In my comments, I referred to the myth that exists in higher education, and it's real. There are many reports. This is not just a Canadian problem; it's an American and European problem. Individuals are underemployed there too.
Rick Miner talks about jobs without people and people without jobs. We have hundreds of thousands of employers who are looking for trained workers, yet we have hundreds of thousands of young people without the right skills. That's where we need to have a more honest conversation about how we're going to have young people understand what the purpose of higher education is.
In North America we have been debating the purpose of higher education for 400 years, since 1636, but when you speak to students and ask why they want to go to college or university, it's very clear: they want to go to gain the skills and knowledge to get a job. That's where we're falling short.
Right now up to 30% of students at Algonquin College have spent time in a university. It's good for us. I would describe many of our programs as graduate schools of the 21st century. We're getting these highly educated people coming back and needing to have skills to actually align with the workforce.
From a government point of view and the point of view of the taxpayers who underwrite most of that education, that's a multi-million-dollar issue in the country. We're having young people not only duplicate their courses, but the opportunity cost of having to do those courses over and over is a loss of human talent.
I would suggest, as I said earlier, getting to young people and having a different kind of conversation, and I would suggest from a college perspective that we continue to provide programs that are highly in line with industry sector needs.