Thank you, Doug.
If you look at the price of oil today, at $58 a barrel, twelve years ago you would have thought it had reached a high. So don't be dismayed by the price of oil or the price of gas. A lot of the projects here in Fort McMurray, and I'm hoping you get to visit them, are fifteen and twenty years in terms of their timeframe, and the skills shortage is a number one priority both here in the province and in Canada.
One of the things we would like to see the federal government do is look at education and training of Canadians. It must be a funding priority at all levels in government, including the federal government. Investment in colleges and technical institutes provides a very quick return, as qualified, skilled graduates are able to enter the workforce as soon as two years after enrolment. In terms of apprenticeship, you must be already working to take advantage of that.
Our institutions educate and train the knowledgeable and efficient workers of Alberta, achieving a 94.4% employment rate among graduates. AACTI has been working with business and industry to ensure that we do have some strategies around looking at the skills shortage, and looking as well at designating applied research and innovation in terms of some of the issues we face.
On investment in innovation and capacity, again, we have been underrepresented in terms of federal funding for research. I urge the federal government to invest in colleges and technical institutes in terms of applied research.
In terms of the opportunities, they are vast; I would mention the word “sea” in terms of applied research and commercialization. Again, I think colleges and technical institutes are well positioned for that.
Certainly the return on investment in colleges and technical institutes is quite high. From our studies, it's 16.4%. In fact, for every graduate and their future earnings, for every dollar invested there will be $3.76 as a return. In terms of saving on health and criminal justice and so forth, we've estimated that here in the province alone it's $56.3 million.
Again, we would urge you to continue the good work you've done in terms of apprenticeship but also in terms of the infrastructure fund you've established.
In summary, we would like to suggest that you make that strategic investment in colleges and technical institutes to talk about the skills shortage, to talk about applied research, and certainly to invest in the future of Canada.
Thank you.