No. H018/04 For release April 22, 2004 OTTAWA - Transport Canada is seeking input from transportation sector councils and industry associations to address the challenges and opportunities related to skills development in the transportation sector. The Honourable Jim Karygiannis, P.C., M.P., Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport, is holding an industry discussion table on skills development in the transportation sector in Ottawa today. ¿World class, sustainable transportation systems, such as Canada's, require the vision and energy of an innovative transportation sector, driven by a highly skilled workforce,¿ said Mr. Karygiannis. ¿These discussions will provide the Government of Canada with an opportunity to work with stakeholders and academia in order to attract the best and the brightest Canadians to pursue careers in this field.¿ Representatives from the Air Transport Association of Canada, Alberta On-line Consortium, Association of Canadian Community Colleges, British Columbia Institute of Technology, Canadian Aviation Maintenance Council, Canadian Shipowners Association, Canadian Trucking Alliance, Canadian Trucking Human Resources Council, Canadian Urban Transit Association, Centre for Transportation Engineering and Planning, Memorial University Marine Institute, Motor Carrier Passenger Council of Canada, National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation, Railway Association of Canada, and the University of Calgary will attend. The discussions will focus on creating a short-list of challenges in the area of skills development; identifying concrete and attainable steps to collectively address these issues; identifying and expanding existing initiatives to improve the profile of transportation as a career of choice; and exploring new initiatives to meet identified skills development needs. Following the discussions, Transport Canada will work with provincial authorities to address items raised during the discussions. Contact: Christina Van Loon Office of the Minister, Ottawa (613) 991-0700 Brian McGregor Transport Canada Communications, Ottawa (613) 993-0055 Transport Canada is online at www.tc.gc.ca. Subscribe to news releases and speeches at apps.tc.gc.ca/listserv/ and keep up-to-date on the latest from Transport Canada. This news release may be made available in alternative formats for persons with visual disabilities.
