Unit 5
Challenges for the 21st Century

Overview

This final unit of the course focuses on the challenges that the training system in Canada faces today. Social bargaining (private sector partners and governments working in a collective effort to set the agenda on training), the broader concepts of training, labour force development, and lifelong learning are considered from the perspectives of the different stakeholders. Further, the financing of training and the development of a training “market” are both examined for their potential impact on the training system and the effects each have on the different users of the system. The unit concludes with a look at marginalized workers, those individuals who, for reasons of background or the type of work they do, have unique needs. The failure of the training system to help people in these circumstances is weighed against the potential that their integration into the labour market and economy would have on Canada’s future.

Unit Objectives

After completing this unit, you should be able to

1. list the advantages and disadvantages of social bargaining and describe Canada’s experience with it.
2. describe the relationship of labour force development and lifelong learning to training, and give reasons for their recent popularity.
3. give examples of alternative forms of financing training, and describe the advantages and disadvantages of each for the different stakeholders in the Canadian context.
4. describe how the delivery system for training is changing, and outline the impact of this change on the different labour market stakeholders.
5. identify the challenges marginalized workers face as they seek to use training to change their status in the labour market.