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10 Things TESL Ontario members might want to know about Post-Secondary Education and Training

10 Things TESL Ontario members might want to know about Post-Secondary Education and Training. Presentation to TESL Conference December 11, 2009. 1. MTCU Mandate. VISION

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10 Things TESL Ontario members might want to know about Post-Secondary Education and Training

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  1. 10 Things TESL Ontario members might want to know about Post-Secondary Education and Training Presentation to TESL Conference December 11, 2009

  2. 1. MTCU Mandate • VISION • 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 • High level of research and innovation • MISSION • 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

  3. 2. Postsecondary Education • Ontario offers a wide range of options for postsecondary education (PSE) including: • 19 provincially assisted Universities and the Ontario College of Art and Design • 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) • 24 provincially assisted Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology • Grant diplomas and certificates (some grant degrees), usually 2 year programs (Paramedics, Translators) • About 550 Private Career College campuses offering postsecondary training in almost 70 communities across Ontario • 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)

  4. 3. Employment and Training • Over $1 billion invested annually in programs and services to assist: • Job threatened or laid-off workers • Workers, newcomers, and youth • Employers • 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

  5. 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: • 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

  6. 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

  7. 6. ESL/FSL Training in Colleges • Ontario’s colleges deliver occupation-specific language training. • 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. • 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. • 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 • as part of full-time career-focused postsecondary programs • through continuing education • through federally and/or provincially government-funded non-postsecondary programs such as ELT, LINC/CLIC • through provincially funded bridging programs, or • through corporate training.

  8. 6. 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. • This new occupation-specific language training will provide communication and socio-cultural 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. • 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 • In 2007-08, across the province, 16% of applicants and students reported that their first language was neither English nor French: • of the five Metro Toronto colleges, 29% reported a first language other than French or English

  9. 7. Private Career Colleges and ESL/FSL • 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. • 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.

  10. 8. CIITE Program • 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). • 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. • Phase 3.2, the current project phase, was launched in August 2009 to work over the next two years to attain the following objectives: • Match ITIs with particular needs to appropriate services within the realm of colleges’ navigation advisement, educational advisement and vocational advisement; • 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.

  11. 9. Literacy and Basic and ESL/FSL • TCU funds Colleges, School Boards and Community organizations to deliver the Literacy and Basic Skills Program (LBS) • 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 • 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

  12. 9. Literacy and Basic and ESL/FSL (continued) • 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 • 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: • Examining transition points • Identifying gaps and needs within current continuum

  13. 10. Second Career Program • Second Career provides laid-off workers with • skills training to help them find jobs in high-demand occupations in Ontario • financial support • 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. • Second Career provides up to $28,000 for: • tuition • books • other instruction costs such as manuals or workbooks • transportation • a basic living allowance • Additional support may be available to accommodate the needs of people with disabilities, dependent care, costs of living away from home and academic upgrading. • Unprecedented response to the program. Within 16 months from launch date, MTCU had more than 20,000 people in participating in SC program.

  14. 10. Second Career Program (continued) • 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 • 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

  15. Conclusion • Thank you for inviting me here today • I look forward to answering any questions that you may have

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