Transcript 12 Things TESL members might want to know about MTCU

10 Things TESL Ontario members
might want to know about PostSecondary Education and
Training
Presentation to TESL Conference
December 11, 2009
1. MTCU Mandate

VISION
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Ontario will have the most educated people and highly skilled workforce in North
America in order to build the province’s competitive advantage

GOALS

Best learning and labour market outcomes

Highest participation and graduation rates
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High level of research and innovation
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MISSION
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Through its postsecondary education and training and employment programs, the
ministry:
 builds and sustains Ontario’s prosperity, competitiveness, civil society and
quality of life through the development of people
 ensures individual access to opportunity and participation throughout people’s
lives
 helps community adjust to changing conditions
 ensures that programs and services are high quality, accessible, integrated
and responsive
 ensures accountability for results
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2.
Postsecondary Education

Ontario offers a wide range of options for postsecondary education (PSE)
including:
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19 provincially assisted Universities and the Ontario College of Art and Design
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Grant degrees, usually 4 year undergrad, 2 year masters, and 4 year
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) (e.g.; Law, Architecture, Master of Business
Administration)
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24 provincially assisted Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology
 Grant diplomas and certificates (some grant degrees), usually 2 year
programs (Paramedics, Translators)
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About 550 Private Career College campuses offering postsecondary training in
almost 70 communities across Ontario
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17 privately funded degree-granting institutions
99% of the population lives within 80km of a provincially assisted University or
College campus
Total base operating grants to Universities and Colleges will rise to $4.25 billion
in 2008-09
$1.9 billion in federal and provincial student financial assistance (2007-08)
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3.
Employment and Training
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Over $1 billion invested annually in programs and services to assist:
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Job threatened or laid-off workers
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Workers, newcomers, and youth
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Employers
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Employment Ontario: Provides services to unemployed persons, such as
counselling, job search skills, and job placement. Employment Ontario has 37
programs offering services such as:

Second Career: helps recently laid-off unemployed workers retrain in order to
transition a new career in a high skill occupation

Literacy and Basic Skills: provides free literacy, numeracy and essential skills
services to adults who are out of school and have less than Grade 12 skill
levels

Employment Services: provides job search, resume writing, interview skills
and other services to help unemployed individual find and keep employment

The above activities have helped more than 900,000 Ontarians in 2008-09,
including over 140,000 employers, across almost 900 locations

110,000 apprentices learning a trade in Ontario
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4.
The Importance of PSE and
Training
• PSE graduates have higher employability and continue to earn more
than individuals with less education
• 75% of people working today will still be working in 2020. Many will
require opportunities to learn, un-learn, and re-learn to remain
competitive
• High public returns include:
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Better health
Less crime
Higher taxes to support future consumption spending
More contributions to charity and PSE endowment funds
Stronger democracy
Higher productivity and stronger economic growth
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5.
Importance of Literacy/
Language Training
• Literacy and language proficiency provide the foundation for higher
educational attainment and training and are the most important determinants
of employability and wage rates
• However, there are still too many adults with low literacy or language
proficiency
• 3.4 million Ontario adults have literacy rates below the level required to
function in an innovation economy
• 30% of new immigrants coming to Ontario speak neither of the official
languages
• 88% of the jobs of the future require at least literacy at a high school
completion level
• Only 58% (or 4.8 million) of Ontarians are currently at, or above, this
level
• Attainment of increased levels of literacy and language proficiency improves
labour market and civic outcomes and contribute to a stronger economy
• A 1% increase in literacy scores relative to the international average will
achieve a 2.5% relative rise in labour productivity and 1.5% relative rise
in GDP per capita
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6.
ESL/FSL Training in
Colleges
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Ontario’s colleges deliver occupation-specific language training.
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The colleges also deliver bridging programs for Internationally Trained Individuals,
can provide pathways to further training or postsecondary education opportunities;
and offer a wide range of support services to adults such as counselling, health,
disability supports and career search.
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All 24 colleges of applied arts and technology have ministry approval to offer
French/English as a Second Language courses and programs.

In 2008-09, MTCU provided almost $1M in operating grants to colleges for F/ESL
activity.
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Ontario’s colleges offer a range of language courses (credit and non-credit) and
programs including occupation-specific language training (OSLT). These
language programs may be delivered
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as part of full-time career-focused postsecondary programs
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through continuing education
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through federally and/or provincially government-funded non-postsecondary
programs such as ELT, LINC/CLIC
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through provincially funded bridging programs, or
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through corporate training.
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6.
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ESL/FSL Training in
Colleges (continued)
In 2009-10, 13 colleges have received funding from CIC to pilot the delivery of
OSLT in Business, Health Sciences, Human Services, Automotive Trades,
Construction Trades and Technology.
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This new occupation-specific language training will provide communication and sociocultural workplace training to newcomers to help them succeed within their chosen
careers. The courses are for newcomers who have training or experience in the
designated sector and have relatively high-level language English or French skills.
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As part of their overall operations, colleges provided education to 8,025
international students operate over 50 bridging and language training programs
for newcomers to Canada
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In 2007-08, across the province, 16% of applicants and students reported that
their first language was neither English nor French:
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of the five Metro Toronto colleges, 29% reported a first language other than French or
English
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7.
Private Career Colleges
and ESL/FSL
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Under the Private Career Colleges Act, 2005 a “private career
college” is any type of organization that contracts directly with a
student to provide them with vocational program training.
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A vocational program provides instruction in the full range of
skills and knowledge required in order to obtain employment in
each occupation included in the National Occupational
Classification (NOC).

Language training programs which exclusively provide language
instruction (including English as a Second Language (ESL)
programs) do not require approval under the Private Career
Colleges Act, 2005 as they do not provide the full range of skills
and knowledge required to enter into an occupation.
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8. CIITE Program
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The Colleges Integrating Immigrants to Employment (CIITE) project is a 3 phase
initiative administered by Colleges of Ontario Network for Education and Training
(CON*NECT) designed to improve pathways for internationally trained immigrants
(ITIs) through the Ontario college system, from pre-entry services through
employment transition and into the workforce.

MTCU is providing $8 million for funding CIITE Phase 3.2 ($4 million in 2009-10 and
$4 million in 2010-11).
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CIITE provides critical support to internationally trained immigrants, helping them get
the advice, education and skills training they need to find work in their field.
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Phase 3.2, the current project phase, was launched in August 2009 to work over the
next two years to attain the following objectives:
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Match ITIs with particular needs to appropriate services within the realm of
colleges’ navigation advisement, educational advisement and vocational
advisement;
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Create, support and maintain a web-based application which will lead to the
creation of a Record of Education and Experience (REE); and

Provide support for marketing, outreach of the CIITE project to ITIs throughout
Ontario.
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9.
Literacy and Basic and
ESL/FSL

TCU funds Colleges, School Boards and Community
organizations to deliver the Literacy and Basic Skills Program
(LBS)
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The definitions of what constitutes a literacy learner and that of
an second language learner are relatively clear

At the program level can be blurred given the similarities
between the needs of both learner groups and the pedagogical
practices that are employed to meet their needs
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ESL/FSL and literacy are at the opposite ends of the same
language development continuum, and learners are found at all
points of this continuum
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9.
Literacy and Basic and
ESL/FSL (continued)
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While LBS and ESL/FSL providers have developed protocols on
suitability and eligibility of learners, there continue to be gaps and
more needs to be done to enhance pathways
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Examples of work going on to enhance pathways:
 Ontario Literacy Coalition funded to document needs and
characteristics of the second language learner entering LBS and
implications for LBS curriculum
 Project Read funded to develop a model for strengthening the
pathways between LBS, ESL and LINC programs in order to
assist adults to reach their employment and training goals
through:
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Examining transition points
Identifying gaps and needs within current continuum
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10. Second Career Program
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Second Career provides laid-off workers with
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skills training to help them find jobs in high-demand occupations in Ontario
financial support
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Second Career is one option among many Employment Ontario program options, to help
individuals recently laid off and requiring training to begin different careers in the new
economy.
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Second Career provides up to $28,000 for:
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tuition
books
other instruction costs such as manuals or workbooks
transportation
a basic living allowance
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Additional support may be available to accommodate the needs of people with
disabilities, dependent care, costs of living away from home and academic upgrading.
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Unprecedented response to the program. Within 16 months from launch date, MTCU
had more than 20,000 people in participating in SC program.
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10. Second Career Program
(continued)
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Many Second Career clients have not completed high school and/or
they require upgrading in order to be able to successfully participate
and complete their higher skills training through Second Career
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This upgrading includes language training for some clients -- lack of
language skills may not have been a barrier prior to layoff

These clients are being referred through Employment Ontario to
appropriate language training providers
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Conclusion
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Thank you for inviting me here today
I look forward to answering any questions
that you may have
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