People, Jobs and the Economy: Collaborating for a Productive, Inclusive Workforce

How can Toronto build on its assets to meet the needs of employers in a rapidly changing economy?

This event was a panel discussion with:

David Ticoll, Executive Director of the Canadian Coalition for Tomorrow’s ICT Skills
Joyce McLean, Director of Strategic Issues at Toronto Hydro
Becky McFarlane, Executive Director of the Hospitality Workers Training Centre
Moderated by: Allison Bramwell, Research fellow with Program on Globalization and Regional Innovation Systems, University of Toronto

Key topics for discussion included:

How collaboration and partnership is key to continued economic and social prosperity in Toronto
How we can anticipate changing skills needs and how we can best prepare our work force for those demands
How Toronto’s education and training systems, employers, and employees can best respond to the life-long need for skills development

Toronto’s ability to attract talent is unparalleled in Canada. A highly skilled, well-educated population, along with an abundance of innovative companies and organizations, fuel the city’s vibrancy and on-going economic and social development.

For the past several years, the issue of a “mismatch” between the skills people have, and the skills employers need, has become more evident. As the pressures of a global economy, the demands of a knowledge economy, and the growth of a green economy intensify, it becomes more and more crucial that we anticipate and plan for change. Otherwise, these shifts will continue to decouple the demand for skills from the supply of talent in the city’s workforce, inhibiting our ability to prosper.

The panelists discussed how forward thinking approaches to preparing for and anticipating change in their respective industries are contributing to a realignment between supply and demand in Toronto’s workforce. These approaches follow a common thread - that through collaboration and partnership, new solutions emerge.