White Paper

The Class of 2003 presents new research on barriers to post-secondary education (PSE)1 in Canada. Building on the barriers identified in the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation's 2002 and 2004 editions of The Price of Knowledge, this survey presents new data on barriers relating to interest and motivation, finances, and academic requirements. The box below lists types of barriers to PSE which have been defined previously. This report examines the extent to which various factors limit access to PSE and how these barriers interact. More specifically, the study presents the impact of multiple barriers on œfirst-generation students (i.e., the first generation in a family to pursue PSE), and explores the PSE aspirations, attainment and barriers of Aboriginal students.

Mismatches between workers' competences and what is required by their job are widespread in OECD countries. Studies that use qualifications as proxies for competences suggest that as many as one in four workers could be over-qualified and as many as one in three could be under-qualified for their job. However, there is significant variation across countries and socio-demographic groups. Our meta-analysis of country studies suggests that over 35% of workers are over-qualified in Sweden compared with just 10% in Finland, with most other OECD countries located between these two extremes. There is also extensive evidence that youth are more likely to be over-qualified than their older counterparts and the same is found to be true for immigrant workers compared with a country's nationals. On the other hand, no definitive evidence has been found of the persistence of qualification mismatch, with some papers showing that over-qualification is just a temporary phenomenon that most workers overcome through career mobility and others finding infrequent transitions between over-qualification and good job matches. Across the board, over-qualified workers are found to earn less than their equally-qualified and well-matched counterparts but more than appropriately-qualified workers doing the same job. Under-qualified workers are found to earn more than their equally-qualified and well-matched counterparts but less than appropriately-qualified workers doing the same job. Over-qualified workers are also found to be less satisfied about their job and more likely to leave their work than well-matched workers with the same qualifications...

From 2007 to 2010, the Qikiqtani Truth Commission (QTC) interviewed almost three hundred and fifty witnesses during public hearings, reviewed one hundred and thirty interviews taped by the Qikiqtani Inuit Association (QIA) between 2004 and 2006, and amassed an authoritative collection of historical documentation about the relationships among Inuit and governments from 1950 to 1975. Through this work, it documented in detail many of the decisions, actions, and consequences that led to the social and economic transformation of the Baffin Region. The primary product of the QTC is this report, written by the Commissioner James Igloliorte. QTC Final Report: Achieving Saimaqatigiingniq was formally presented to the QIA at its 2010 Annual General Meeting on October 20, 2010. Other products from the QTC's work, including a video version of Achieving Saimaqatigiingniq, digitized collections of archival materials, and supplementary reports, will be made available as records are processed and reports are finalized.

Given that Toronto is the second largest financial centre in North America, employing over 800,000 people2, it is critical for companies in the financial services (FS) sector in Toronto to ensure they have the right people and skills to succeed in the future. To do this, financial institutions (FIs) need to understand the key trends shaping the financial services sector, how trends are changing the nature of work, and the impact any changes will have on the demand for specific skill sets. This report seeks to build a better understanding across each of these areas in an effort to provide business leaders with insights and practical recommendations to move their organizations forward, while also giving people looking to enter the sector a view into areas of opportunity and the critical skills they need to thrive.

In our previous talent report, Unlocking the human opportunity: Future-proof skills to move financial services forward, we identified four categories of future-proof skills that support the future of work and foster agility and adaptability in talent. In this report, we focused on these four skill categories as a basis for developing upskilling strategies and initiatives.1.Human experience skills 2.Reimagination skills 3.Pivoting skills 4.Future currency skills

In 2013, the Poverty and Employment Precarity in Southern Ontario (PEPSO) research group released the report It's More than Poverty: Employment Precarity and Household Wellbeing. Based on 4,165 surveys collected in late 2011 and early 2012, and 83 interviews conducted in 2011 with workers in different forms of precarious employment, It's More than Poverty examined the characteristics of employment in the Greater Toronto-Hamilton Area (GTHA). It documented the range of employment experiences and it revealed the extent of insecurity associated with insecure employment relationships. Equally important, it showed the impact of insecure employment relationships on individual and household well-being and community participation. Not all employment relationships have the same characteristics. Some employment is better than other employment and this difference represents more than simple rates of pay. Some employment is more secure. Some employment provides supplemental benefits, such as a prescription-drug plan that insures workers' health needs and unexpected expenses. Some employment provides a secure pension for workers when they retire. Some employment provides a career path and helps workers acquire new skills. Employment that is secure, that provides a full range of benefits and that has a possible career path is generally viewed as better employment, and it is often referred to as a Standard Employment Relationship. Having secure employment, with benefits and a possible career path, is a key to escaping poverty. Over half of PEPSO survey participants not in a Standard Employment Relationship in 2014 reported an annual income of less than $40,000, while less than 15% of those in a Standard Employment Relationship earned less than $40,000. Even when one uses household income, there is still a significant difference between those in a Standard Employment Relationship and those not in such a relationship. Nearly 45% of individuals not in a Standard Employment Relationship reported a household income of less than $60,000, compared to only 16% of those in a Standard Employment Relationship. There is a growing concern that the prevalence of the Standard Employment Relationship is in decline. Secure jobs, with benefits and a possible career path, are becoming harder tofind for many types of workers. This is true for low-wage workers who are working through temporary employment agencies (where many jobs are minimum-wage jobs), for higher-wage knowledge workers (where work is often short-term, project-based work), and for university and college professors (where more than half of all teaching is now done by contract faculty). It's More than Poverty offered evidence of this decline in secure jobs.

This paper surveys the current state of the gig economy and considers how some legislatures, courts and tribunals in North America are handling employment classification of gig workers. In this evolving area of company-worker relationships, it has fallen to courts and tribunals to interpret existing laws, with legislatures slow to take a position.

The ICT disciplines in Australian universities have a strong tradition of industry engagement in curriculum design and implementation particularly through work integrated learning programs. Work integrated learning (WIL) includes industry placements, internships, industry projects and other methods and approaches that aim to enhance the professional practice capabilities of students. There are various stakeholders involved in WIL programs including universities, students, government and industry, each with their own motivations and expectations. Whilst all stakeholders agree on the benefits to students, there are conflicting interests that jeopardise further development and innovation in WIL. This paper reports on surveys of industry and university stakeholders in order to understand representative views and current practices. The findings confirm a lack of a shared understanding between stakeholders regarding roles, responsibilities, models and benefits. The paper concludes with several recommendations regarding the adoption of an outcomes-based approach to the design and implementation of work integrated learning programs that will encourage innovation and quality in WIL.

This paper examines the rate of chronic low income among immigrants aged 25 or older in Canada during the 2000s. Chronic low income is defined as having a family income under a low-income cut-off for five consecutive years or more. A regionally adjusted low-income measure is used for the analysis. Among immigrants who were in low income in any given year, about one-half were in chronic low income. The highest chronic rates were observed among immigrant seniors, as well as immigrants who were unattached or lone parents. There were large differences in the chronic low-income rate by immigrant place of birth, even after adjusting for differences in other immigrant background characteristics. The chronic low-income rate was lower among economic class immigrants than among family or refugee classes, but the difference was reduced after adjusting for background characteristics. Chronic low-income rates among immigrants varied significantly across the 29 cities/regions in the study, varying by a factor of 5 between the highest and lowest rates. However, the community ranking was not static and changed significantly between the beginning and end of the 2000s.