Manitoba vows post-secondary shakeup with work exposure for all, tuition tied to labour market

The Manitoba government wants all post-secondary students to be exposed to work opportunities during their studies, the province said Monday, announcing it's moving forward with a shakeup of higher education that will affect tuition and the programs offered.

Advanced Education, Skills and Immigration Minister Wayne Ewasko introduced a three-year plan that he said will kickstart Manitoba's economy with the jobs and skills people need.

The new skills, talent and knowledge strategy will anticipate the skills employees will need in the future and ensure both post-secondary institutions and the labour market can accommodate them, Ewasko said. 

"The main goal of the strategy … is the right people with the right skills at the right time, and that's where we need to go to improve Manitoba's economy post-pandemic."

A lot of the strategy hangs on post-secondary education, which the province wants to reform, in part, by tailoring their funding to the needs of the labour market.

'Rebalance programs'

Universities and colleges will give all students work opportunities, such as co-ops, internships or land-based learning, a report on the plan says.

They will explore ways to connect tuition to the needs of the economy and institutions will have to share labour market information with prospective students.

"Universities and colleges will meet the challenge of becoming more nimble and responsive, and identify ways to shift programming more easily and quickly," the report says.

Post-secondary institutions are being told to "rebalance programs" that "oversupply the labour market" toward "program opportunities in high-demand areas." 

The government report on the plan doesn't provide much detail on how these goals will be attained, promising further discussions with stakeholders. Ewasko said the new strategy was created with the help of post-secondary institutions.

The strategy says the province will assess the pandemic's impacts and determine the training needed to support the people whose jobs may be permanently lost.

It will encourage academia and industries to develop more partnerships. 

The province will also work to attract and retain skilled employees and focus immigration on Manitoba's needs, the strategy report says.

Ewasko offered no cost estimate for the strategy, nor did he signal what sort of skills Manitobans should have.

Plan short on detail: faculty

Scott Forbes, president of the Manitoba Organization of Faculty Associations, said the government's plan lacks information. 

"The minister certainly presented aspirations without much in the way of details. I really don't know on the ground what's going to happen."

He appreciates efforts to boost post-secondary enrolment and provide students with more information before they sign up.

"I am a little surprised about the sort of the philosophical approach, because right-of-centre governments usually tell us that government shouldn't be picking winners and losers in business and industry," Forbes said.

"Yet that appears to be exactly what they're doing here, which is subsidizing the training costs of certain businesses and industries. That surprises me."

Ewasko said the government will release annual reports on its progress. 

'Divorced from reality'

Opposition parties said the strategy could mean further cuts to post-secondary education.

Manitoba Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont, a former lecturer at the University of Winnipeg, said the report is threatening.

"This is a program to put a gun to the head of universities and colleges and say, 'If you don't do what we want, we're going to close down. We're going to close down departments, we're going to fire people, and in fact, we're probably going to do that anyway,'" he said at a news conference on Monday.

"I'm not quite sure who put this together, but it is completely divorced from the reality and needs of post-secondary education, of researchers, of students and the business community."

Jamie Moses, the Manitoba NDP critic for economic development and training, called the strategy a "wrong-headed approach."

Post-secondary institutions know what will work best for their students and faculty, and what programs will work best for them, he said.

The report wasn't requested by student groups, faculty or administration, he said.