CCL Home > Reports & Data > Post-secondary Education > PSE 2008-2009
There is a standard caution made by financial advisors that past performance does not predict future returns. This same advice should also be applied to post-secondary education (PSE) in Canada.
For several generations we have benefitted from a fine cadre of PSE institutions and faculty, and have had one of the highest rates of participation in the world. But this does not guarantee future success in a world where PSE’s reach is increasing dramatically.
Successful societies deliberately and coherently set the conditions for the future they desire. They do not rest on their laurels, or assume that past achievement will ensure future success. Clerk of the Privy Council Kevin Lynch implies this in the title of his 2006 Policy Options article, “Canada’s success is no accident, and it isn’t a given,” in which he argues for the importance of education and training.
Retaining a leading position in PSE requires national direction that is supported by strong information systems to guide decision-making. Through its annual reports on PSE—of which Meeting our Needs? is the third—the Canadian Council on Learning (CCL) provides a comprehensive analysis of the state of PSE in Canada, including the sector’s ability to respond to the country’s social and economic objectives, today and in the future.
Our purpose is not to issue a report card that ranks individual institutions or makes province-by-province comparisons. Nor is it our intent to point fingers or assign blame for any weaknesses or failings. Rather, these reports assess the progress and performance of Canada’s PSE sector over time, presenting its areas of strength and those where it is vulnerable—all in the context of emerging new models of PSE, such as polytechnics. They also describe how Canada is doing in comparison to other countries. In short, our annual reports on PSE are meant to illuminate the important contributions that post-secondary education makes to our country and to identify issues requiring attention.
What does the 2008–2009 report tell us about post-secondary education and its capacity to respond to Canada’s social and economic objectives?
On the surface, the story appears positive. The proportion of the working-age population (ages 25 to 64) with PSE qualifications now exceeds 60% (among Canadians aged 25 to 34, that figure rises to 66%), placing Canada well above the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) average. Equally encouraging is research indicating that more than eight out of 10 Canadian youth expect to pursue post-secondary studies. However, dig deeper and it becomes apparent that Canada’s education advantage is not equally shared across our population. Furthermore, there is no long-term strategy to ensure that educational requirements can be met, whether for individuals or the country.
Post-secondary Education in Canada: Meeting our Needs? reveals numerous areas of concern regarding PSE. For example, parents have some unrealistic expectations about the financing of their children’s PSE, compared to the realities experienced by college and university students. Also, little is known about why students choose a particular PSE program or a particular subject to study, decisions that have a direct impact on the skill sets available in the workforce. Over the last two decades, university enrolment in Canada increased at three times the rate of increases in full-time faculty. While we boast the highest PSE attainment of any OECD country (in terms of working-age population), in 2006 Canada ranked 20 out of 30 countries in its proportion of science and engineering graduates. And Canada lacks a thorough approach to quality assurance that would ensure future generations the high standards of education in place today for university, college and apprenticeship programs.
We must not allow the current economic context to obscure the fact that labour and skill shortages exist in numerous occupations and sectors today, and that demographic projections continue to predict labour shortages in the future.
In 2008, the OECD released a sweeping study, Tertiary Education for the Knowledge Society, based on in-depth reviews of the PSE sector in 24 countries. In its summary, the OECD states: “A first priority for countries should be to develop a comprehensive and coherent vision for the future of tertiary education, to guide policy development … in harmony with national social and economic objectives.”
In light of the findings of this report, can we assert that Canada is fulfilling that “first priority?”
A coherent vision is not an abstract concept. It requires that we create and share a sound base of information for decision-making. That is why CCL’s 2007 report put forward a comprehensive data strategy for PSE. CCL identified the types of information that learners need to help make the best decisions to shape their careers and lives. We outlined how sound evidence about higher education and training would benefit employers, workers, institutions, governments, educators and parents—ask any parent trying to help a teenager considering study and career prospects in a bewildering array of facts and figures.
Adequate and coherent information is especially critical in tempestuous economic times. We cannot afford, through dearth of transparent information and analysis, to have people without jobs and jobs without people. Investments in “human infrastructure”—building our talent—can offer even more powerful and lasting benefits than investments in roads, buildings and equipment.
The members of the European Union (EU), for example, have set detailed objectives for education and training. Public annual reports chart the progress of the EU as a whole, as well as of each member country. These reports enable countries to learn from examples of strength and to address areas of weakness. Even though the EU is not a country, Europe’s member states have undertaken co-ordinated and convergent assessment and planning for PSE.
Is Canada reinforcing and building upon its strong foundation in order to meet its future needs in training and post-secondary education? If, like the EU, Canada can agree on indicators, targets or benchmarks for the PSE sector, this would be a vital first step toward collecting and communicating information that will:
There is no doubt that Canada has a strong and well-respected PSE sector, which includes its community colleges, universities and apprenticeship programs. Canadians also have a deep appreciation for the value of education. But these alone will not be enough to assure our place internationally, nor to fulfil tomorrow’s needs of learners and industry. As it is with individuals, businesses and the country, so it is with PSE: better information and coherent planning are critical in charting the path most likely to bring success.
A time of economic challenge reinforces the imperative to invest energy and resources in human infrastructure, in ways of assessing progress in PSE and in making joint decisions about priorities. PSE is of fundamental importance to Canadian society. As in the financial sector, only if we exercise due diligence now can we hope that future returns on our investments in PSE may be equal to past successes.
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