APPENDIX C
RATIONALE
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A GLOBAL VIEWPOINT Throughout most of the industrialized world pressures from several sources are impacting on the education and training systems. The process of globalization, technological changes, changed demographics of businesses and the work force, an increase in non-standard types of employment and the shift to the service industries are a few of the major factors. These changes in the labour market have implications for the types of skills and qualifications required by the economy. The new types of work organizations require multi-skilled workers with greater emphasis on the qualities of teamwork, creativity, problem solving and openness to change. Both the product and service industries change so quickly that a flexible labour force with the ability to learn new skills and competencies is essential. In turn education and training systems are under pressure to change what is provided and how and when it is provided. Many jurisdictions have already determined that a strategic framework approach is required to address the broad scope of these changes and to ensure that education is viewed as a human resource investment for the future. Major reforms of education and training systems have occurred over the last ten years in many nations. The British Columbia government commissioned a review of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) study of reform in five member nations. (Major Reforms in Training Systems in Five Countries, Faris, R. June, 1994) The focus of the OECD study was the significant reform which had taken place during the last 10 years in the broadly defined field of training in Australia, England and Wales, New Zealand, Scotland and the United States. The OECD identified the following seven key reform themes at the start of the study that should be investigated: Commitment to National Goals and Objectives The study revealed 15 key reform initiatives that were common to the reform process in all 5 countries. Nine of these initiatives that pertain to adult development in Alberta are listed below. Established national or provincial standards Despite the complexity and variety of the education and training systems in each country, many of the characteristics of a reformed system were similar. The major characteristics of a reformed training system in a country committed to creating a world-class work force prepared for the 21st century were identified as partnerships, responsiveness and accessibility, relevance and quality. |
A CANADIAN VIEWPOINTThe Canadian Labour Force Development Board (CLFDB) is made up of partners from business, labour, education and training working together to develop a highly skilled Canadian work force. The CLFDB undertook a series of research studies aimed at providing a clearer picture of what's happening in the Canadian labour market in order to give labour market partners a framework for informed decision making. The following are some general highlights from the research findings. (The 1994 Labour Force Development Review-Summary, CLFDB) "The Canadian labour market is changing. After years of economic expansion from W.W.II until the mid-1970s, the growth rate in the labour force and in employment has declined.... Meanwhile, Canadians are left with the staggering social cost of high unemployment. Today 1 out of every 10 Canadians in the labour market is unemployed and looking for work. Hundreds of thousands of others have given up and turned to social assistance...Entry and re-entry into the labour force will remain difficult...Non-standard work i.e. part-time, temporary, contract and self-employment is becoming increasingly common...The growth in the service sector has been matched by a decline in the relative share of the goods and manufacturing sector...Growth industries include service-related areas such as health, social services, business and financial services. (LFDR, p. 3) "The Canadian labour market is characterized by a high degree of job insecurity. Workers are worried and experiencing stress. Business is struggling with pressures from increased global competition, technological change, deteriorating economic outcomes, the regulatory environment and changes in the labour force, e.g., more women with child care or eldercare responsibilities." (LFDR, p. 6) "The most common strategic responses by business to these pressures are the "traditional model" to reduce costs and focus on product or process innovation. The least common strategy is the "high performance model" of human resource development. However a study of human resource management trends in Canada showed that 30% of the respondents placed a high strategic priority on human resources and emphasized training, flexible scheduling arrangements and family benefits. Because of the many factors affecting business success it is difficult to establish a direct causal relationship between human resources management and business success. However the study showed that firms that emphasize human resource development had lower quit and accident rates, greater unit cost reductions, stronger market share and greater productivity growth than the majority of firms with the traditional approach. This appears to demand that management, labour and educators work together to better manage the changing workplace." (LFDR, p. 7) The CLFDB research shows that on-the-job training can result in more efficient organizations and more effective employees. However most on-the-job- training strategies have largely benefited better educated, long time workers with full-time employment within capital- and technology-intensive firms. The larger the firm the more likely it is to train. Four million Canadians took part in job-related training in 1991, and 1.5 million took part in some kind of structured adult education. The study of on-the-job training showed the following interesting result. "Improving the overall quality of products and services, increasing productivity and concerns about competitiveness were cited as the main reasons why firms provided training to their employees. At the bottom of the list were concerns about the inadequate pre-employment preparation of workers. However, when employers were asked to comment about the strengths of Canada's education system, two-thirds said they were either moderately or extremely dissatisfied with the job preparedness of public school graduates." (LFDR, p. 9) Their response seems to suggest that either the employers did not feel it their responsibility to bridge the gap or they did not think they could effect any real change. The CLFDB report asked the question "What about training programs for the unemployed; do they make a difference?" Their short answer was "yes, but not much". A recent review of nine Canadian studies, four U.S. studies and one undertaken by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development gave mixed results. "Collectively, the studies showed that classroom or institutional training undertaken on its own has limited impact on labour market outcomes. More intensive training involving workplace experience produces the best results, as do programs designed to meet the needs of individuals. This last point is particularly important for people with employment disadvantages." (LFDR, p. 9) Training programs that include counseling (notably career and employment counseling) before and during the actual training period also seem to generate positive results. Counseling helps to improve the self-confidence of trainees. It helps them to get the most out of the training experience and it makes them more effective at looking for work once the program has finished. Also noted was that training has a displacement effect that needs further study. For example, trainees may obtain jobs that were held by other workers or that might have been taken by other unemployed workers had the training program not been offered. This suggests that "training should not simply be aimed at getting people off the unemployment rolls and social assistance but also teaching the skills to help learners cope with change in the future. The long-term social and psychological effects of training, i.e. what happens four to seven years after the fact, need to be studied. Moreover, in order to understand training effectively we'll need to look at what it's doing to overall employment levels, not only to the employability of a particular individual." (LFDR, p. 10) |
AN ALBERTA VIEWPOINTThe New Directions for Adult Learning in Alberta, 1994 document is the result of an extensive consultation process involving more than 7 000 Albertans who provided their views, information and suggestions through round table discussions, public meetings and written submissions. New Directions is a policy framework for adult learning in Alberta and all Advanced Education and Career Development (AECD) departmental business plans are based on this document. New Directions notes 6 important changes affecting Alberta's adult learning system: increasing numbers of learners, changing characteristics of learners, a changing economy, shifting of emphasis in social policy, changing educational delivery mechanisms and limited public resources. The document states that, "if Alberta is to keep pace with these changes it must change the way we support, develop and deliver learning opportunities". Four goals confirmed by Albertans through the consultation process as necessary for adult learning:
· Affordable learning opportunities to the greatest number of Albertans at the lowest possible cost and · Increased accountability to Albertans for the results of publicly funded learning opportunities. Advanced Education and Career Development developed 22 strategies to achieve the four goals of accessibility, responsiveness, affordability and accountability. The following are the specific strategies that led to the adult development system reform initiative:
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ADULT DEVELOPMENT REFORM VIEWPOINTThe research claims that a skilled and motivated work force, one that can handle rapid change, will enable a country to compete in the global marketplace in the long run. Therefore an excellent, articulated and cost effective adult learning system which contributes to personal, economic and societal growth is vital to the future of Alberta. Adult development, as one facet of the adult learning system in Alberta, is charged with the job of educating and training the large number of adults in the province who require more competencies to access further education or training or enter the work force. With the conflicting pressures on the department and the adult development providers to improve access, be more responsive to the needs of the learners and employers, be more accountable and offer affordable programs and services, the need to review and reform the system was considered imperative. Although the adult development system has many achievements to its credit over the years, changes were deemed necessary to the system to better meet the employment and further education goals of learners and the expectation of employers for better trained employees. In response Advanced Education and Career Development initiated the Adult Development Reform Initiative (ADRI) in May, 1995 to accomplish this task in cooperation with adult development providers, learners and employers. The purpose of the ADRI was to develop a high quality and efficient system of adult development programming in Alberta that is client-centered, career-focused, outcomes-based, articulated and cost effective. The first consultation phase to identify issues/concerns and recommendations for improving the system began in June, 1995 and was completed by October, 1995. During this three month period over 500 learners, providers and employers participated in focus session at 32 sites around the province. A telephone survey gathered input from 60 graduates and 15 non-completers of adult development programs. This process resulted in the identification of 55 major issue statements. One of the major issues identified is the lack of consistency in the province on course/program names, standards, and identified outcomes. This resulted in a multitude of programs, recycling of learners and made it difficult, and in many cases impossible, to effectively identify and compare system achievements. Some of the other most frequently mentioned issues were the need for: · more alternatives for the students not going on to
further education or training; The ADRI consultation, the global research and the Canadian research are consistent. The problem now is to find the will and the resources to succeed in the task. Research seems to be pointing the way fairly clearly. "Over the past several years, a consensus has emerged that an effective approach for school-to-work transition programs must incorporate the following elements: · Greater integration of academic and vocational curricula; ("School-To-Work Opportunities" - June, 1994, p 57.) The need for the reform of the Adult Development System is critical. The Alberta government is investing over a hundred million dollars annually just in the basic foundation skills program. The current system basically follows the K-12 program, albeit with a myriad of names, equivalencies and transferability problems. The expectation that adults will achieve in a system where they have already experienced problems and failures is flawed and has resulted in the gradual movement of academic programming to employment preparation/job readiness. Therefore the goal of the ADRI to develop a more client-centered, career-focused, outcomes-based, articulated and cost effective system is appropriate. Over the last 45 years, adult development providers have produced a diverse range of quality learning opportunities and services that have provided opportunities for hundreds of thousands of adult Albertans to complete an interrupted education, acquire marketable skills and explore career possibilities. However instructors, counselors, funders, administrators and learners are finding it increasingly more difficult to keep pace with the changing demands of the market place, limited resources, technological opportunities, a restructured welfare system and changes in the role of the federal government in labour market programs. With the conflicting pressures on the department and the providers the need to review and reform the system is imperative. The reform implementation process will be carefully organized to ensure that the many positive aspects developed over the last 45 years are not lost or diminished in any way. The intent is not to create a new system, but rather to protect what has been accomplished and improve on it. Reform means to make better, to make more effective and efficient, remove imperfections, add improvements, simplify, clarify, and make the system more proactive than reactive. |
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BIBLIOGRAPHY Major Reforms in Training Systems in Five Countries by Ron Faris, Ph.D., Consultant for the Ministry of Skill, Training and Labour, Victoria, B.C. June, 1994. New Directions for Adult Learning in Alberta, Alberta Advanced Education and Career Development, Edmonton, Alberta, October, 1994. School to Work, What does Research Say About it?, "School to Work Opportunities", Choy, S., U.S. Department of Education, June, 1994. The 1994 Labour Force Development Review-Summary published by the Canadian Labour Force Development Board Ottawa, Ontario. |