Thank you.
Mr. Chair, members of the committee, on behalf of the Regroupement québécois des organismes pour le développement de l'employabilité, or RQuODE, I want to say how grateful we are for the invitation to appear today and the opportunity to share our observations and recommendations with the committee.
The RQuODE is the largest employability network in Quebec. Located throughout the province, the network's 87 member organizations specialize in workforce development, providing employment services to more than 80,000 people every year. As a result, the impact we have on communities is significant, and the programs we implement have tremendous benefits for a variety of client groups.
The 2017 federal budget is an opportunity for Ottawa to take concrete steps to help Canadians fully contribute to the country's prosperity and social development.
I have three recommendations I'd like to share with you today. The first relates to accessibility and the use of labour market information. Given the rapidly evolving labour market, workers, students, employers, governments, and non-government organizations need to be able to rely on timely high-quality labour market information, particularly to make informed decisions on employment, education, and economic development.
Comprehensive, up-to-date, and easily accessible data are critical in order to train a skilled workforce able to meet the needs of employers. For that reason, we support the two recommendations put forward by the Forum of Labour Market Ministers, the creation of both a new labour market information council and a national stakeholder advisory committee.
However, much work still needs to be done to ensure that labour market information more accurately and effectively reflects local labour market needs and realities all over the country, by delivering detailed regional data on labour supply and demand. This calls for close coordination between the levels of government to limit information fragmentation across various platforms, connect the different tools, and prevent disparities.
Although labour market information may seem easier to access thanks to the Internet and new technologies, few people know where to find it or, more importantly, how to interpret it.
We therefore recommend promoting greater use of labour market information by working with the provinces and territories to improve data quality, availability, accessibility, and outreach.
Our second recommendation addresses services for client groups who are under-represented in the workforce, including youth, aboriginals, and immigrants.
As you know, labour market policy is a responsibility the federal government shares with the provinces and territories, pursuant to labour market and labour market development agreements with each province and territory.
With the exception of Quebec, the labour market agreements with the provinces and territories were replaced in 2014 by the Canada Job Fund, which is designed to strengthen private sector involvement in workforce training and skills development.
Despite having a commendable goal, the Canada Job Fund significantly reduces funding for employability programs that help vulnerable Canadians who are unemployed, given that it allocates 70% of the budget meant to support individuals who are not eligible for employment insurance benefits to employee training.
Although Quebec was able to keep the funding under its labour market agreement thanks to the unique way its employment partnership is structured, the fact that funding is being redirected to employed individuals is concerning on many levels. It is especially worrisome when it comes to the continuation of provincial measures for groups that are under-represented in the workforce, which I listed earlier.
It therefore seems necessary to incorporate greater flexibility into the agreements between Ottawa and the provinces and territories. This would ensure that training and employability programs managed by the provinces and territories could meet local labour market needs and allow for the introduction and sustainability of meaningful initiatives aimed at all groups, particularly those most vulnerable.
With that in mind, we recommend that the government guarantee access to employability and career development services to all vulnerable individuals through more flexible measures and transfer agreements.
Our third and final recommendation concerns the lack of an overall career development policy, both nationwide and in most provinces and territories.
The disparity between people's skills and labour market needs has serious repercussions: a loss of productivity, the squandering of human capital, health problems, and high social service costs. In that sense, an approach that includes all Canadians and promotes the development of their full potential is crucial to the country's sustainable economic growth and social cohesion. A career development framework needs to be established.
Without a coordinated strategy, it will be difficult to take proactive, deliberate, and sustained action to meet the career development needs of the population over the long term.
Consider that less than 20% of Canadians follow a linear career path. That means the need to build a mobile and dynamic workforce is undeniable.
We recommend that, through the Forum of Labour Market Ministers, the government develop a national career development framework, while giving the provinces and territories enough independence to adapt and deploy measures and strategies.
Thank you for listening.