Building a highly skilled and resilient Canadian workforce through the FutureSkills Lab

In this paper, the Advisory Council on Economic Growth proposes the formation of a national non-governmental organization to operate as a laboratory for skills development and measurement in Canada. Led by an executive team drawn from the private, non-profit, and education sectors, the FutureSkills Lab would invite all levels of government, private sector organizations, labour unions, not-for-profits, and other interested parties to partner on an opt-in basis. Through project partnerships and co-financing opportunities, new and innovative approaches to skills development and outcome...  [+] Show more

In this paper, the Advisory Council on Economic Growth proposes the formation of a national non-governmental organization to operate as a laboratory for skills development and measurement in Canada. Led by an executive team drawn from the private, non-profit, and education sectors, the FutureSkills Lab would invite all levels of government, private sector organizations, labour unions, not-for-profits, and other interested parties to partner on an opt-in basis. Through project partnerships and co-financing opportunities, new and innovative approaches to skills development and outcome measurement will be explored. Drawing from these experiences, the FutureSkills Lab would amass learnings and best practices. By sharing these learnings, the Lab could help inform skills and training program funding decisions of multiple players, including government ministries, researchers, employers, and organizations dealing with labour market information. The Council believes that the FutureSkills Lab could catalyze and enable much more forward-looking approaches to preparing Canadians for the workforce.

Edited excerpts from publication.