Human Capital, Productivity and Prosperity

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Human Capital, Productivity and Prosperity

• Investing In People
• HRSDC Conference
• September 7, 2005

Shirley Seward, CEO Canadian Labour and Business
Centre
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Forces That Affect Prosperity and Create Policy
Challenges

• Forces that shape the demand for labour
• Globalization trade liberalization, capital
  mobility
• Technological changes
• Industrial restructuring
• Environmental changes
• Forces that shape the supply of labour
• Demographic trends
• International and domestic labour mobility
• Changes in labour force participation

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Demographic Trends Pose Challenges to Prosperity

• Underlying demographic trends in Canada are
  heightening the importance of human capital
  development and utilization
• Slowing population growth Projected decline in
  working age population after 2016
• Fertility rate is well below replacement level
• Aging population
• An increasing near-retirement population
• Growing reliance on immigration for labour force
  growth
• Old age dependency ratio will increase rapidly
  over next 15 years

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Increasing Demand for Education and Skills

• Over the last decade, managerial and professional
  occupations requiring university, college or
  apprenticeship training account for 74 of labour
  force growth (Statistics Canada)
• Between 1991 and 2001, the number of people in
  highly skilled occupations (i.e. those usually
  requiring a university degree) increased by 33 -
  more than three times the growth rate of the
  total labour force (9.5)

Source CLBC, Workforce Profile of the
Manufacturing Sector
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Three Ways Human Capital Policies Can Contribute
to Prosperity
Prosperity
Opportunities for Full participation
Opportunities for Workforce Skills Development
Promoting Innovative Practices and Partnerships
Human Capital
Development
Utilisation
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Responding to the Human Capital Prosperity
Challenge (1)

• Maximizing Opportunities for Full Participation
• Allowing older workers to remain active and
  productive labour force participants
• Increasing access to the labour market by groups
  such as Aboriginals, persons with disabilities,
  members of visible minorities
• Easing access to the labour market for
  internationally-trained workers
• Increasing the participation of women in
  non-traditional occupations
• Easing the entry of youth in the labour market

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Responding to the Human Capital Prosperity
Challenge (2)

• Maximizing Opportunities for Skills Development
• Creating better linkages between the education
  system and the labour market
• Increasing the scope, breath and efficacy of
  workplace training
• Removing barriers to apprenticeship training
• Making the business case for investment in
  training and HR development
• Enhancing essential and foundation skills for the
  workforce

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Responding to the Human Capital Prosperity
Challenge (3)

• Working Together to Work Better
• How effectively we organize our economy,
  institutions and workplaces
• Promoting innovate practices (within and between
  businesses)
• Encouraging business-labour and other stakeholder
  partnerships

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Workplace Partners Panel

• Designed to support dialogue among workplace
  stakeholders and encourage workplace innovation
  and partnership
• Enable business and labour to provide advice on
  public policy and workplace practices in the
  skills development area
• Engagement through active participation WPP Task
  Forces a Concrete Way of Meeting the Challenge of
  Prosperity