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October 18, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
05-68
OTTAWA, ONTARIO - Belinda Stronach, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and Minister responsible for Democratic Renewal, today announced the creation of the Workplace Partners Panel (WPP) to promote skills development within industry in Canada. The WPP is one of the early initiatives under the Government of Canada's Workplace Skills Strategy (WSS) designed to ensure that Canada possesses the skilled labour force needed to succeed in the 21st century.
"Partnerships are so important if we are to be successful in building a labour force that meets the needs of the future," said Minister Stronach. "Governments, business, labour organizations, academia and other stakeholders need to collectively address the many challenges we are facing in today's labour market. The Workplace Partners Panel is a wonderful example of partnership: it will bring together these groups to help facilitate a new dialogue among workplace partners across the country on skills development and labour market issues."
"To meet Canada's labour market and skills challenges, we need a more constructive and collaborative approach that involves all levels of government, educators and certainly, business and labour," said Ken Georgetti, President of the Canadian Labour Congress and national co-chair of the Workplace Partners Panel.
"The Workplace Partners Panel will sponsor regional task forces, bring together stakeholders and ensure workforce strategies are developed that respect regional economic and demographic circumstances across the country," said the Honourable Perrin Beatty, national co-chair of the WPP.
The WPP will be an arm's-length body comprised of leaders from business, labour and education. It will foster awareness and leverage increased commitments to skills development by industry partners. It will also increase the focus on workplace skills issues and improve approaches and "best practices" toward skills development.
Today's announcement is part of the Government of Canada's $125 Million Workplace Skills Strategy (WSS), which includes the Workplace Partners Panel, Trades and Apprenticeship and the Workplace Skills Initiative. The WSS builds upon investments in the Training Centre Infrastructure Fund, the Sector Council Program and the Foreign Credential Recognition program.
The WSS aims to contribute to a labour market that is flexible and efficient, ensure that the needs of employers and employed Canadians are met and help Canadians be the best-trained, most highly skilled workers in the world.
The Government of Canada is initiating and facilitating a new approach to skills development in Canada and other groups have an important role to play. Partnerships are key and the Government of Canada will continue working closely with other levels of government, as well as with business, unions, sector councils, employer and employee associations, chambers of commerce, local economic development organizations, non-governmental organizations, educational institutions, and other partners so that Canadian workers have every opportunity to develop their skills and succeed.
Funding for this initiative was provided for in the February 2005 federal Budget and is therefore built into the existing fiscal framework.
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Please see the attached backgrounder for more information on the Workplace Partners Panel.
For further information (media only):
Media Relations Office
Human Resources and Skills Development Canada
(819) 994-5559
BACKGROUNDER
Workplace Skills Strategy: Workplace Partners Panel
The Government of Canada has developed the Workplace Skills Strategy (WSS) to build a labour market that is flexible and efficient; to help Canadians be the best-trained, most highly skilled workers in the world; and to respond to the needs of employers to make Canadian workplaces more productive and innovative.
To build on these objectives, and to build momentum and strengthen partnerships with workplace stakeholders, the first phase of the WSS is focusing on three new key initiatives:
the Workplace Skills Initiative;
the National Trades and Apprenticeship Strategy; and
the Workplace Partners Panel.
The Workplace Partners Panel
The Workplace Partners Panel (WPP) will facilitate a new, industry-led dialogue on labour market and skills issues, and ensure that business and labour, as well as regional and sectoral perspectives, contribute to the workplace skills agenda.
The WPP will be an arm's-length body comprising leaders from business and labour. It will foster awareness, build a sense of ownership of the skills agenda and leverage increased commitments to skills development by industry partners. This approach is designed to increase focus on workplace skills issues, and improve approaches and attitudes toward skills development practices.
The WPP will create regional issue task forces that ensure that perspectives and ideas reflect local economic and demographic circumstances. Each WPP task force will be co-chaired by a senior business and labour leader, and will draw on the experience of other business and labour leaders, educators, community groups and representatives of all levels of government.
The national co-chairs of the WPP will be the Honourable Perrin Beatty, President and CEO of Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters; and Ken Georgetti, President of the Canadian Labour Congress.
For further information regarding the WPP, please go to www.hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca.
BACKGROUNDER
Workplace Skills Strategy: Overview
The Canadian economy is being transformed by global, technological and demographic shifts, each of which is having a profound impact on the country's economy and, more directly, on the skills of our labour force.
In a knowledge-based economy, the Government of Canada has an important role to play in strengthening the skills of Canadian workers. Economic growth and competitiveness in the 21st century will require a skilled work force.
Canada needs workplaces where workers use their skills, knowledge and abilities to produce high value products and services. By enabling the success of Canadian businesses in the global economy, the Government is working to promote a high quality of life for all Canadians.
Goals of the Workplace Skills Strategy
The Government of Canada has developed the Workplace Skills Strategy (WSS) to build a labour market that is flexible and efficient; to help Canadians be the best trained, most highly skilled workers in the world; and to respond to the needs of employers to make Canadian workplaces more productive and innovative.
To advance these objectives, the Workplace Skills Strategy focuses on three priority areas for action:
promoting workplace skills investment;
promoting skills recognition and utilization; and
promoting partnerships, networks and information.
Partnerships and consultations
While the Government has a role in initiating and facilitating a new approach to skills development in Canada, other groups have an equally important role to play. Partnerships are therefore key, and the Government will work closely with other levels of government-as well as with business, unions, sector councils, employer and employee associations, chambers of commerce, local economic development organizations, non-government organizations, workers and other partners-so that all Canadians have the opportunity to develop their skills and succeed.
To help promote awareness and understanding of workplace skills issues among its partners, the Government has been holding consultations across Canada. To date, it has completed informal consultations to identify current and emerging workplace skills issues and trends and to define objectives, priorities and potential initiatives for the WSS. Following these consultations, the Government met with a wider group of stakeholders to test the proposed objectives, priorities and initiatives established in the first round. The results of these discussions helped the Government to adjust the WSS framework to ensure that it reflects the objectives of all partners; ensure that the Government's initiatives meet actual needs; and establish a starting point for building relationships.
The next round of consultations will involve meeting with a wide range of stakeholders to discuss ways they can help deliver programs for the WSS initiative and to determine longer term needs.
Implementing the WSS
The WSS is a long-term strategy to be implemented in phases.
Phase 1
To build momentum and strengthen partnerships with workplace stakeholders, the Government will invest $125 million to implement three early initiatives of the WSS.
1) Workplace Skills Initiative
The WSI will support partnership-based projects that improve the human resources (HR) practices and capacity of businesses, with particular emphasis on small- to medium-sized enterprises. It will support the strengthening of links among business, labour and education to foster the development of skills programs that address industry-defined needs. The WSI will also support innovative activities to enhance skills laddering, up-skilling and re-skilling, in addition to the exchange of ideas, approaches and techniques that strengthen, encourage and promote good HR management activities.
2) Workplace Partners Panel
The Workplace Partners Panel (WPP) will facilitate a new, industry-led dialogue on labour market and skills issues and ensure that business and labour as well as regional and sectoral perspectives contribute to the workplace skills agenda.
The WPP will be an arm's-length body comprising leaders from business and labour. It will foster awareness, build a sense of ownership around the skills agenda and leverage increased commitments to skills development by industry partners, increasing focus on workplace skills issues and improving approaches and attitudes toward skills development practices.
3) Trades and Apprenticeship Strategy
While apprenticeship is a provincial/territorial responsibility, the federal government plays a central role in ensuring Canada is equipped with the qualified and mobile workforce demanded by the growing economy, and in particular the demand for skilled trades workers. Accordingly, we have brought forward a number of initiatives to attract young people to the skilled trades and support apprenticeship.
The objective of the Trades and Apprenticeship Strategy is to build on existing partnerships with provinces and territories and stakeholders, such as the Red Seal Program, to strengthen apprenticeship systems in Canada. The initiative builds on a strong foundation of federal and provincial investments in apprenticeship to ensure current systems can meet the changing needs of employers, individuals and governments.
Phase II
The Government of Canada will reinvigorate and refine existing programs to align them with WSS objectives, thus ensuring a more coordinated, coherent and holistic approach to workplace skills development in Canada. This phase will also involve developing and introducing a new generation of initiatives and instruments designed to create the conditions and incentives necessary to foster workplace skills development.
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