Thank you. I'll try to hold this to seven minutes.
Good morning, and thank you for this opportunity to represent the Employability/Training Alliance, made up of workforce development intermediaries, agencies, and organizations across Canada providing employment, training, and other workforce development services. We are grateful for the chance to comment on the renewal of the LMDAs.
Our recommendations fall into four areas. The first is for a partnership approach. Labour market and workforce development programs are most effective, as you just heard, delivered in partnership with key stakeholders, especially those delivered jointly with labour and management or industry. Government, business, labour, and non-profit workforce intermediaries play key roles in designing and delivering skills training through sectoral training funds, apprenticeship programs, and LMA, CJG, or LMDA programs.
We recommend that the federal government, provinces, and territories establish a network of labour market partners fora or workforce development boards, similar to the Quebec model or the workforce investment boards in the U.S., with multipartite governance overseeing design and delivery of programs that are locally appropriate and responsive to the needs of industry and community. Then all skills training and upgrading would be done through a workforce development lens, integrated into local initiatives as part of a pan-Canadian labour market strategy, giving employers incentive to invest in training for their incumbent and potential workers. Strategic workforce development combines economic development with social development, creating greater prosperity for employers, workers, and their communities.
The second recommendation is for more access. We would like to see more flexibility regarding the use and application of the LMDA funds. Programs offered through the LMDA are effective in reattaching workers to the labour force, but too few workers are accessing these supports. Twenty years ago 84% of workers were eligible for EI. Today that is 30% or less. A single entrance requirement across Canada would ensure that all Canadians have access to the same programs, with local needs and responsiveness built in.
As well, we would like you to consider opening up the EI Act to allow for flexibility beyond the narrow prescription of EBSMs. People need programming that ranges from literacy and numeracy to sector-specific language training. Canadians deserve a continuum of services to support their labour force entry or re-entry.
Recommendation three is for more money. We recommend changing the EI Act to extend part I income benefits over the full duration of LMDA-supported training programs. According to the OECD, the Martin Prosperity Institute, and the Canadian Council of Chief Executives, Canada is low on the list of countries providing public and private expenditures on training. Expanding eligibility and funding for LMDA programs would not increase costs to government, as these programs are funded solely by employee-employer contributions to the EI fund, which actually doesn’t use the full allocation for programs—up to $4.4 billion.
Section 78 of the EI Act states that 0.8% of total insurable earnings can be expended on these programs, and only $2 billion is currently used. Part of the existing surplus could be allocated to expand eligibility requirements and the length of training or education, or you might create a new skills training program, a Canada skills grant, using the work-sharing model to allow skills sharing in which employed workers are retrained or upskilled. The employer continues paying wages and the employee in training receives supplementary EI benefits. Training would lead to a recognized certificate or credential, ensuring that new skills are portable and transferable. You could subsidize moving costs to allow greater mobility for work.
According to John Manley of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives, “What Canada needs now is a comprehensive strategy to better align education and training with the skills employers need.” Increasing funding for LMDAs will create and sustain a pan-Canadian labour market strategy.
The fourth recommendation is for labour market information. I know you've talked about labour market information, so I'll just underline the importance of a comprehensive, coherent approach to labour market information that makes it useful, understandable, and interpretable for job seekers as well as analysts and researchers. We think Statistics Canada should be given this mandate.
Thank you again for the opportunity to speak to you this morning. I look forward to your comments and questions.