The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) estimated that approximately 9% of current jobs within OECD member states are threatened with automation and digitalization--all significant successes and advances in artificial intelligence, robotics, and computer science. With such global changes and forecasts, in the labor…

The apprenticeship training system in British Columbia (BC) includes public post-secondary institutions, the Industry Training Authority (ITA), private training institutions, and employers. Currently, apprenticeship training is available in more than 100 trades, including 49 Interprovincial Red Seal trades. The majority of apprenticeship training…

Studies show teaching assistants (TAs) can positively influence the learning environment by increasing student comprehension and retention and impacting students' choices of academic and career paths. However, use of TAs in higher education is not universal. Following a fruitful panel discussion at the 2017 HAPS Conference, we conducted a survey…

This project is focused on the second element noted by the Australian Industry Skills Committee (AISC) to streamline the national vocational education and training (VET) system so that it can better respond to the needs of industry -- faster development of qualifications. It looks at the vocational qualification development processes in different…

Since 2011, the government of British Columbia (BC) has focused on building the Canadian province's economy through the development of a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) sector. In service of this endeavour, the government launched the "Skills for Jobs Blueprint," which attempts to more clearly align BC's education system with resource…

The Annual Service Plan Report is designed to meet the requirements of the "Budget Transparency and Accountability Act" (BTAA), which sets out the legislative framework for planning, reporting and accountability for Government organizations. Under the BTAA, the Minister is required to report on the actual results of the ministry's…

"Youth" remains a symbolic source of investment in society at large: both perceived as a social problem in need of remediation, and seen as a potential source of social change, leading generational renewal. Contemporary youth culture literature is often still bifurcated between analyses of the ways that young people are disempowered by…

Realising the potential of work-based learning schemes as a driver of productivity requires careful design and support. The length of work-based learning schemes should be adapted to the profile of productivity gains. A scheme that is too long for a given skill set might be unattractive for learners and waste public resources, but a scheme that is…

The collapse of the global economy in 2008 had a devastating impact on manufacturing and other sectors across Canada. Displaced workers were unprepared for the demands of the new knowledge-based economy and found that they required retraining to secure employment in modern, highly technical workplaces. In Ontario, the introduction of the Second…

In the current post-Fordist, neoliberal Canadian state, the concept of the 'enterprising self' has come to define worker-subjectivity and ability to access the labour market. The discourse of entrepreneurialism promotes individual initiatives and resources as the most useful qualities necessary to be successful in the neoliberal labour market.…

This paper calls for a reexamination of the kind of transferable business communication skills that new graduates require as they enter the workforce. Market needs are studied as the focal point for developing relevant exercises to train towards workplace communication competence. The arguments presented in this study are based on an investigation…

Adults tend to lose their information-processing skills as they age, especially if they do not use them. While older adults may compensate for this loss by developing other valuable skills, the importance of being proficient in information-processing skills in determining wages and employment does not diminish as workers age. Probably the most…

National and international statistics show that across disciplines there are many more PhD graduates than academic positions. In fact, more than half of graduates find their careers outside the academy--though the kinds of positions they accept, their work satisfaction, and the relevance of their PhDs is much less clear. As regards scholarly…

The 2016 Apprenticeship Student Outcomes (APPSO) Survey is the twelfth annual survey of former apprenticeship students. Former students who completed their apprenticeship training at a B.C. post-secondary institution between July 1, 2014 and June 30, 2015 were eligible for this survey. These former students were surveyed by telephone and online…

The Skills for Jobs White Paper and funding and accountability consultation set out the Government's plans to introduce a greater focus on the outcomes of learning, including a new Skills Measure that looks at the employment and other outcomes that learners achieve. Will this give colleges and providers greater freedom to deliver for learners, or…