Thank you, Madam Chair.
Welcome to all the witnesses.
This is the first session that we have with the finance committee to address the issue of youth unemployment in Canada. You've put us on a very good track going forward. Thank you.
I've only got five minutes and so I apologize in advance if I cut you off. I've only got a limited amount of time to ask questions on this important topic.
My first questions are to Mr. McGovern of the Department of Employment and Social Development.
According to the OECD report entitled OECD Skills Outlook 2013, in 2012 more than 25% of Canadian workers were in a position that required skills below their level of qualification. That places Canada among the top countries when it comes to this overqualification issue. That is, workers are working in areas where they are grossly overqualified. In particular it says that young workers are far more likely to be overqualified for the positions they occupy. The report stated that Canada is one of the OECD countries in which we see “...the largest 'waste' of human capital resulting from over-qualification....”
In light of the programs that you've discussed, can we say they are working if we are still performing this poorly by OECD standards?