Committee For Human Resources Development

Strategies & Action Items (Interim Report)
December 18, 2002

Mission:

"Foster a results orientated partnership among Government, Education, Industry and Labour to address the current and future human resource requirements of the automotive industry in Canada".

Objectives:

1. Increase the availability and enhance the capabilities and credentials of technically qualified people in Canada;
2. Promote and enhance the image and awareness of automotive career opportunities to parents, students and educators;
3. Create the necessary balance between applied and academic learning opportunities in the education system and workplace.
4. Encourage increased investment in the education & training of the existing automotive workforce.

= Short Term     = Long Term

STRATEGY (ordered in priority sequence) ACTION STATEMENTS 1. Increase and enhance apprenticeship training programs and formalize apprenticeship-to-degree pathways. Inventory of current programs, products and opportunities Establish partnership with existing organizations (ie. Canadian Apprenticeship Forum, Skills Canada) Best practices (ie. OYAP and similar programs) Develop strategies to retain apprentices during economic downturns Uncover and eliminate obstacles to apprenticeship-to-degree programs Establish pathway between current automotive focussed institutions (SSI Fund - Ontario) Enable and encourage industry to increase apprenticeship opportunities 2. Incentives and tax credits to promote technical education and work experience. Establish government funding for critical juncture investments in human resources (ie. fuel cells and flexible manufacturing) Develop a public-private investment model for automotive apprenticeship training programs Provide differential funding for true co-op programs at all levels of education according to participation rate 3. Upgrading education and training programs in the workplace. Establish an Automotive Sector Council Establish sustainable automotive workplace training programs including finance mechanism Establish transferable skills recognition Benchmark best practices of current national training programs and deploy in automotive 4. Accreditation and retention of highly qualified technical teachers. Cooperation between the Teachers Federations, the Ontario College of Teachers and Industry Teacher training programs, wage structure, diversity of teachers Upgrade professional development for teachers and improve technical facilities and equipment in schools. Create greater flexibility in certification process for technical educators (ie. Queen's summer school option) Develop a pilot program involving retired skilled workers to teach technology programs at high schools and colleges 5. Marketing of technical education and automotive careers. Inventory and review existing programs & products Best practice and successes (ie. OYAP, Bridges) Develop an automotive manufacturing specific career resource tool Promote math, science and technology in elementary school using industry based resource kits (ie. SAE - World in Motion) Develop a career resource kit to change the view of influencers (parents and guidance counsellors) Partner with other non-governmental organizations (ie. Skills Canada, Industry Education Councils, Training Boards, Business Education Councils) to promote automotive careers 6. Increase co-operative education opportunities and provide funding and support at all levels. Create funding differential between true co-op, internship, and non co-op curriculums Create more incentive for companies to develop permanent co-op student positions in the workplace Encourage industry to increase co-op/non co-op educated salary differentiation Create a sustainable national school-to-automotive industry field trip program Establish formal experience/exposure programs for "teachers-to-industry" 7. Mandatory high school applied technology curriculum for graduation. Stop and reverse the decay of hands-on technical training in high schools Encourage & create differential funding for traditional high school shops Encourage high schools to include tech courses in core curriculum. Encourage post secondary institutions to make technology courses a prerequisite for entrance 8. Modify immigration criteria to attract technically qualified people. Pursue APMA recommendations to expand the number of occupations included in the Temporary Foreign Workers agreement Revise immigration legislation policy to target technically qualified workers 9. Increase importance of employability, work skills and attitudes in the curriculum. Review effectiveness of current life skills & career courses Expand co-op education programs in high schools and post secondary institutions Work goes to school day - recent grads and orientation day Involve technology teachers in grade 10 career studies course