Issues in Education and Lifelong Learning: Spending, Learning Recognition, Immigrants and Visible Minorities Dr. Michael Bloom Executive Director, Strategic Projects, & Director, Education and Learning The Conference Board of Canada The Future of Lifelong Learning and Work International Conference Toronto, June 21, 2005
Economy Innovation Health A Society s Goal: A High and Sustainable Quality of Life Society Education and Skills Environment these are the fundamental underpinnings
Education Statistics Spending - time series Comparison with Health Spending Performance Outcomes education and health
Education Spending by Provinces, annual, by type ($ millions) $ 50000 40000 30000 20000 10000 Total Education Elementary and Secondary Postsecondary Education 0 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 Year 1999 2001 2003 Special Retraining Other Education
Education Spending by Provinces, annual, by type (Percentages) 80.0 % 70.0 60.0 50.0 40.0 30.0 20.0 10.0 0.0 Elementary and Secondary Education Postsecondary Education Special Retraining Services Other Education 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 Year
Education and Health Spending by Provinces, annual ($ millions) 250000 200000 $ 150000 100000 50000 Total Expenditures Health Education 0 1989 1991 1993 1995 Year 1997 1999 2001 2003
Education and Health Spending as Share of Total Provincial Spending, annual (per cent) 35.0 30.0 25.0 20.0 % 15.0 10.0 5.0 0.0 Health Share of Total Expenditures Education Share of Total Expenditures 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 Year
Canada s Socio-economic and Environmental Performance, by Category (number of gold-, silver-, and bronze-level rankings) Canada s overall Categories performance level Gold Silver Bronze Economy 6th 3 5 4 Innovation 4th 5 6 6 Environment 9th 9 7 8 Education and Skills 4th 7 5 5 Health 8th 6 10 8 Society 10th 3 6 7 Source: The Conference Board of Canada.
Education and Skills Indicators Rank Gold Silver Bronze Weighted count 1 Finland 8 8 1 24 2 Norway 9 4 4 22 2 Sweden 9 4 2 22 4 Canada 7 5 5 19 5 Denmark 7 4 6 18 6 United Kingdom 7 3 7 17 7 New Zealand 5 4 7 14 7 Australia 4 6 5 14 9 United States 4 4 9 12 10 Ireland 4 2 10 10 10 Germany 3 4 9 10 10 Switzerland 3 4 8 10 Source: The Conference Board of Canada.
Health Indicators Rank Gold Silver Bronze Weighted count 1 Iceland 14 8 2 36 2 Sweden 14 5 3 33 3 Norway 10 10 1 30 4 Switzerland 9 9 6 27 5 Australia 10 6 8 26 5 Finland 10 6 8 26 7 Japan 11 2 11 24 8 Canada 6 10 8 22 8 Germany 5 12 7 22 10 Denmark 7 7 9 21 10 France 7 7 10 21 12 Netherlands 6 8 10 20 Source: The Conference Board of Canada.
Post-secondary Completion, 2001 (per cent; share of population aged 25 64 that has attained post-secondary education) 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Gold Silver Bronze Canada United Ireland Finland Sweden Norway Australia New Denmark Switzer- United Germany States Zealand land Kingdom Sources: The Conference Board of Canada; OECD.
Participation in All Continuing Education and Training, 2001* (per cent, share of population aged 25 64) 60 Gold Silver Bronze 50 40 30 20 10 0 Denmark Finland Sweden United Norway New United Germany Switzer- Australia Canada Ireland States Zealand Kingdom land *Or most recent year of available data. Sources: The Conference Board of Canada; OECD.
160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 Relative Labour Productivity Levels in Canadian Industries, 2001 (per cent, share of U.S. level) 1. Primary metals 2. Non-metallic mineral products 3. Wood products 4. Construction 5. Other transportation equipment 6. Printing and publishing 7. Paper 8. Chemicals 9. Transportation 10. Motor vehicles 11. Food, beverage and tobacco 12. Mining 13. Other services 14. Business services 15. Agriculture 16. Retail trade 17. Plastic and rubber products 18. Utilities 19. Furniture and related products 20. Wholesale trade 21. Machinery 22. Textile and clothing 23. Petroleum and coal products 24. Information and cultural industries 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 13 14 15 16 25. Electrical equipment 26. Miscellaneous manufacturing 27. Finance, insurance and real estate 28. Fabricated metal products 29. Computer and electronics 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Industry by share of total business sector hours worked 17 18 U.S. = 100 19 21 22 23 20 24 25 26 27 28 29 Source: Someshwar Rao, Jianmin Tang, and Weimin Wang.
GDP Per Capita, 2002 (U.S. $ at purchasing power parity) 40,000 35,000 30,000 25,000 20,000 15,000 10,000 5,000 0 Gold Silver Bronze United Norway Ireland Canada Iceland Denmark Austria Australia Sweden Finland New Korea States Zealand Sources: The Conference Board of Canada; OECD.
Immigration, by Top 10 Source Countries, 2002 (principal applicants and dependents) Country Number of immigrants % of total China 33,231 14.5 India 28,815 12.5 Pakistan 14,164 6.2 Philippines 11,000 4.8 Iran 7,742 3.4 Korea 7,326 3.2 Romania 5,692 2.5 United States 5,288 2.3 Sri Lanka 4,961 2.2 United Kingdom 4,720 2.1 Source: Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Facts and Figures 2002: Immigration Overview. <http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pub/facts2002/immigration/immigration_5.html>.
250,000 Immigrant Landings, by Category, Canada, 1997 2002 (number) Total refugees 200,000 150,000 100,000 50,000 0 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 Other Provincial/territorial nominees Business immigrants Skilled workers Total family Source: Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Facts and Figures 1998, p. 4; 2001, p. 5; 2002, p. 3. <http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/pub>.
Immigrants by Level of Education, Aged 15+, 1997 2002 (number) 120,000 100,000 80,000 60,000 40,000 20,000 0 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 Doctorate Master's degree Bachelor's degree Non-university diploma Trade certificate Source: Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Facts and Figures 1999, p. 8; 2002, p. 6.
Strong Population Growth (annual average increase 1996 2003) 2.5 2.0 1.5 1.0 Canada 0.5 0.0 Montréal Ottawa Toronto Calgary Edmonton Vancouver Source: Statistics Canada.
Challenges & Opportunities for Visible Minorities in Canadian Workplaces: Linking Education and Skills to Jobs
Big Picture - The Challenge/Opportunity Visible minorities (VMs) are key to quality of life and economic well-being of Canada Attracting, integrating, employing and retaining educated, skilled VMs is crucial to growth Yet individuals face many challenges. Includes large numbers of immigrants
Key Facts About VMs 2004: 3.9 million VM population = 13.4 per cent of total population 1992-2001: VM pop. grew at 5 per cent annually Overall pop. Growth under 1 per cent. 2016: 6.6 million VM population = 19 per cent of total population
Source Population: Canada, 1996-2007 (Total population age 15-64) (millions) 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 24.96 25.29 25.6 25.93 26.26 26.58 23.03 23.36 23.67 23.97 24.29 24.61 '96 '97 '98 '99 '00 '01 '02 '03 '04 '05 '06 '07 Source: Statistics Canada, The Conference Board of Canada
Key Facts about VMs Immigration main driver of VM growth 80 per cent of VMs are immigrants 14 per cent are 2nd generation 2 per cent are 3rd generation or more 55 per cent of new immigrants enter in economic category as skilled workers or entrepreneurs Top six countries today: China, India, Pakistan, Korea, Philippines, Taiwan
Importance of VMs Immigrants bring skills and strong desire to succeed Also enrich the culture by adding to it Their choice of emigrating shows courage and stamina - help them to success in Canada Skills shortages indicate a continuing economic importance for immigrants - mostly VMs
Impact of Immigration Immigration is responsible for net growth in workforce in Sask., Man., N.S., Toronto and Montreal» Canadian Labour and Business Centre Immigration compensates for large annual outflow of Canadians to U.S. jobs - temporarily lost to us» The Conference Board of Canada
Loss of Qualified People to the U.S., 1986 96 50,000 40,000 Temporary visa migrants to U.S. Permanent migrants to U.S. 30,000 20,000 10,000 0 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 Source: Immigration and Naturalization Service, U.S. Department of Justice.
Economic Contribution: Potential Output Measures highest level of economic activity an economy can obtain without inflation Results from full, efficient employment of factors of production: capital and labour 1992-2001: 1/9 of annual growth in potential output came from VMs due to growth in labour quantity
Economic Contribution: VM Earnings Earnings = no. employed x average wage 1992-2001: No. employed increased 4.7 per cent yearly Wages were 14.5 per cent lower than the Canadian average. Net impact: VMs contributed 0.3 per cent annually to real GDP growth
Contributions of VMs to GDP 1992-2016 (in 1997 dollars) GDP GROWTH 1992-2016 Real GDP Growth Due to: Gains in VM labour force Gains in other labour force Growth in Capital Stock Gains in technical efficiency $795 billion $ 81 billion $170 billion $302 billion $241 billion
Strategic Significance Economic impact is huge - especially in largest cities, Sask., N.S., Man. Must build on skills and talents of an increasingly diverse workforce to support growth - and give people equal opportunity Must be win-win
Challenge: Wage Gap Widens 1991 wage gap between VMs and rest of Canadians was 11 per cent 2002 wage gap is now 14.5 per cent Immigrants in general are not catching up with native-born Canadians - even after 20 years! VMs especially Why?
Reasons for Wage Gap Many factors have been considered -- but few concrete answers obtained Possible factors examined: average age; urban vs. rural; educational attainment; cognitive skills; work experience; race; gender Definite factor: recognition of foreign credentials
Current Reality: Recognition is a Problem for Individuals Some Canadians hold valuable skills & knowledge that are underused because they are not formally recognized & credentialed by credential-granting organizations and employers. Since credentials are key to labour market success, these people earn less & experience other costs due to non-recognition.
Financial Gains Come by Eliminating Learning Recognition Gap Major financial gains will come by eliminating the gap between: the amount of learning that is recognized, credentialed, and rewarded at work and the amount that could be.
Three Groups Would Gain the Most Immigrants - 340,000 Prior learners/experiential learners - People with prior learning gained through work and training - 230,000 Inter-provincial transferees in licensed occupations & transferees between PSE institutions - 73,000 Note: some overlaps
Brain Gain = Financial Gains $ 4.1-5.9 billion in annual income would be gained by Canadians if Canada s learning recognition gap was eliminated. 540,000 + Canadians stand to benefit $ 8-12,000 average annual personal gain Calculating multiplier effect would increase the figures - due to spin-offs of spending increases from more income
Brain Gain = Financial Gains for Immigrants $ 3.0-4.0 billion in annual income would be gained by immigrants if Canada s learning recognition gap was eliminated. 340,000 + immigrants stand to benefit $ 9-12,000 average annual personal gain Calculating multiplier effect would increase the figures - due to spin-offs of spending increases from more income
Characteristics of the Unrecognized Hold PSE Credentials 95 % High Self-Confidence 91 % 30 & Over 84 % Immigrant 74 % Non-Eng 1st Lang. 58 % Visible Minority 47 % Source: Household Survey, The Conference Board of Canada, 2001
Unrecognized Learning Categories, by Type of Learning Specific type of learning University degree Experiential learning College diploma High-school diploma Not indicated (mostly PSE) Per cent responding 31 24 10 2 34 Source: Household Survey, The Conference Board of Canada, 2001
Major Costs Earn less More likely to be unemployed More likely to be underemployed - limited career options Lack mobility across provincial boundaries to pursue work opportunities Waste time and money on unnecessary duplication of learning
8 Obstacles to Recognition that Discourage Recognition Seekers 1. Time-consuming processes 2. Risk own money with no guarantee of credential 3. Repeat too much learning 4. Employers often unaware & not very helpful
8 Obstacles to Recognition that Discourage Recognition Seekers 5. Institutions do not make it easy to gain recognition - focused elsewhere 6. Lack of institutional awareness of need and investment in servicing seekers 7. Institutions sometimes have interest in controlling supply of qualified people 8. Shortage of institutional and personal resources
Options for Action Improve Functioning of Existing Institutions & Systems Increase number and scale of institutions that recognize immigrants credentials and experiential learning Improve interprov. transfer mechanisms Improve institutional links in Canada - PSE and prof./trade bodies Improve institutional links internationally
Options for Action Establish a Pan-Canadian Learning Recognition System Common Framework for Valuing Learning authenticity, currency, relevancy quality, trustworthiness, transferability Articulation agreements Tools for employers & PSE to evaluate and recognize prior learning
Options for Action Certification of Workplace Training Create an independently-administered system for granting credentials certifying the quality and standards of workplace training programs. Individuals completing them would gain more easily transferred credentials National Credit Review Service Pilot Project Conference Board of Canada & Campus Canada - turning workplace training into PS credits, credentials
Gains from Better Learning Recognition Improving learning recognition: Enhances individuals skills and learning Individuals earn more, have more satisfying jobs and careers Improves organizational performance and profitability Increase Canada s capacity for innovation and productivity
Conclusion VMs face major challenges and obstacles Economic value of VMs is enormous, growing Trends are clear: VMs steadily more important to Canada - workplaces, public and private Plus: equity, fairness, rights, entitlements require action Policy and program solutions needed Governments and businesses
Conclusion VMs are very important to Canada They are key to growth in the future - too important to ignore. Awareness is growing rapidly among government and business leaders. Public awareness still lags (changing). Educators need to play a more prominent, proactive role in assisting immigrants & other VMs.