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In 1967 the government of Ontario launched what was at the time a bold new era in education.
Inspired by the growing demands of our manufacturing-based economy, we spent millions of dollars on establishing two new universities and an organized system of 22 community colleges in an effort to address the need for skilled workers.
As the minister of education at the time, I recognized the vital role that post-secondary education (PSE) played in the social and economic prosperity of Ontarians. Four decades later, the need for a high-quality, well-organized PSE system is more important than ever, not just for Ontario but for the country as a whole.
According to recent studies, by 2015 nearly 70 per cent of the projected 1.7 million new jobs created in Canada will require some sort of post-secondary education, whether that means a university degree, a college diploma or a certificate from an apprenticeship program.
The growing demand for PSE credentials is a result of the expanding global marketplace that in the future will see us competing with the likes of China and India for the types of ideas and innovations that an educated, skilled and adaptable population generates. At the same time we will be experiencing a marked decline in the growth of our labour force.
We are in an era of unprecedented mobility for students, professionals and even institutions. The borderless knowledge society brings to the fore issues such as the transfer ability of credits, recognition of prior learning, research and development, and innovation that cannot be adequately addressed province by province. Such issues demand a broader national perspective, and an inclusive national plan.
We know that provincial borders often serve as barriers to labour mobility. For example, fewer than 13 per cent of trades accreditations are recognized across the country. Even within provinces, students who want to add college programs to university degrees, for example, are often unable to receive credit for this prior learning. Without any prior intent, we are unintentionally throwing up roadblocks that hurt the country as a whole.
The federal and provincial governments both play unique and important roles in PSE, but not in a co-ordinated way, despite the fact that between them they spend some $36 billion a year on the sector. The time has come for all players - governments, post-secondary institutions, the private sector and unions - to work together to forge a national framework to ensure that all the pieces of Canada's post-secondary puzzle fit together to form a cohesive whole.
Many of our global competitors have already embraced this way of thinking. Australia, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Switzerland, Germany and the United States have adopted or are developing national goals and criteria to assess the quality of their PSE sectors. These countries have acknowledged that a coherent, cohesive approach to PSE is required to secure a successful future for their citizens. It is high time we did the same.
The creation of a national information base and a national set of goals for PSE in Canada would not undermine current jurisdictional arrangements - jurisdiction should not be a barrier to planning. Achieving common goals would benefit individual provinces as well as the country as a whole.
With its second annual report on PSE in Canada, titled Strategies for Success, the Canadian Council on Learning last week offered up a blueprint for the creation of a national PSE strategy.
The first step toward such a strategy requires governments, post-secondary institutions, students, parents, business, labour and other stakeholders to work together to set national goals, and develop systems to measure progress.
Following the example of the EU, whose 27 member countries have adopted a common strategy for PSE, Canada needs to build on the promising signs of collaboration that exist within the provinces.
When we created Ontario's community college system 40 years ago, we did so with the understanding that the economy, and indeed society itself, was entering a new era. Today we are unmistakably in the grip of another socio- economic shift, this time toward a global knowledge-based economy, and the time has come for us to act.
Only by working together can we develop a post-secondary education sector that is properly positioned to impel our nation forward, both economically and socially.
A Companion of the Order of Canada, William G. Davis served as premier of Ontario from 1971 to 1985. Prior to that he served as Ontario's minister of education and minister of university affairs.
This article was first published in the Toronto Star on Dec. 17, 2007.
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