Raising our sights: building a 21st century workforce

Raising our sights:
building a 21st century workforce
Notes for an address to the
2014 Canadian Aerospace Summit
The Honourable John P. Manley, P.C., O.C.
President and Chief Executive Officer
Ottawa
November 18, 2014
Notes for remarks to the 2014 Canadian Aerospace Summit – November 18, 2014
The Honourable John Manley, President and Chief Executive Officer
Canadian Council of Chief Executives
ceocouncil.ca
I want to start by thanking you for inviting me to join you today. The 2014
Canadian Aerospace Summit is an important event for your industry.
Cet événement est important pour les centaines d’entreprises aérospatiales au
pays, de même que pour les 66 000 hommes et femmes qui travaillent dans ce
secteur.
Et je dirais même plus. Il est important pour nous tous qui nous soucions de la
place du Canada dans l’économie mondiale.
It’s important for what it says about our country’s ability to punch above its
weight – in a field at the cutting-edge of innovation and human ingenuity.
And it’s important because of the challenges you face as an industry that relies
on a highly educated, skilled and adaptable labour force.
How we, as a country, respond to those challenges will help shape our economic
future – our future not just in aerospace, but in a wide range of sectors that rely
on innovation and engage in advanced manufacturing.
Before I go any further, I want to underscore something that people in this room
already know, but that might come as a surprise to many other Canadians.
Sure, we like to beat ourselves over the head with the notion that we are mere
hewers of wood and drawers of water.
But your very presence here highlights the inaccuracy of that old cliché.
You’re here because Canada is a global leader in aerospace.
Canadian companies and Canadian workers – combined with smart public
policy over many decades with governments of different stripes – have put us
near the front of the pack, in a fiercely competitive industry.
The numbers truly are impressive.
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Notes for remarks to the 2014 Canadian Aerospace Summit – November 18, 2014
The Honourable John Manley, President and Chief Executive Officer
Canadian Council of Chief Executives
ceocouncil.ca
Canada’s aerospace sector is the 2nd largest in the world when measured against
the size of its national economy, behind only the United States.
What’s more, we are 5th largest in the world in absolute terms – behind the US,
France, Germany and Britain, but ahead of Japan, Russia, Brazil, and China.
Autre chose qui mérite réflexion : le Canada est le seul de ce peloton de tête de
cinq pays où les dépenses consacrées à la défense ne contribuent pas de
manière importante à l’épanouissement du secteur aérospatial.
J’ai été ministre de l’Industrie pendant sept ans et j’en suis actuellement à ma
cinquième année au Conseil canadien des chefs d’entreprise, alors pour moi, ces
chiffres sont éloquents.
Let me put it this way:
How many sectors can we point to where Canada is actually bigger, more
successful and more global than our population and the size of our economy
warrant? I can’t come up with many.
If we are 5th in the world in aerospace, clearly we’ve got a success on our hands.
That’s a tribute not just to the leading players in Canada’s aerospace sector and
homegrown champions like Bombardier, CAE and Magellan.
It’s a tribute as well to the many hundreds of smaller firms that supply essential
components, and the foreign-owned OEMs that employ Canadians and Canadian
supply chains.
Speaking of supply chains, it’s important to note that the aerospace footprint in
Canada extends well beyond the 66,000 people who are directly employed in
the sector.
An estimated 92,000 additional jobs are generated by the sector’s demand for
inputs and services.
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Notes for remarks to the 2014 Canadian Aerospace Summit – November 18, 2014
The Honourable John Manley, President and Chief Executive Officer
Canadian Council of Chief Executives
ceocouncil.ca
That’s well over 150,000 Canadians in total, most of them highly skilled and
well-educated.
In my current job, I spend a lot of time talking to the CEOs of leading companies
across a wide range of sectors. One of the questions I always ask them is:
“What is it that keeps you awake at night? When you consider where your
company is today – and where you want to be tomorrow – what worries you
most?”
When I was Industry Minister, one of things I worried about was who was
trying to take our aerospace industry.
Because let’s face it: countries around the world were willing – are willing – to
put massive amounts of money into acquiring what we already have.
If we want to stay in the game as winners, we’d better stay sharp.
Now, a lot of different things go into creating and maintaining a world-class,
globally competitive aerospace sector. At this summit, you’ll be discussing and
debating many of those issues.
I also know that Jim Quick and his team at the Aerospace Industries Association
are working hard to address the challenges you face.
But in the short time available to me, I want to zero in on one challenge in
particular – one that we in the CEO Council are strongly focused upon.
It’s a concern I flagged a minute ago, in part because of its importance not just
for aerospace but for other technology-intensive sectors – and the economy as a
whole.
I’m talking about the future of Canada’s labour force.
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Notes for remarks to the 2014 Canadian Aerospace Summit – November 18, 2014
The Honourable John Manley, President and Chief Executive Officer
Canadian Council of Chief Executives
ceocouncil.ca
Two years ago, when David Emerson’s Aerospace Review delivered its findings
to the federal government – Jim, you played a key role in that – I was glad to see
the emphasis on strengthening the aerospace skills base.
Selon ce rapport, et je cite : « L'industrie aérospatiale canadienne jouit d'un
avantage concurrentiel grâce à une main-d'œuvre dont l'expertise et la
productivité sont reconnues, mais cet avantage est menacé. » (Fin de citation.)
Il y a menace, en effet, parce que la main-d’œuvre de l’industrie aérospatiale
canadienne est vieillissante.
Nous ne faisons pas assez d’efforts pour informer les jeunes sur les carrières
dans votre industrie et pour les y préparer.
Nous n’en faisons pas non plus assez pour attirer les étudiants dans les
domaines d’études qu’il faut – notamment dans les sciences, la technologie,
l’ingénierie et les mathématiques.
Fields that can open up a world of opportunity for young Canadians, with wellpaying jobs in exciting, evolving industries.
The Emerson report offered three main recommendations to ensure a talented
and adaptable aerospace workforce.
First, it proposed that the federal government play a more active role in
addressing the human capital needs of the sector – not on its own, of course, but
in partnership with industry, academic institutions and the provinces.
This is an important point. In fact, it’s one that was echoed in a report that my
own organization published earlier this year.
It’s a sensitive subject among a lot of people, but Canada is the world’s only
advanced economy that lacks a national office or ministry for education.
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Notes for remarks to the 2014 Canadian Aerospace Summit – November 18, 2014
The Honourable John Manley, President and Chief Executive Officer
Canadian Council of Chief Executives
ceocouncil.ca
As a result, there is relatively little national discussion of education policy. And
no serious effort to develop a comprehensive, pan-Canadian strategy to improve
education and training outcomes.
I’m not suggesting that Ottawa should barge in and interfere in areas of
provincial jurisdiction.
But we also can’t ignore the fact that Canada is competing with many other
countries for jobs and investment across a wide range of industries.
That being the case, surely it makes sense for us to spend a bit of time thinking
about the areas where we can coordinate our efforts more effectively.
The Aerospace Review panel pointed to one of those areas.
It recommended that the federal government work with the provinces, industry
and educators to boost STEM enrolment and completion rates – and to inform
young people about aerospace and space career options.
Second, the Review emphasized the need for a stronger focus on upgrading the
skills of Canada’s aerospace workforce.
The largest firms – as with large companies in many other sectors – already
invest heavily in workplace learning and training programs.
Smaller firms, however, have less capacity to adapt to changing technologies,
products and regulatory requirements.
For that reason, the Aerospace report recommended training grants for
employers when they partner with universities and colleges to develop
programs that help employees work with new technologies.
Third, the review recommended that governments co-fund the purchase of upto-date training labs and equipment, including simulators and engines.
Again, this requires a partnership with industry, provinces and academic and
research institutes.
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Notes for remarks to the 2014 Canadian Aerospace Summit – November 18, 2014
The Honourable John Manley, President and Chief Executive Officer
Canadian Council of Chief Executives
ceocouncil.ca
A great example of this kind of initiative is the project spearheaded by
Bombardier and Centennial College in Toronto, with support from the Ontario
government and other investors.
The plan is to establish a new aerospace training and research hub, located in
the former de Havilland aircraft factory in Downsview Park.
Featuring new classrooms, workshops and hangar space, the Downsview
aerospace cluster will benefit students not just from Centennial, but from the
University of Toronto, Ryerson and York University.
Together, these schools will be educating the aerospace workers of tomorrow
and undertaking R&D that will keep Canada at the forefront of the global
aerospace industry.
They’ll be helping to create a virtuous circle. Because more education and R&D
will spur more demand for brainpower, more investment in advanced
manufacturing and more high-value jobs.
Quand j’entends parler d’initiatives comme le carrefour de recherche et de
formation Downsview, je ne peux que ressentir de l’optimisme quant à l’avenir
de ce secteur.
Mais si nous voulons sérieusement que cet avenir devienne réalité, nous devons
faire plus.
Oui, nous avons besoin de programmes d’études postsecondaires de qualité
supérieure comme ceux que je viens de mentionner.
Oui, nous avons besoin d’investissements continus dans la formation en milieu
de travail et dans le perfectionnement des compétences de la part d’entreprises
comme celles représentées ici aujourd’hui.
Mais nous devons aussi accorder plus d’attention à la qualité de l’éducation
primaire et secondaire au Canada.
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Notes for remarks to the 2014 Canadian Aerospace Summit – November 18, 2014
The Honourable John Manley, President and Chief Executive Officer
Canadian Council of Chief Executives
ceocouncil.ca
I mentioned a few minutes ago the crucial role of math, science and other STEM
disciplines.
Well, here’s something I worry about a lot:
We live in an age in which technology and innovation are crucial to Canada’s
economic future – yet we are witnessing a significant drop in the math and
science scores of Canadian students compared to young people in other
countries.
One of the most closely watched benchmarks of international education is a
triennial OECD study of 15-year-olds in developed and emerging economies
around the world.
It’s called the Program for International Student Assessment, or PISA.
In the first PISA study, 14 years ago, Canadian students finished in 6th place in
math and 5th place in science.
Since then, we’ve been slipping. In the most recent PISA round, in 2012, our
students dropped to 13th place in math and 10th in science.
Last year, for the first time, the OECD published the findings of a similar study of
adult skills. It’s called the Program for International Assessment of Adult
Competencies, or PIAAC.
Looking over the PIAAC results, one of the things that stood out for me was that
Canadians between the ages of 16 and 24 actually rank below the OECD average
in numeracy – well behind countries like Finland, the Netherlands, Korea, Japan,
Sweden and Germany.
Now, I’m the first to admit that Canada still does pretty well in these and other
international rankings. You could look at the numbers and say, “Hey, we’re in
13th place in math and, you know, that’s pretty good.”
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Notes for remarks to the 2014 Canadian Aerospace Summit – November 18, 2014
The Honourable John Manley, President and Chief Executive Officer
Canadian Council of Chief Executives
ceocouncil.ca
Ask yourself what result Canadians consider satisfactory in Olympic hockey,
and then tell me that 13th place in global rankings in math is acceptable!
Well, actually, a lot of people are saying it’s acceptable.
But I don’t agree, because the trend is clearly in the wrong direction. Our
students’ scores are dropping, while those of many other countries are going up.
So – what are we going to do about this?
The first thing I’d suggest is that we need to admit we have a problem. And then
we need to talk about it, honestly and constructively.
Right now, I don’t think we’re paying nearly as much attention to this as we
should.
I’ll give you an example. In August, Canada’s education ministers met in
Charlottetown for their annual conference.
At a news conference when it ended, reporters asked about those two big
international studies – the ones that show our students’ math scores are
slipping.
The ministers’ response was that perhaps the real problem is the way those
tests were designed.
They asked their officials to consider whether there are other, better ways to
assess the abilities of Canadian students.
Now, I have to tell you – that response concerns me. That’s like blaming the ref
when you lose.
It’s an excuse. And you know what an excuse is? It’s the skin of a reason, stuffed
with a lie.
Now, I don’t claim to be a specialist in education, but what I can tell you is this:
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Notes for remarks to the 2014 Canadian Aerospace Summit – November 18, 2014
The Honourable John Manley, President and Chief Executive Officer
Canadian Council of Chief Executives
ceocouncil.ca
You’ve got to have some commonly accepted way of measuring outcomes, and
in today’s world PISA and PIAAC are the global benchmarks.
So you can question those standards if you like, but that’s what the rest of the
world is using.
And it’s not as though Canada is doing so well in every other respect that we can
afford to say, well, to heck with PISA and PIAAC.
So my view is pretty simple. We need to do a better job of introducing Canadian
children to math and science in the early grades.
We need to figure out how to help more high-school students stick with math
and science after Grade 10, when they are no longer compulsory.
And we need to encourage more young Canadians to pursue higher education in
the STEM disciplines, preparing them for rewarding careers in aerospace and
other technology-intensive sectors.
It’s important to your industry, and it’s important to Canada.
We live in a world in which capital and technology are available anywhere. The
nations that succeed will be those that offer stability and predictability in
governance, good infrastructure, proximity to markets, and top talent.
These are factors that we control. Our future prosperity requires us to excel in
all of them.
Thank you.
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