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Canada's eight polytechnic institutions have 94,000 full-time students

Polytechnics integral to Canada's welfare

Exports and education are the bookends of Canada's prosperity. Without them, the whole library that is the Great White North will come tumbling down.

DAVID CHILTON

[ 2007-06-06 ]

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Polytechnics Canada's eight members are Humber, Seneca and George Brown in Toronto, Sheridan in Oakville, Conestoga in Kitchener, the British Columbia Institute of Technology, the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology and the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology.

So it was with the double E advantage in mind Polytechnics Canada commissioned a study that has identified the unique value of the country's eight polytechnic institutions but also warns governments that without strong, long-term support Canada risks falling behind such economies as those of China and India.

The study, called Building Canada's Competitive Strength: The Role of Canada's Polytechnics, was released earlier this year, and calls on the federal government to invest at least $1.5 billion over two years in state-of-the-art equipment and infrastructure integral to providing advanced applied education. A further $150 million a year should be ponied up for applied research that leads to commercialization and its attendant economic benefits.

Sharon Maloney, executive director of Polytechnics Canada -- an association of eight schools in three provinces -- says polytechnics provide crucial economic benefits to Canada and should be funded accordingly.

"Research in universities is (often) limited to pure research. We (polytechnics) have to respond to industry needs." Remember, says Maloney, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development says Canada has the highest post-secondary levels of education among its members -- including the U.S., Australia, Germany, Britain and Switzerland -- and that's a result of the country's college system.

Polytechnics Canada is a part of that system. Its eight members are Humber, Seneca and George Brown in Toronto, Sheridan in Oakville, Conestoga in Kitchener, the British Columbia Institute of Technology, the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology and the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology.

The gap is narrowing between colleges and universities, Maloney says, and the pace of the formers' evolution has been exceptionally rapid. "Polytechnics and universities are two paths that are about to cross," she says, noting that the members of her association offer applied four-year degrees, joint bachelor's degrees in concert with universities and advanced three-year diplomas as well as other qualifications.

Dr. Rob Turner, Sheridan's president and CEO, says polytechnics are of critical importance to Canada's welfare, and need to be acknowledged as such. In the eight schools that commissioned the study, there are 94,000 full-time students, 200,000 part-time and 179,000 enrolled in continuing education, Turner says, with a further 34,000 taking various corporate training courses. To give that many digits some context, Turner points out that when Sheridan began about 40 years ago it had 400 students; it now has 15,000.

It's been estimated, Turner continues, that 75 to 80% of all new jobs being created require post-secondary education, and it's the college system that's providing it. There's hard evidence to back Turner's assertion. In tracking studies conducted after graduation, many college educated students, especially those in business and technical occupations, show employment rates six months after finishing school that are into the 90th percentile.

Prof. Larry Smith, the University of Waterloo economist who conducted the study, says to bear in mind that Canada has been very successful in the past because its workforce has been better educated than those of its competitors, but that edge will be eroded -- not just be cheap labour countries such as China and India -- but also by the likes of Australia, which is pouring money into education.

"The polytechnics are the first to your defence against those competitors," Smith says.

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