By Janet Lane
In the Winnipeg Free Press
April 15, 2015
Most of us remember the feeling of pride we had when we first got our learner’s driver’s licence. We were a little scared, too. We knew the rules of the road — but we sure didn’t know how to drive a car yet.
It would take practice behind the wheel with the help of an instructor before we were ready to set out on our own. The same applies to how we learn to do most jobs. First we learn the theory and then we learn through practice how to apply the theory and become truly competent.
Many countries that are our global competitors are doing better than Canada at certifying their workers as truly competent in their jobs. Workers in those competing countries — including EU countries, the U.K., and regions of the U.S. — don’t just have a degree or diploma; they also have proof they can do the job. The fact we don’t do the same on a widespread basis is putting our companies at a disadvantage.
Those competing countries develop their workforces through a system that includes both education and on-the-job training. In these countries, people build competencies — the ability to do the various tasks of their occupation. They then receive a credential for those competencies.
Canada needs to do the same. Here’s why.
Canadians are typically well-educated. The vast majority of us have a high school diploma and more than half of us have earned a post-secondary credential. The credentials we gain — a diploma, certificate, journeyman’s ticket or degree — are used as a proxy for what we should be able to do. Most of us understand, however, such credentials do not guarantee we can hit the ground running.
Many of our competitors have developed “competencies frameworks” — basically, a list of required abilities — for various occupations. Those frameworks allow them to measure a person’s ability to perform specific job functions. And workers are trained in those skills in a similar way to how many Canadians earn a driver’s licence. It is learning that is applied and eventually tested and certified.
Our competitors’ workforce training and assessment processes are more sophisticated and much bigger than our drivers-education systems, but there are distinct similarities. They all include an identified set of abilities required to earn the competency credential; a combination of theoretical and practical training; an assessment; and a variety of formal and informal ways to acquire the necessary abilities.
Being able to prove you are competent at something has advantages for employers and workers. Employers can reduce the amount of time spent on skills assessment during recruitment while lowering the risk of hiring someone mismatched to the job requirements. A competence certificate gives employers greater confidence when they are hiring and creates a tangible benefit for the applicant as well.
Knowing exactly what abilities a job requires also allows students and employees to plan future learning, and build their career paths. If Canada implemented competency frameworks developed to national standards, it would make it easier for people to move across the country to take available jobs, thus easing regional skills shortages.
Competencies are essential for work and also for living well. Competency assessment would challenge our education systems to better deliver what they have always promised: the skills people need for a good life. It will also challenge them and employers to work much more closely together. Both would benefit, but the real winners would be all Canadians.
Competence is ultimately the best credential. Our competitors get it. We need to catch up or risk being left at the side of the road.
Janet Lane is the director of Human Capital Policy at the Canada West Foundation, which focuses on policies that shape the quality of life in Western Canada. Visit us on-line at www.cwf.ca.