OECD Economics Department Working Papers

ISSN :
1815-1973 (online)
DOI :
10.1787/18151973
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Working papers from the Economics Department of the OECD that cover the full range of the Department’s work including the economic situation, policy analysis and projections; fiscal policy, public expenditure and taxation; and structural issues including ageing, growth and productivity, migration, environment, human capital, housing, trade and investment, labour markets, regulatory reform, competition, health, and other issues.
 

Tertiary Education: Developing Skills for Innovation and Long-Term Growth in Canada You or your institution have access to this content

Authors:
Calista Cheung1, Yvan Guillemette1, Shahrzad Mobasher-Fard
Author Affiliations
  • 1: OECD, France

Publication Date
20 Sep 2012
Bibliographic information
No.:
991
Pages
49
DOI
10.1787/5k92pghq4247-en

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The tertiary education system in Canada performs well in fostering a skilled workforce with generally good labour-market outcomes and is internationally recognised for its research contributions. Tertiary educational attainment is high, but participation rates will need to continue expanding to maintain the supply of highly skilled labour as the population ages and the needs of the knowledge-based economy rapidly evolve. This should be achieved by encouraging access to higher education for disadvantaged socio-economic groups, while enhancing the flexibility of the system to allow students with diverse needs to move between institutions more easily to meet their learning objectives. Immigration is another important source of skills that could be better utilised. The development of skills for innovation can be improved by increasing the integration of technical, business and communications skills training with practical industry experience within tertiary education programmes. In an environment of government spending restraint, the quality of tertiary education could be strengthened by increasing the distinction between institutions that target research and those that emphasise teaching and re-evaluating tuition policies in provinces where public finances are stretched. This Working Paper relates to the 2012 OECD Economic Review of Canada (www.oecd.org/eco/surveys/Canada).
Keywords:
attainment rate, access, graduation rate, scholarships, tertiary education, participation rates, grants, tuition fees, tuition tax credits, access to tertiary education, student loans, foreign tertiary students
JEL Classification:
  • I22: Health, Education, and Welfare / Education and Research Institutions / Educational Finance
  • I25: Health, Education, and Welfare / Education and Research Institutions / Education and Economic Development
  • I28: Health, Education, and Welfare / Education and Research Institutions / Government Policy