There is a clear link between education and training, and success in the job market.
In a recent Maclean’s magazine, there is an article about “Canada’s Smartest Cities.” It ranks the learning of cities based on a Composite Learning Index developed by the Canadian Council on Learning.
Guelph ranks fourth out of more than 4,719 communities. We beat out “heavy hitters” like Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal. Pretty impressive.
The Index isn’t just a measure of education in the community – it’s not about how many degrees people have. It’s a complex measure with four pillars:
• Learning to Know covers education and literacy
• Learning to Do is about workplace and vocational training.
• Learning to Be is about involvement in the arts, sports, and media.
• Learning to Live Together is related to community involvement and cultural interaction.
What’s interesting is that, according to the article, a higher score on the Composite Learning Index makes a community more likely to prosper economically and socially.
The Presidents of the Canadian Council on Learning is quoted as saying that this is about community resilience. He points out that a population that is better educated and better able to learn has a better chance of dealing with the slings and arrows of everyday life. I think we would all agree that the recession falls into the category of “slings and arrows!”
So, the good news is that Guelph is well-positioned, since we rank fourth in the country. The bad news is that Guelph’s learning score has slipped compared to last year, and Canada’s overall score has slipped as well. So, while it may seem that education and training should take a back seat during a recession, in fact it’s more important than ever.
Like the Chamber of Commerce, the City has a keen interest in workforce training and development, because it helps make Guelph more competitive and attractive to investment. I was pleased to learn that the Chamber’s Workplace Development Committee is looking at the nine skills the federal government has identified as essential for work, learning and life. They are:
- reading text
- document use
- numeracy
- writing
- oral communication
- working with others
- continuous learning
- thinking skills
- computer use.
I understand the Chamber has a goal of improving the skill level in our local workforce in reading, numeracy, and document use. This is a great initiative, because the more skilled our workforce is, the more attractive we will be to businesses looking for a location, and ultimately more jobs will be created. It puts us in a positive spiral for economic growth and job creation.
Filed under: Jobs & the Economy
