Alignment need not be a dirty word

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 03/10/2020 (1827 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Back in May, the Premier of Manitoba announced the establishment of Economic Opportunities Advisory Board. Given the 18-month mandate for the group, it is likely that the Premier will receive advice that covers the long-term and is not strictly limited to how to kick start our engines during, and hopefully following, the pandemic.

That’s probably a good thing. While undoubtedly there are things one would want to be doing now to contribute to our economic circumstances, in my view, it’s always better when the short-term stimulus measures have longer-term benefits. This is an approach we witnessed the Government of Canada use through the Knowledge Infrastructure Program and the Strategic Infrastructure Fund. Interestingly enough, a similar approach from two very different governments. Good ideas need not be partisan.

There was solid recognition of the important role of post-secondary education by the province in the establishment of the mandate for the Economic Opportunities Advisory Board. Specifically, the Premier challenged the group to provide advice about how to achieve better alignment between Manitoba’s economic and social needs and the post-secondary sector. To assist, a dedicated task team from the advisory board was established.

“Alignment” is seen in some quarters as a dirty word. It brings fear that some programs that have less pressing, even if temporary, labour market demand, might be cast aside for programs where there are significant job vacancies, even if temporary.

As a college, the notion of shifting programs to match to alterations in labour market demand is not foreign, and in many cases is welcome. However, I also don’t think alignment need be viewed as simply slicing the existing pie differently.

Probably the biggest alignment issue we have in Manitoba is that we have the lowest post-secondary attainment rate in the country. This results in a labour market mismatch where there are jobs that are going unfilled, but at the same time, people who aren’t able to get jobs. Addressing this mismatch will improve economic performance and reduce reliance on the social welfare system.

A few years ago, Higher Education Strategy Associates also provided an analysis that illustrated that our alignment issues in Manitoba include a rural-urban imbalance in seats. In fact, over 85 per cent of the funds for post-secondary education are spent in Winnipeg. This leaves certain pockets in rural Manitoba underserved including places like Portage and Winkler Morden.

In addition, historically Manitoba has done better at growing its universities than its colleges. Manitoba actually has the third-lowest percentage of college seats in the country as part of its post-secondary mix. So, as we set about to achieve better alignment it’s likely that we will need more rural college seats to help achieve the right alignment and balance.

While there is a large role for government in this alignment, Assiniboine hasn’t been sitting idly by.

In 2013, our Board of Governors identified the need for the college to grow to meet the needs of the labour market and economy. In fact, they originally set out a goal to double our number of graduates by 2025! That would have taken us from 954 to 1,908 graduates a year.

By 2018 the college had already grown by 57 per cent. Not wanting to rest on its laurels, our Board of Governors decided to recast this goal as 2,028 graduates by 2028. Nothing like upping the ante.

Well, the most recent set of numbers are in and last year Assiniboine had its largest-ever graduating class at 1,514 graduates. Not bad considering the final four months of the year were interrupted by the pandemic. Kudos to our faculty and staff who went the extra mile to make sure that students finished their programs on time, a feat that was not achieved by many Canadian colleges.

While getting more college grads is a significant element of alignment it is obviously not the only one. Over the past five years, Assiniboine has launched almost two dozen new programs and revised a dozen others. Program renewal remains an important focus for the institution and helps ensure that programs stay relevant to the labour market. It’s worth noting that our staff was able to mount these two dozen new programs without any increases to our base funding from government.

We also know that certain sectors need more attention than others. Ultimately, we need exports to grow our economy and create new wealth in Manitoba. As such, agriculture in particular is a sector that merits significant attention.

In 2014, agriculture employers in Manitoba were unable to fill 1,800 jobs, equivalent to seven per cent of the total required workforce. The Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council has estimated that this gap will grow to 18 per cent by 2025 without intervention. That wouldn’t be good for our economy. With that in mind, our institution set out a plan to go from slightly less than 300 students in agriculture and food-related programs to over 800. We have been making progress but we will need new learning spaces to accommodate to the types of labs and advanced manufacturing and processing shops that these programs will require.

For me, alignment is far from a dirty word. Aligning our efforts to labour market, the economy and social needs of our society are critical to our success as a college. We look forward to the deliberations of the Premier’s advisory council and we look forward to continuing to move forward ideas and initiatives in the short-term to build a stronger Manitoba.

— Mark Frison is president of Assiniboine Community College.