Budget Creates Flexibility and Opportunity for Canadians Seeking New Skills, Education and Jobs.
March 22nd, 2017 (OTTAWA) – Career development professionals from across Canada are applauding the federal government’s agenda for increasing labour market participation. The 2017 Federal Budget, tabled today in Ottawa by Minister Morneau took important steps to invest in labour force participation for underrepresented groups, especially youth, women, indigenous populations and veterans. While the government did not commit to a national school-to-work transition strategy, many of the measures in this budget will make career transitions easier, by allowing more people to access retraining and upskilling programs without losing other benefits. The Canadian Council for Career Development is especially pleased that our recommendation to enhance programming for underrepresented groups to gain employment in a changing economy were taken seriously with significant investments.
“This budget will make more resources available for Canadians to train or retrain in response to changing labour market demands,” said Sareena Hopkins, Executive Officer of the Canadian Council for Career Development (CCCD). “Career development professionals know the challenges people face when deciding whether to retrain for a new job and this budget will mitigate many of those barriers.”
In its pre-budget submission, CCCD recommended that the federal government take strategic measures like developing a national workforce development framework to promote community-oriented career development, and to support comprehensive labour market information to inform better career decisions by Canadians across their employment journey. While these initiatives remain in a development stage, CCCD is very pleased by investments in federal programming to support individuals in underrepresented groups including youth, indigenous peoples, women and veterans to access employment and make successful transitions. Support for work-integrated learning opportunities at the postsecondary level was also proposed by CCCD, particularly measures that would give Canadian youth more direct labour market exposure and experience.
“Career management professionals bridge the gaps between the supply and demand sides of the labour market,” said Mark Franklin, President & Practice Leader of CareerCycles. “Measures presented in this budget will make it easier for us to connect people who need supports with the right education and training to get employment and manage their careers for the future.”
Over the coming months CCCD looks forward to contributing its expertise and support to the government as its proposal for a new skills development and measurement program advances. We trust that partners from across the career development sector will be engaged to ensure that people are able to respond quickly to the rapidly accelerating changes being faced in our dynamic and evolving job market.
The Canadian Council for Career Development (3CD) is a self-initiated and self-funded umbrella group for Career Development associations and related partner groups from across Canada. It promotes a national advocacy voice for the Career Development profession and provides a vehicle for international outreach and engagement of the Career Development field. 3CD supports provincial/territorial collaboration on common issues including (but not limited to) policy, research, certification, training, practitioner mobility and building the Career Development evidence base.