Colleges support Jobs and Prosperity Council’s focus on career training
The Ontario Jobs and Prosperity Council has made a number of important recommendations to ensure more people get access to career-specific post-secondary education and training, Ontario’s colleges said today.
“People must have the qualifications and skills to succeed in the workplace,” said Linda Franklin, president and CEO of Colleges Ontario. “The Jobs and Prosperity Council’s recommendations to promote the skilled trades and bolster career training are important to Ontario’s efforts to strengthen the economy.”
Ontario’s colleges have also called for measures to help more people get access to career-specific education and training. In a recent submission to the province, called Empowering Ontario, the colleges called for reforms such as measures to allow more students to get a combination of both college and university education.
Franklin said the colleges endorse the recommendations to better align the overall education system with the demands of the economy, including the need to better promote the skilled trades. Colleges were also pleased to see recommendations endorsing more applied-research partnerships between colleges and businesses. Applied research leads to innovations that help businesses grow and create more jobs.
“Producing a highly qualified workforce is essential to Ontario’s efforts to strengthen the economy,” Franklin said. “The Ontario government must ensure career-specific education is a priority.”
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For more information:
Karen Horsman
Manager, Media Relations and Communications
Colleges Ontario
647-258-7686
horsman@collegesontario.org