Pre-budget 2019 submission: Investing in talent
Building a prosperous, competitive and inclusive future means mobilizing the talent and skills of all Canadians. Canada’s universities are well-positioned to help make this happen. Universities Canada’s Budget 2019 Finance Committee submission recommends investment in two areas pivotal to Canada’s competitiveness:
- Student-oriented and future skills supports; and
- State-of-the-art research and training environments.
Recommendation 1
Invest in hands-on learning by:
- expanding federal work-integrated learning programs across sectors and disciplines with particular attention to underrepresented groups;
- increasing work-integrated learning funding to support employers offering meaningful work-integrated learning placements, with a focus on small and medium-sized enterprises and companies new to work-integrated learning;
- leveraging existing federal programs and initiatives to reward companies participating in work-integrated learning;
- increasing public sector work-integrated learning placements; and
- renewing and enhancing the Canada Incubator and Accelerator Program to support applied student learning and entrepreneurship.
Recommendation 2
Invest in Indigenous postsecondary education access and success by:
- increasing direct financial support for First Nations, Inuit and Métis learners;
- supporting universities to enhance institutional programs and enable partnerships that promote Indigenous student success throughout the postsecondary continuum; and
- expanding funding to Indspire to scale support for Indigenous learners across Canada through scholarships, bursaries and education programs.
Recommendation 3
Building on the Fundamental Science Review, invest in highly skilled research talent by:
- providing more individual scholarships and fellowships to at least match the rise in graduate student enrolment over the last decade;
- adjusting the value of all awards and harmonizing award value across the granting councils;
- eliminating restrictions on international portability of awards to Canadians; and
- growing the pipeline of graduate students by expanding the Undergraduate Student Research Awards to other councils.
Recommendation 4
Invest in a new national initiative, Go Global Canada, to support 15,000 Canadian postsecondary students per year going abroad within five years, rising to 30,000 per year within 10 years.
Recommendation 5
Support state-of-the-art research and training by providing significant, multi-year increases to the Research Support Fund, building on the Fundamental Science Review recommendations.
Tagged: Indigenous education, Research and technology, Skills and talent
