Education and Labour Market Ministers Urge the Federal Government to Help the Provinces and Territories Meet Challenges in the Areas of Learning and Labour Market Training
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Winnipeg, October 9, 2002 - Provincial and territorial education and labour market ministers present a shared vision and immediate priorities with regard to postsecondary education and labour market training. Ministers seek to work together and with the federal government on a collaborative approach.
In a paper released today, entitled Working Together to Strengthen Learning and Labour Market Training, they describe major efforts made by the provinces and territories to enhance their postsecondary education systems and offer a full range of measures to improve labour market training and skills development. The provinces and territories have shown leadership in this area by investing significant resources in their respective systems. Examples of provincial/territorial leadership include the renewal of apprenticeship systems, the removal of barriers to mobility, and high participation rates in postsecondary education.
The paper released today is a call to the federal government to cooperate closely with the provinces and territories to adequately meet Canadians' growing postsecondary education and labour market training needs. The provinces and territories have identified four key priorities for action which could be supported by the federal government:
- Enhancing the capacity of the postsecondary education sector
- Strengthening workforce development
- Providing funding for measures to help expand Internet access and meet the needs of each province and territory in regard to on-line learning connectivity
- Encouraging the full integration of under-represented groups in the labour market
Ministers call on the federal government to support these priorities through mechanisms already in place or through alternative mechanisms agreed to bilaterally with provinces and territories.
"The provincial and territorial education and labour market ministers call for flexible federal financial support for the key priorities identified. This collaboration would allow us to improve our postsecondary education and labour market training systems to guarantee that we will have access to a skilled workforce so that we can remain competitive in the global market. It is time for action. We must work together," said the Honourable Dianne Cunningham, chair of the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC) and Ontario's Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities.
"We have transmitted our joint paper to the Honourable Jane Stewart, Minister of Human Resources Development Canada," reported the Honourable Diane McGifford, provincial-territorial co-chair of the Forum of Labour Market Ministers (FLMM) and Manitoba's Minister of Advanced Education and Training. "My colleagues and I are convinced that Minister Stewart will cooperate with us in moving forward on the key priorities we have outlined, which are of critical importance to all Canadians."
Copies of Working Together to Strengthen Learning and Labour Market Training are available on the following Web site, at http://www.cmec.ca/publications/educlabour.en.pdf [PDF document, 470 Kb]
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Contacts:
Provincial and Territorial Labour Market Ministers
(204) 945-8504
CMEC
Tel.: (416) 962-8100, ext. 241