Polygon Created with Sketch. Home | Research

What Are Canadian Post-Secondary Institutions Saying and Doing? Social and Emotional Skills

Canadian post-secondary institutions are not prioritizing social and emotional skills acquisition for students, despite their growing importance to employers. More emphasis must be placed on ensuring students develop these skills.

Key Takeaways

1

Despite strong employer demand for social and emotional skills (SES) like creativity and problem-solving, post-secondary institutions (PSIs) as a whole aren’t prioritizing them.

2

Only one in five post-secondary strategic plans mention holistic SES development.

3

To prepare students for career success, PSIs must give more weight to social and emotional skills development. To do this, they need to translate SES priorities into applied training and assessment.

Executive Summary

Employers in Canada are increasingly seeking new hires with well-developed social and emotional skills (SES) and are moving away from hiring and rewarding workers based on their technical skills.

However, Canadian post-secondary institutions (PSIs) have not caught up with this shift. A review and analysis of PSIs’ strategic plans reveals a lack of emphasis on student acquisition of SES, with such instruction largely relegated to elective and extra-curricular activities. This issue is common to both universities and colleges.

PSIs must do more to equip graduates with the social and emotional skills they will need to succeed and thrive in the workplaces of today and tomorrow, and this focus must begin at the strategic level.

Related Content

Planning, teamwork and meeting with business people in boardroom for strategy, brainstorming and solution. Corporate, collaboration and conference with employees in office for negotiation development.
Research

Thriving Workplaces: A Dual-Client Approach to Career Services

The project aims to improve employment outcomes by engaging both work seekers and employers in structured career navigation activities.
doctor taking blood pressure of a patient
Research

Indigenous Professionals Needed: Increasing Indigenous Representation in Healthcare in Canadaexternal link icon

This project will develop insights that can be used to increase both the Indigenous talent pool and professional development for Indigenous people in healthcare professions in Canada.
five workers walk in front of shipping containers at a port
Research

Canadians worry about impact of trade war as pessimism about economy deepens

Concerns about the impact of U.S. tariffs are contributing to a growing pessimism among Canadians about the economy, employment and their own financial situation.