In addition to the use of EI for training, I think it's extremely important in Canada that we have a real commitment to upgrading skills at the pan-Canadian level.
There are programs in Canada, in the province of Quebec, for example. There are different fiscal measures and other measures in other countries that are designed to try to increase the amount of training that is provided to workers in the workforce. I think it would be extremely useful if this committee could look at that range of policies.
They're not only fiscal policies. There are programs in the U.K., for example, that assist employers in providing better training, as well as more training. Those are very important.
In terms of what we call the youth-to-school transition, you're absolutely right that the longer it takes for students to get into the workforce, the more they lose their skills. They lose all of their skills, and this is very serious.
I think we have to put a great deal of emphasis on helping young people get into the workforce, working with some of those very valuable older workers you were referring to in order to learn from their skills, and the transition will be easier. We can do it through collaborative arrangements between the school system and employers so that students know at a very early age what the possibilities are and can make the transition more smoothly.
It seems to me we need a pan-Canadian commitment to lifelong learning that does not stop after people come out of grades K to 12 or the post-secondary system; we need it throughout life.