As the importance of postsecondary education is increasing, public funding for it is decreasing. In the absence of alternative forms of labour-market training for youth, this threatens to lead to sharper class divisions in Canadian society. Canada does not have a tradition of social cooperation around education and training. The result has been poor communication between the supply and demand sides of the labour market. Employers do not take sufficient responsibility for training and education.
Educators are often suspicious of programs directly related to training for the labour market.
Governments, meanwhile, are increasingly incapacitated by their fiscal problems. The onus then falls upon individuals to make risky choices about how much to invest in education, and which field of study and specialization to choose. As the pace of economic and technological change accelerates, this lack of social cooperation becomes a critical problem. A number of policy approaches can be used to improve access to education and training opportunities for youth.