The Growing Demand for Vocational Training and the Need to Close Labour Market Gaps
Alexandra Korda | Chief Marketing Officer, Oxford International Education Group
Vocational education enables students to find new careers, switch careers or enhance their income potential through hands-on, skills focused education with practical relevance.
In Canada, private career colleges offer short, intensive programs that focus on careers and employability readiness. They focus on meeting the needs of the student to get into work as quickly as possible and be productive, without shortcuts. They do that by meeting the skills demands of the labour market through educational courses with practical relevance, that is, by providing career-focused training with real life experiences (e.g. on the job training) in condensed format, with small class sizes, flexible scheduling, and rolling program start dates.
By design, career colleges have very strong links with employers because based on the Canadian regulatory system, they need to provide practical training and ensure that there is a job waiting at the end of the course, which is no easy feat.
Demand for vocational training is set to rise because Canada has many skills gaps.
Canada has a productivity problem. In fact, labour productivity growth (that is, the amount of output produced per hour worked) has been stagnant; the Canadian economy’s labour productivity at the end of 2023 was around the same as it was in 2017. (Skills and Productivity: Which Skills Shortages Are Impacting Canadian Productivity?) There are many reasons for this but one of them is a skills shortage. Lack of skills can hinder growth and introduce production bottlenecks that translate into lower productivity. In short, not having enough workers with the right skills impacts Canada’s ability to grow and have a healthy economy.
Labour market shortages create other challenges as well:
- 1 in 10 businesses state that they expect recruiting skilled employees to be the most challenging obstacle they will face over the next three months. (Analysis of labour challenges in Canada, fourth quarter of 2024)
- Among businesses most likely to expect recruiting skilled employees to be an obstacle were those in health care and social assistance (35.9%). (Analysis of labour challenges in Canada, fourth quarter of 2024)
When significant skills gaps occur, companies struggle to find qualified workers and jobseekers struggle to find suitable employment! Vocational training is a direct response to this issue as it helps strengthen the labour market by developing knowledge and skills to match relevant gaps. Companies would no longer struggle to find workers and workers find suitable employment.
As a recent Deloitte US article put it, “As never before, it is skills that determine success or failure—for individuals, companies, and regional economies. Skills fuel the engine of economic growth.’ (Strengthening Canada’s labour market | Deloitte Canada)
Integrating migrants into the Canadian economy
Creating pathways to long-term success is critical for the population growth needed to support the Canadian economy. Onward migration, meaning immigrants leaving Canada, has been consistently increasing since the 1980s. This in turn suggests that Canada is not meeting immigrants’ expectations, and it should work to enable better outcomes. A major cause of onward migration is challenges related to finding consistent and stable work in relevant occupations (Strengthening Canada’s labour market | Deloitte Canada)
There are benefits for individuals to undertake vocational training in high-demand areas and/or where there are shortages
By undertaking targeted training, participants activate faster paths to upskill, reskilling and adjusting their career trajectories. They increase certainty of employment prospects and have more direct paths to employability because vocational courses are focused on meeting skills gaps that are in demand in the economy. For the most committed and capable, there are accelerated career paths – since there is a lot of demand and not enough skilled workers.
Oxford International Career Colleges: Closing labour market skills gaps across Canada
Helping hundreds of students build the knowledge and career skills for in-demand job opportunities in Canada, OICC | Oxford International Career Colleges trains students throughout Canada and all around the world for in-demand careers in fields such as healthcare, early childhood education, business, hospitality & tourism, and customer service at our Vancouver, Toronto, and Halifax campuses. Not only do we work closely with industry experts to ensure our programs meet labour market needs, but we also partner closely with employers to ensure our students get the best on-the-ground skills training through guaranteed practicum placements. Our close partnership with employers is also why we are able to offer our Tuition Fee Guarantee at our Toronto and Halifax campuses – we guarantee our graduates will receive a job offer (full-time or part-time) once they successfully complete the program or they will get their money back, in full (terms and conditions apply).
At OICC, we care about delivering high-quality training & skills development for tomorrow’s in-demand professions. Your future starts here.
Visit oicolleges.com to get started on your successful career journey.
