Canada’s labour market is undergoing and will continue to undergo profound changes in the years ahead. As the Canadian workforce ages and baby boomers retire, employment growth may slow down if job vacancies are left unfilled. Some challenges include linking training to job vacancies; supporting a quick return to work for individuals who are unemployed; and improving productivity of the workforce, which is one of the main determinants of Canada’s standard of living. Another urgent need is to help vulnerable groups with limited or no attachment to the labour market complete their education and/or find meaningful employment.

The House of Commons Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities (“the Committee”) has completed a number of studies in the first and second sessions of the 41^st Parliament examining skills and labour shortages, as well as skills development and training for vulnerable groups who have difficulty entering the labour market. The Committee studied employment opportunities for Aboriginal people, older workers, people with disabilities, young apprentices, people living in remote rural communities and internationally trained individuals.

There is debate over whether the evidence supports claims that there are skills shortages and/or labour shortages at a national level, but in certain sectors of the economy and in specific regions of Canada there is strong evidence of a skills mismatch.  The Canadian Employment Insurance Commission in their annual 2012/13 Employment Insurance Monitoring and Assessment Report stated:

In a context of both skills mismatches and geographic mismatches, most jurisdictions identified addressing skills shortages as a key priority for their labour market programming in 2012/13. Canadian employers agreed this was one of Canada’s top challenges over the next three years, along with motivation and retention of qualified talent.[1]

Witnesses who appeared before the Committee in the last two years have also consistently stated that shortages do exist in certain sectors and regions of the country and businesses have difficulty finding the people with the skills necessary to fill the positions they have to offer. Many witnesses reminded the Committee of how important it is to be able to depend on good reliable labour market information to determine where skills training – and what type of training – are in demand, as well as to adapt program design and policies to the evolving labour market.

On 29 April 2014, the Committee decided to study these labour market challenges in the context of the renewal of the Labour Market Development Agreements (LMDAs). It adopted the following recommendations:

• That the Committee begin a new study and that this study be entitled “Better Jobs for Canadians: A Study on the Renewal of the Labour Market Development Agreements (LMDAs)”;
• That the study focus on hearing from stakeholders on ways to improve the LMDAs, including through increased engagement with employers and workers, on increased employer investment in training and better employment outcomes from training;
• That the Committee begin this new study with an appearance from the Minister of Employment and Social Development, and, following that, a briefing from department officials, and that these appearances be televised;
• That at least eight meetings be scheduled for this study before the summer adjournment, provided that business referred to the Committee by the House such as Government legislation, Private Members’ legislation or Estimates will take precedence in scheduling over this study.

The Committee held a total of 10 meetings on this study and heard from a variety of witnesses, including the Minister of Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), ESDC officials, labour organizations, employers, academics, education institutions, Aboriginal groups, think tanks and the Commissioner for Workers and the Commissioner for Employers of the Canada Employment Insurance Commission.

Members of the Committee acknowledge with gratitude those who provided their testimony in person or via teleconference and those who took the time to send briefs. Without their contributions, this study would not have been possible.

This report is divided into six chapters. The first chapter provides a description of LMDAs and Employment Benefits and Supports Measures (EBSMs) including some statistical data, and a short description of complementary labour market agreements. Based on the testimony, it discusses the renewal process of LMDAs and presents some recommendations for the new generation of agreements. The second chapter focuses on testimony on accountability issues with regard to the current LMDAs and how to improve performance measurement and reporting in the new LMDAs. Based on the testimony, it includes a recommendation to create a new accountability framework. This framework would consist of new monitoring mechanisms including a diversity of stakeholders and the federal/provincial/territorial governments. The third chapter deals with the important topic of labour market information. Based on the testimony of many witnesses, it describes the limits of the current system and makes recommendations to improve the collection and sharing of labour market information.

The fourth chapter presents testimony on expanding eligibility for employment benefits offered under the LMDAs. It presents many aspects of this issue as discussed by witnesses. It asks the question of who should be eligible for employment benefits funded by LMDAs and makes recommendations to expand access to employment benefits. In connexion with that, this chapter also reviews the testimony related to Employment Insurance (EI) eligibility and the duration of the period of receipt of EI benefits. Finally, it presents testimony on the types of training programs, the costs of expanding accessibility to employment benefits and touches on the importance of facilitating interprovincial mobility for workers and persons in training. The fifth chapter presents testimony on the necessity to reach unemployed individuals as soon as possible after the loss of employment to assess their needs and get them involved in training that will lead to meaningful employment. Based on testimony, it suggests better collaboration between the federal/provincial/territorial governments to coordinate and share the information captured by the EI system and provincial/territorial training delivery services. The sixth chapter presents testimony on greater employer engagement in skills development and training that can be accomplished through employers’ contribution to training programs and their participation in labour market forums. In addition, this chapter reviews testimony on some provincial and international best practices in terms of employers’ involvement mechanisms. Finally, it describes some employers’ initiatives currently on the go in different parts of Canada, as well as challenges faced by some employers and solutions and recommendations brought up by witnesses.