Overrated, the diploma? You could almost believe it when you look at the most recent ranking of the 15 most wanted jobs from Randstad Canada, a company specializing in human resources. Not only do nearly a third do not require higher education, but some of the most sought-after do not require a diploma, while others rely on short-term studies. This is not without weakening our educational institutions.
It is first of all the scarcity of labor that gives employers a hard time, both to recruit and to retain workers. Shortages, on the other hand, remain localized and short-lived, but they affect a growing number of professions, and this, over increasingly large territories. For the worker or the future worker wishing to improve his daily life, the opportunities are multiplied. A situation that makes graduation lose its luster.
Data recently obtained by The duty show that the full employment that has succeeded the pandemic grayness is hurting universities. The Quebec network lost nearly 5,000 students between fall 2020 and fall 2022. This lack of love is more cruelly felt in short undergraduate programs that allow you to qualify for a job. Universities may multiply scholarships and innovative gateways, but the recovery does not come.
Why bother to get a sesame that is no longer in demand or can be obtained through accreditation and certification programs recognized by employers? A similar phenomenon can be observed in vocational training centres. In the construction industry, kerf is so important, found The dutythat in the four corners of Quebec, people stop or think about stopping teaching essential skilled trades.
This affects tinsmithing as well as plumbing, heating or trades such as bricklayer and cement worker. The conscripts only have to take a 30-hour training course and a course in health and safety on construction sites to take the leap, a commitment that many end up not honoring without being slapped on the wrist. This fast lane is a boon for the nearly nine out of ten construction companies struggling with a shortage of labor or trades.
But the pressure of the environment has mounted so quickly that the exception is on the way to becoming the rule. Of the 20,378 employees who entered construction last year, 76% did not have a DEP in the field for which they were hired. With the individual and collective security risks that this implies for the immediate, but also for the long term. Such ratios, if maintained, can only lead to a skills-deficient industry.
Funded largely on the basis of their enrollment, universities have been able to count on additional financial assistance during the pandemic. It must be renewed as long as the increase in registrations is not guaranteed and do the same for vocational training centers whose attractiveness is in free fall. In the meantime, we have to make sure to spare the goat and the cabbage by multiplying the initiatives to facilitate the balance between studies and work.
For certain very exposed jobs, such as psychologists or beneficiary attendants, the CAQ government has set up attractive scholarships to attract and retain candidates. It’s good. It also authorized the creation of qualifying master’s degrees to fill up the teaching staff. It’s not perfect, far from it, but above all, it leaves out a plethora of sectors that are not favored by Quebec City or by the business community.
The problem is that a healthy nation not only trains workers, but also citizens, thinkers, creators. Any backsliding on the education front should be taken very seriously. An essential element in the calculation of the human development index, the schooling rate is linked to a better quality of life and a better state of health. It also contributes to social stability in addition to fostering innovation and stimulating long-term economic growth.
All the sacrifices made on this front should be made with the greatest caution, a precaution that we do not feel much in the present political discourse, which values the company more spontaneously. The unfortunate thing is that this generation of workers risks never reaching their full potential in terms of studies and income if the context stretches for a long time. The recipe for avoiding such a scenario is fortunately known: we must promote the most equitable and resilient educational environments possible. But for that, it is not enough to just listen to the industry and the business community.