Speeding up the response

of colleges and institutes

to labour market information

Presentation to the National LMI Forum

By Paul Brennan

Halifax, November 2005

Association of Canadian Community Colleges

L’Association des collèges communautaires du Canada

Comment accélérer la réaction du réseau collégial à l’information sur

le marché du travail

Présentation au Forum national sur l’IMT

Paul Brennan

Novembre, 2005

What is the ACCC?

• The voluntary national association of Canada’s 150 public colleges, institutes of technology, cégeps and university colleges

• With main mandates of :– Making the public policy positions and vast

resources of colleges known broadly;– Bringing colleges together to improve each

others’ capacity to do better and innovate;– Facilitating the development of partnerships

with all groups working on common issues.

Our Colleges & Institutes

• In all 10 provinces and 3 territories responsible for covering all of Canada

• Present in 900 communities with a campus or learning centre

• 60,000 instructors, instructional design specialists, administrators and staff

• 900,000 full-time and 1.5 million part-time learners• Certificates, Trades Training, Diplomas, Applied

Degrees, Post-Grad Diplomas, Adult Education and Contract Training for the existing labour force.

Our Colleges & Institutes

31a

31a

31a

31a

31a

21

21a

21b

21c

21d

22d

22

22e

22a

22c

19j

6b

6h

6i

9c9e

19i

19g

19f19e

19h

19a3i

3n19

19c

6f6j6c

6g

6d

6e

15a15b

15c1519d

20c6

20d

20j20k

22hj

31a

31a

31a

31a

31a 31a

31a

27c

31

36h36i

36j

36l

14

6a

14b

14d

20h

31a

26n

43a

43

42

43b

46b

50a

50b

49d

50e

45a

48d

50c51g

46

18e 18d

18h

16d

16f

16l

5a

5b

3e

3k3j

3l3o8b

9a9b

9

9d9f11a

4a

4

13

13a

13b

13c16

16a

16b

16c

16e

16g

16h

16m

16n

16o

23a

3c

3b

3d

3f3g3m3p3h

3q5

712 8a

11b11

11c108320a20b20

20e

20g

20f20i

2323a

52c

52d

52

54

54c

54a

54b

54d

54e 55

56a

56

57

47a

47b

47

47e50f

47d

51d

47f

47g

51c

51e

46c

43c

52a

53

53c

53d

53a

53e

58h

31a

49b

46a

42a

42c

31a

58c

58a

58d

58e

58f

58y

18g

18i

18c

17c

18b

18

18f

18a

58z

67

67d

67e

1g

1l

1n

1

1m

1a

1b

17a

53b

58g

58k

67a 67b

67c

67f

1i

1k

1j

1f

1e

1d

1h

61

61a

61b

61c

61f

80

62

62a

62b

80c

80d

84

58o

58p

58t

58b

58u

58v

58x

63a

63b

87b

87c

66b

66a6666c

69a

69c

69e

78a

6464b64d64e64a64c64f6868a68c7070a70b70c7273a7785a85f85h85i85k86

86a86b

71f73

68d

72c71

71a71c71d 71e

49c

51a

51b

42d

42b

51f

47c 52b

59

7460d

60e

83

83b

76

72a

78

87a

87

87d

72d

78b78c

78d

79b79a

85b85c

85d85e

85g

85j

71h79

85

64g68b

6060a

60b60c60f65106c

27

30

27b

27a

28

30a 30b

30c

30d

30f30g

31a

66d

69

69b

69d

72b

72e

75b

75c

81

82a

82b

82

82c

75a75

71b

61d

61e

63

63c

80a

80b

71g

9093b9797a101

104b105

110116116b116c120120a

122123129

95a92

103106a95108111111a

111b112118

34a

34

38

36g

26g

26h 26i

26k

32

36e

33

36k

39

40

9

93b98104c

109

109a109b104a113

119

26b

26e

26f

26j

26l

26m

26o

30e

9

44c

44b

58i

58

58j

58l

58n

58q

58r

58s

58w

132137

135140

139

138

145

144h

144d

143a

144g

144k144c

144j

144b

144m

143

143d

144a144e144f144

44

51

49e

49a

50

50d

45

44a

45b

45d

45c

48

48a

48b

48c

136

133

143d

142141

a

130131

134

141e

141f

17e

17d

17

14c

14a

14e

17b

17f

17g

144i

144l

146

143b

143c

143f141g

141h

141k

141c

141b141d

141i

141j

141141

l

1c

31a

31a

31a31a

147h

147a

147e

147c

147i

147j

147l

147

58m

147g

149

147k

147m

147f

147n

147o

147b

147p148a

147d

148

The Canadian E&T Context

• Decentralized E&T responsibility;

• Diverse systems of PSE education and training responsive to their local realities;

• Provincial/Territorial program standards;

• Local Employer Program Advisory Committees;

Local/Provincial LMI and signals are there and are a strength of our system!

The Canadian Challenge

• A much more mobile workforce and student population;

• The need for national, if not international, standards & LMI to be fully relevant;

• The need to recognize competencies of the existing workforce against some norm that allows them to be lifelong learners;

• The imperative of recognizing credentials and competencies of immigrants to ??

The demands of learners

• Colleges are mandated to focus on the employability and skills of their learners;

• Learners have no patience with repeating learning they already know;

• They expect to be taught to national industry standards (lawsuits rising) for existing jobs (KPI measurements);

• But institutions always tend to feel that what they are doing is all unique and different.

National Sector Councils

• Created to undertake national LM studies, develop national standards, produce sector specific career information tools;

• Equivalent to local Program Advisory Committees and to Provincial/Territorial sectoral and standards committees;

How should the colleges respond ?

ACCC Affinity Groups

Groups of college administrators, faculty, staff or students involved in similar functions or sectors (Aviation, Mining, Child Care,…);

• Listserv/Intranet allowing communication, exchanges within and coordinated interactions with the sector councils;

• A Coordinating Committee, F2F meetings of the CC and the entire group once/year

- Now have 50+ AGs with 7,000+ members!

Affinity Groups & LMI-Career Info

• Informatics (SHRC): LM study based on expanded NOCs (3 to 25) showing us need for more essential employability skills;

• Railways (RAC): How many workers needed in 4 main jobs per year per region;

• Arts & Culture: The need for more training on how to manage your career;

• Mining: The crucial shortages coming;

• Wood, Plastics, IMR: Keep programs open!

Standards with Diversity!

Institutional Pedagogy & Brand

Local/Provincial LMI & Competencies

National LMI & Common Core Competencies

Diversité avec des normes!

Pédagogie et approches institutionelles

Compétences et IMT locales/provinciales

IMT nationale et Compétences communes

Benefits of Collaboration

• Growing interest in the Trades;

• Start up of Health Informatics Programs;

• Start up of diverse Leadership Learning opportunities for Voluntary-Community sect.

• Avoid closure of IT, Wood, IMR, Plastics and other sector programs;

• Avoid start up of programs not needed;

• Avoid duplication of costly competency analysis and learning outcomes devel..

Lessons Learned

• LMI & Career Info have to be interpreted, communicated and discussed people-to-people, not just on a web site;

• Various local, provincial/territorial and national efforts have to be coordinated or are sending confusing mixed messages;

• Regular « good-enough » forward-looking LMI is better than late statistically valid LMI looking back (Speed and Relevancy)

Example of the Tourism HRC

• Board and Committees made up of both national associations and provincial TECs;

• Yearly F2F Conference with top-notch speakers (nuanced demographics), youth speakers, case studies;

• Meetings of college/university educators via the ACCC Affinity Group (85 institutions)

• Action on Career Info, Mobility, Dual certification, FCR and Individual National Corporate Needs.

Unanticipated Benefits

• Greater understanding and acceptance between regions and institutions;

• Networks develop into learning opportunities & communities of practice;

• Innovation thrives, because innovation comes from comparing diverse responses to reasonably similar challenges (studies);

Can have national LMI-Career Info efforts that are adapted locally & provincially.

Usefullness of ACCC

• Use us when wanting to distribute relevant LMI or Career Info products;

• Use us when you want the college perspective on a LM study or career info product (We have a Career Info AG)

• Use us when you need to get similar training done in different parts of the country.

Contact me at pbrennan@accc.ca