
The health sector faces many hurdles that require urgent attention from its leaders. Canada’s aging population will affect the health sector in two important ways. First, the health care workforce will be retiring in record numbers, draining the health sector of skilled employees and leaders. Second, the aging population will increase the demand for health care services, putting the health care system under mounting pressure. Developing effective leadership is critical to overcome these challenges and to deliver access to quality health care services. This report discusses how the Canadian health sector is succeeding and failing at developing its leaders.
Literacy, Life and Employment: An Analysis of Canadian International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) Microdata
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Literacy is vital to employment, productivity and a high standard of living. Yet, there are still a significant number of Canadians whose marginal literacy skills hinder personal, organizational and national success. This report, based on a detailed analysis of the Canadian microdata from the International Adult Literacy Survey, explores the socio-economic, literacy, employment and learning characteristics of working-age Canadians with marginal literacy skills. It reinforces our understanding of the importance of addressing this group's literacy needs and provides employers with concrete strategies for designing and implementing literacy initiatives that will help employees achieve a job standard of literacy skills.
Profiting from Literacy Creating a Sustainable Workplace Literacy Program
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Literacy skills are vital to high performance and productivity in modern workplaces, yet many workers lack the skills they need. About 42 per cent of all Canadians aged 16 to 65 score at the lowest literacy levels.
This report provides information to help employers create, improve and evaluate workplace literacy programs. It is designed to help Canadian employers in small, medium-sized and large organizations, as well as government policy-makers, unions, communities and other learning partners.
The report summarizes the findings of an 18-month research project, Securing Literacy’s Potential: How Workplace Learning Programs Can Improve Literacy and Basic Skills for Marginally Skilled Employees.
A practical resource, this report identifies effective models and best practices. Employers who wish to build or refine a workplace literacy program can consider the key success factors presented and take appropriate action to address each factor.
Policy for Performance: Valuing Canada's National Network Organization and its Advanced Network (December 2004) - Executive Summary - Free Download
Canada is on the verge of creating an e-economy and e-society that can fundamentally alter the way in which most Canadians live. At the centre of the change is the intelligent infrastructure we are building to be the backbone of the e-economy—including new information and communications technology (ICT) networks, applications, services and content, combined with new workplace processes and organizational structures. This report is designed to help decision-makers make informed choices about government investments in our national network organization, CANARIE, and the national research and education network (NREN), CA*net, that it oversees.
1st National Council on Education and Learning Issue Statement on Innovation (July 2003)
Solving Canada's Innovation Conundrum: How Public Education Can Help
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The National Council on Education and Learning is developing a series of statements on major education and learning issues facing public education and employers in Canada today. These statements are intended to engage public opinion and further debate and dialogue about key public policy issues, and to involve the major stakeholders, in order to stimulate action and change.
Strength from Within: Overcoming the Barriers to Workplace Literacy Development (April 2003)
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Improving workplace literacy isn't easy - but it is rewarding. This report offers practical advice to employers for setting up or sustaining a workplace literacy program. Based on a statistically valid, national survey and supported by in-person and telephone interviews, the report summarizes the findings of a two-year, federally funded research project. It explores literacy program benefits, common barriers and provides solutions and tools that prepare the reader for action.
E-Learning Indicators in a Balanced Scorecard Approach to Performance (April 2003)
Our recent survey findings on current practices in e-learning for the workplace draws conclusions on users and usage of e-learning, challenges and evaluation, as well as benefits and future use of e-learning. This report and the presentation from a recent conference where the findings were shared will be useful to anyone interested in e-learning, including organizations that want to benchmark and those who want to learn more about best practices.
Success by Design: What Works in Workforce Development (December 2002)
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Joint workplace education programs harness the power of collaboration between unions and management to produce exceptional training results that benefit everyone involved. The organizational and individual benefits, and the key design elements of successful joint programs in the United States are identified and showcased.
Partnership Policy Report on Employability, Leadership and Social and Economic Regeneration Through Inclusion (November 2002) - Free Download
Partnerships can be extremely effective in a number of key areas, including employability, leadership, and social and economic regeneration. The Conference Board of Canada and the International Partnership Network recognize the need for a more concerted and focused effort if partnerships are to move to the next level of effectiveness.
The Partnership Policy Report on Employability, Leadership and Social and Economic Regeneration Through Inclusion was presented at the Global Partnership Summit on Learning, Employability and Citizenship in Washington, D.C., in November, 2002. The summit focused much of its attention on partnership policy development for employability, leadership, and social and economic regeneration.
The report summarizes the context of the three partnership policy domains (employability, leadership, and social and economic regeneration). It also provides an action framework and suggests priorities for addressing and supporting strategic partnership activities and initiatives within each of the policy domains at the international, national, sector and local levels. Finally, the report provides partnership stakeholders with a Policy Development Tool to aid in the development and implementation of partnership policy at all levels of activity–from school department to central government ministry. The Policy Development Tool offers practitioners a step-by-step process to move partnership discussions into policy enabling statements and future public policy.
Out of the Classroom, into the Workforce: Mining Youth Potential (July 2002) - Free Download
Canada’s future lies in its youth—and ours are among the best educated in the world. But is their education giving them the skills they need to thrive in the workplace? The answer appears to be a resounding no. Out of the Classroom, into the Workforce: Mining Youth Potential focuses on improving the school-to-work transition and finding better ways to equip youth for top performance in the labour market.
Solving the Skilled Trades Shortage (March 2002) - Free Download
A feasibility report examining the barriers and solutions to youth participation in the skilled trades in Canada. The report proposes the development of pilot projects to increase the supply of youth into the skilled trades.
Make the Skills Connection: Labour Market Transition Models that Work (November 2001) - Free Download
In an age marked by global skills shortages, intense pressure to enhance productivity for competitiveness and growth, and rapid workplace change, labour market transitions take on added significance for everyone. Governments play a role in supporting any form of labour market transition, including school-to-work or to further education, sector-to-sector, and from work back to education and lifelong learning.
This report focuses on the most effective practices in Canadian labour market transitions, as well as the British New Deal Model. These practices can serve as benchmarks for practitioners and inform policy makers as they search for cost-effective, high-impact ways of helping Canadians make labour market transitions.
E-Learning for the Workplace: Creating Canada's Lifelong Learners (September 2001)
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Learning is critical to Canadian prosperity, and research by the Conference Board of Canada has identified the growth in a new method of learning, e-learning. E-learning is an important tool for developing innovative capacity in the Canadian economy, but employers face difficulties implementing programs, including content issues and the initial cost and time required to develop e-learning solutions. E-Learning for the Workplace: Creating Canada’s Lifelong Learners is based on surveys with employers and employees, interviews, case studies and consultations, and features best practices and a tool kit, also available on-line, to help employers develop e-learning strategies.
Brain Gain: The Economic Benefits of Recognizing Learning and Learning Credentials in Canada (September 2001)
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New Canadians often have advanced degrees and professional certifications that are not recognized in Canada, so talented people crowd the bottom of the income ladder instead of contributing their knowledge to the economy. People who have received on-the-job training or who have lost ground by transferring between post-secondary educational institutions or between provinces could benefit from learning recognition. Canada's learning recognition gap represents an additional $4.1 billion to $5.9 billion in annual income. The Board's research into creating a system for recognizing learning offers insights on Canada's hidden Brain Gain. The report includes options for action by governments, employers and credential-granting institutions that could significantly improve learning recognition in Canada.
SchoolNet GrassRoots Program: Building Innovative Capacity in the Classroom (June 2001)
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Industry Canada's SchoolNet GrassRoots Program provides funding to schools for the creation of innovative, internet-based learning projects that integrate information and communications technology (ICT) into the classroom. The Conference Board conducted a series of four cases studies on the GrassRoots program, showing how students who participate in the program develop skills in problem-solving, teamwork and communication--skills which are emphasized in Canada's current innovation strategy.
This research report draws on the findings of the GrassRoots case studies to illustrate the impact and influence of the GrassRoots program, and show how the program builds innovative capacity in the classroom. It reveals how GrassRoots projects help students acquire the innovative skills, attitudes and behaviours that are key to ensuring Canada's competitiveness and growth in the knowledge economy.
Exploring the Learning Recognition Gap in Canada (January 2001) - Free Download
Is there a learning recognition gap in Canada? This report explores this question and asks: What economic costs do we, as individuals, as employers, and ultimately, as a society, bear when we fail to fully recognize people's learning and learning credentials?
This report is the first phase in a research project being undertaken with financial support from the Learning and Literacy Directorate, Human Resources Development Canada, the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, and the Saskatchewan Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Skills Training.
Breaching the Barriers to Workplace Literacy (January 2001) - Free Download
Literacy is a key factor in ensuring corporate competitiveness and personal success. This report explores the question: What are the principal barriers to increasing workplace literacy and learning in Canada's workplaces and how can we overcome them?
This report is the first phase in a research project being undertaken with financial support from the National Literacy Secretariat, Human Resources Development Canada.
Keen for the Screen: Employers are Using E-Learning for Employee Skill Development (September 2000)
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Employers were asked in the spring of 2000 what their experiences were with using learning technologies and e-learning in the workplace. This report highlights key findings from this survey including current and planned usage of learning technologies, the top three barriers to starting and implementing e-learning and the top three reasons for using them.
This document is part of the Solutions for Employers research program, co-funded by the Office of Learning Technologies of Human Resources Development Canada.
Solutions for Employers: Effective Strategies for Using Learning Technologies in the Workplace (March 2000) - Free Download
Technologies such as computers, the Internet and CD-ROM are making lifelong learning a more accessible and effective prospect for employers and employees. Employers, however, don't always capture and realize the benefits of this way of providing employee learning because barriers such as cost and information overload sometimes overwhelm them.
The Solutions for Employers Knowledge Review Report is the first stage in a comprehensive research project, by The Conference Board of Canada, to help employers overcome barriers and use learning technology for employee learning.
Based on a review of the literature on learning technologies, the report outlines the benefits of learning technologies for employees and employers, the challenges involved in using learning technologies and the steps employers can take to use learning technologies for employee learning.
The Office of Learning Technologies, Human Resources Development Canada, financially supported this research project.
The Economic Implications of International Education for Canada and Nine Comparator Countries (September 1999) - Free Download
This report, by The Conference Board of Canada, was completed in September, 1999, with financial support from the International Cultural Relations Bureau, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.
Comparing Canada, the US, the UK, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland, Sweden, Australia and Japan, this report analyzes the relationships between international education policies and programs and economic performance.
Turning Skills into Profit: Economic Benefits of Workplace Education Programs (July 1999) - Free Download
The Conference Board (comprising The Conference Board of Canada and The Conference Board, Inc.) completed a research project on the economic benefits of improving literacy skills through workplace education programs with financial support from the Office of Vocational and Adult Education, U.S. Department of Education.
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