Thank you, Chair.
Thank you, members of the committee, for the invitation to join you this year.
Canada's 130 colleges, institutes of technology, polytechnics, and CEGEPs have campuses in 1,000 Canadian communities. I know many of your ridings have college campuses. We serve 1.5 million learners. The principal attributes of these institutions include sky-high levels of student and employer satisfaction, intimate links with industry, employment placement rates ranging from 85% to 95% within six months of graduation, and educational programs that respond to local economic opportunities. About 20% of college learners have a university background or university degree.
I will speak to measures to address the acute skill shortages pervasive in all sectors of the economy and the contribution of college and small and medium enterprise partnerships to address Canada's innovation ecosystem and productivity needs.
In successive hearings of this committee we have talked about the looming skills deficit. I am happy to report today—or perhaps I am unhappy to report today—that the private sector has come on board this theme very strongly. Both the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and the Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters have said that attracting and retaining qualified employees is the most significant challenge jeopardizing economic growth.
Unless aggressive measures are adopted soon, within 10 years employers will not find qualified candidates for about 1.5 million positions that will be available in our economy. Now 70% of new jobs require a post-secondary credential. Within a decade we foresee that this will be 80%. Our post-secondary achievement rate is 60% in Canada.
Immigration will make a difference, but only a small difference. The real solution is to enhance the capacities of our current population. I want to be very clear on this point. We already have the people we need to replace the baby boomers. They are here, but these people do not have the skill sets that employers require.
We urge the Government of Canada to collaborate with other governments, civil society organizations, and educational institutions toward the goal of equipping every Canadian with the skills necessary to participate in our economy. We have come a great distance here, but we are far short of realizing the vision.
There are many remedies. For example, there are 906,000 people between the ages of 15 and 29 who are neither employed nor in education, and who are obviously at risk of social exclusion. This is the NEET generation. Unless we foster opportunities for disengaged youth, the social costs will be enormous. We should increase access to essential skills and education for employment, which is what colleges do.
The educational gap between aboriginal and non-aboriginal Canadians is vast. Balanced investments in K to 12 and post-secondary education are needed. We made a good start in the 2012 budget. We are very happy about that, but we have some considerable distance to go. We do need to sort out the long-standing impasse surrounding the aboriginal post-secondary student support program.
Immigrants confront barriers to labour market integration, obviously. Their employment outcomes improve through overseas orientation services, occupation-specific language training, and bridge-to-work programs offered at colleges.
Canadian employers report that trades professions are the most difficult to fill, yet apprenticeship completion rates lag compared to registrations. Apprentices would benefit from improved tax credits and interjurisdictional mobility. Despite much self-congratulation about removing barriers for the disabled, the participation of this large sector in the economy falls far short of other groups. We should incentivize employers to engage the disabled through the tax system.