Skills Central

This gathering was designed with intention: to explore how entrepreneurship can strengthen community well-being, drive innovation, and shape a future grounded in shared values and Northern strength.

Canada is short 64,000 skilled workers including engineers, tradespeople, nurses, and educators. This shortage cost the economy an estimated $2.6 billion in lost GDP in 2024,…

Developed through a careful examination of what PIAAC data have to offer, what past research reveals and leaves unclear about adult skills, and what stakeholders in the skills community believe is important, the Research Agenda offers a plan to seize the opportunity presented by the second cycle of PIAAC to improve Canada’s skills landscape.

The second cycle of PIAAC data has limitations that analysts and others will need to navigate as they ask and try to answer key questions about adult Canadians’ skills. What are those limitations and how might they affect the kinds of questions we can ask and the answers we uncover?  

Youth unemployment recently reached a nine-year record high. In May, one in five returning students aged 15 to 24 were unemployed.

Low rates of training investment are most frequent among small and medium size enterprises (SMEs), which comprise the vast majority of private sector employers in this country. To address this challenge, the Future Skills Centre partnered with EMC and the Social Research and Demonstration Corporation to test a pay-for-performance model of skills training and find out whether employers could be persuaded to support delivery of training if they were partially reimbursed.