A Global Future

Denise Amyot, CEO of Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan) was the afternoon keynote speaker at OCASA’s annual conference in the fall of 2022. CICan is the voice of Canada’s colleges, institutes, CEGEPs and polytechnics, and an international leader in education for employment. Amyot’s keynote presentation examined the outlook for Canada’s post-secondary education system. Attendees in Niagara Falls shared that they found Amyot’s presentation engaging and they appreciated the current, relevant information about the post-secondary education environment.

Amyot says the data she presents is always very popular and sometimes surprising. She says attendees are curious about what they should be focusing on next at their colleges and institutes, and the best ways to answer to the needs of the labour market.

According to Amyot, the outlook for post-secondary education in Canada is tied to key trends in education and the labor market, and where they intersect:

1. Accessibility for all (including Indigenous learners, women, people in rural and remote areas, lifelong learners)

2. Mental health (since spring 2020, feelings of depression have reportedly spiked and mental health concerns are up)

3. Equity, diversity, and inclusion (supporting newcomers and racialized communities – people who are more likely to work in high-contact settings)

4. Wide variety of programs and credentials (the importance of shorter programs that are flexible and stackable, and flexible delivery formats)

Canada’s high-demand for workers has not slowed down, but because of factors including automation, 60% of workers are in at-risk jobs. Upskilling and reskilling are important for at-risk jobs – and colleges are the first option for workers looking to reskill, says Amyot.

Also, when we focus on sustainability all of us can make a difference – and Canada has a long way to go. “One of the biggest challenges that we cannot deny is climate change. Really, there is no future without net zero. Colleges have a hugely important role in building a net zero economy,” says Amyot. Within CICan’s membership, close to 700 locations have pledged to achieve net-zero emissions on campus by 2050.

According to Amyot, the future of net zero rests on four pillars:

1. Green skills for a net zero future

2. Applied research and living labs

3. Indigenous and nature-based solutions

4. Leveraging campuses (includes facilities, curriculum, culture, communities, and applied research)

College curriculum should integrate sustainability across many disciplines for a green economy, and transition paths exist from at-risk to rapid growth in a clean economy. “With one year of retraining almost 58% of transition paths become feasible,” says Amyot.

Many good examples of sustainability progress already exist on Ontario campuses, and Amyot was keen to mention the following two developments.

Centennial College: At Centennial, the country’s first zerocarbon timber higher-education building is opening this year, bringing together Indigenous and western cultures in form and function.

Humber College: Humber wanted to retrofit a building – one of the worst of the worst, most inefficient buildings – to net zero. The challenge was finding a company with the expertise required, so they created a training program to fill the skills they needed. Now Building NX will be the most efficient building on their campus, and that training is benefitting the whole community and helping to educate the next generation of sustainability professionals.

By Monique Doyle

Other Trends And Outlook

Amyot identified cybersecurity as one of the top concerns in the post-secondary education outlook. It’s a global risk: cyberattacks are one main risks to global order. When colleges, large or small, are hacked it’s disturbing and costly, paralyzing, and it takes a lot of time to work your way out of that, she explains. There are also emotional and social consequences of cybersecurity attacks, which then relate back to health and safety on campus and in the workplace.

But, says Amyot, colleges are already experts in cybersecurity training and in other related fields. For example, Seneca has an eight-month course for cybersecurity and threat management program professionals. Because security and safety affect emotional and social well-being and all disciplines can be affected, the demand for knowledge in this field will continue to grow, and colleges are ready to create a pool of skilled workers to meet the need. “The students we train become the employees and employers of tomorrow,” explains Amyot.

Other trends in post-secondary education, says Amyot, include the demand for shorter and stacked credentials, and more reliance on artificial intelligence (AI). She also argues that prior learning assessments/equivalency and recognition of foreign diplomas will attract more students to the province, and Amyot wants to see public colleges do that. Areas of focus also include the continuation of hybrid learning, increased investment in technology, plus more focus on multi-disciplinary programs – jobs for which we don’t even have programs developed yet, explains Amyot. These areas can help students invent the jobs of the future.

Amyot also mentions continuous intake. She says that more options for intake dates and a shift to year-round colleges is part of the future of post-secondary education, but she hasn’t yet noticed a shift towards this at most public colleges in Ontario.

Cican Priorities

Amyot outlined some of CICan’s priorities for 2023 and beyond. Globalization and immigration represent a huge opportunity for both faculty and learners. The federal government has committed to increasing immigration targets in the coming year, and Amyot says colleges will be a key part of that. She believes it’s important to attract newcomers to all locations to create opportunities for the smaller communities as well as the big cities – as smaller locales mean less competition for housing, summer jobs, etc. Students from around the world choose Canada, she explains, with 58% of international graduates from college remaining in their province of study (compared to 40% at the bachelor level).

Diversification is going to become even more important. “It’s important to diversify, diversify, diversify where our students come from,” stresses Amyot. Diversification of funding can reduce a lot of pressure from a finance point of view, and there are risks to relying on international students for that, especially if colleges are focused on recruiting from mainly one country (for example, India, the Philippines, or China), she explains.

Another priority, says Amyot, is future proofing. It’s important for colleges to be ready for any and all challenges that could arise, including inflation, labour shortages, climate crisis, and future pandemics. “We need a good plan to rebuild Canada’s workforce,” she says. “Our work is to ensure that the federal government knows what colleges and institutes can do.”

“Are we ready? If the last few years have taught us anything it’s that we need to be prepared for anything, be it six months or 10 years from now,” she adds.

Colleges also need to continue their commitment to reconciliation; we’re not done yet, says Amyot. We know this is an area with impact: Indigenous peoples are one of the fastest growing segments of the Canadian population. According to assessments made by the Future Skills Centre, 350,000 Indigenous youth are turning 15 between 2016 and 2026. There is a need to deliver on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action by supporting learners both inside and outside the classroom.

CICan has created a map of Canada to help demonstrate that impact (www.collegesinstitutes.ca/colleges-andinstitutes-in-your-community/our-members/our-membersacross-canada). It shows that 95% of all Canadians and 86% of Indigenous peoples live within 50 km of a college or institute. These institutions are deeply integrated into their local communities, and the CICan map helps people realize the impact colleges and institutes have from coast to coast to coast.

Amyot further adds that we are still working towards gender equity on campus. Within CICan’s membership, there are 55 women leaders of Canadian colleges and institutes (out of 141); that’s 39%. While that’s good news, Amyot says the goal is to see that increase to 50%, as colleges need to be agile to be able to represent the people in Canadian communities.

And, says Amyot, it’s important for colleges and institutes to support a global future. “It’s a big planet and we are all in this together.”

Sources:

• www.camh.ca/en/camh-news-and-stories/anxietydepression-loneliness-among-canadians-spikes-tohighest-levels

• www.collegesinstitutes.ca/what-we-do/advocacy/ advancing-sustainable-development-goals

• https://fsc-ccf.ca

• www.collegesinstitutes.ca/colleges-and-institutes-in-yourcommunity/our-members/our-members-across-canada 