Many new jobs being created require higher levels of skills than the jobs being lost. Nova Scotia will need to invest even more wisely in education and training to keep its workforce competitive. Nova Scotians will also require higher levels of literacy, including computer literacy, to be ready for the opportunities to come. We cannot make ourselves better off by selling to each other within the province. Exporting allows us to tap markets much larger than our own.
Exports generate wealth and jobs.
However, in the mid-1990s, Nova Scotian exports were growing more slowly than those of most of the other provinces. In 1999, we had the second-lowest level of exports per person among the provinces. Our export picture may be improving. Nova Scotian growth in exports was among the fastest in the country in the late 1990s, capped by a 16 per cent increase in 1999. Business is adding more value to our resources.