Canadian Council on Learning | Conseil Canadien sur l'Apprentissage

Workers take training to become more effective, not for more money, survey finds

Oct. 10, 2006 Ottawa—The No. 1 reason Canadians report taking work-related training as adults is to perform more effectively in their current jobs, according to a new large-scale survey released today by the Canadian Council on Learning.

That’s one of many findings in the first edition of the Survey of Canadian Attitudes toward Learning—a yearly barometer of opinions, perceptions and beliefs about lifelong learning in Canada.

Key Findings on Work-related Adult Learning

• Canadians are far more likely to participate in work-related training and become lifelong learners if they had positive learning experiences early in their lives.
• A vast majority of Canadians (92%) see a strong relationship between education and success in life, although it is a stronger link for those who have taken work-related training in the past year.
• More than twice as many Canadians report taking work-related training to perform more effectively in their current jobs (69%) than they do to earn more money (32%) or get a better job (31%).

“That Canadians want to improve in their current jobs, as well as make more money or get a better job, is an important signal for employers,” says Paul Cappon, president and CEO of the Canadian Council on Learning. “It suggests that Canadians feel work-related training not only improves workplace productivity, but also helps them to manage one of the most precious aspects of their lives—time.”

The Survey of Canadian Attitudes toward Learning (SCAL) asked 5,266 Canadians about four aspects of learning throughout the lifespan: early childhood learning; health-related learning; structured learning (elementary, secondary and post-secondary); and work-related adult learning.

The survey was designed by the Canadian Council on Learning in consultation with Statistics Canada, and was also administered by the statistical agency. Results are based on telephone interviews conducted between April 25 and May 20, 2006.

For more information, please visit www.ccl-cca.ca/scal.

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The Canadian Council on Learning is an independent, not-for-profit corporation funded through an agreement with Human Resources and Social Development Canada. Its mandate is to promote and support evidence-based decisions about learning throughout all stages of life, from early childhood through to the senior years.

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