OSPE - The Voice - Fall 2013 - (Page 19)

UNIVERSITIES HAVE A ROLE TO PLAY IN PREPARING GRADS FOR EMPLOYMENT In September, OSPE President and Chair Paul Acchione, P.Eng., responded to an article published in the Globe and Mail entitled Universities educate, employers train (September 3, 2013). Authored by Dr. Max Blouw, Chair of the Council of Ontario universities and President of Wilfred laurier university, the article suggested that universities are not - and should not be - CURRENT TRENDS IN CANADA'S ENGINEERING LABOUR MARkET * A 2012 Talent Shortage Survey report from ManpowerGroup found that only 25 per cent of Canadian employers reported difficulty filling positions, which is lower than the global average of 34 per cent in the 41 countries surveyed. However, Canadian employers said that engineers were the second most difficult position to fill. * Average annual growth in engineering responsible for the job-readiness of their graduates. Instead, job-specific employment from 2010 to 2018 is predicted training is the responsibility of employers. The role of universities, says to be 3.2 per cent, well above the average blouw, is to equip students with broad knowledge and opportunities for for all employment in Ontario and higher personal growth that should enable them to thrive after graduation. than in most other provinces. "While I agree with Mr. Blouw's view that universities have a duty to provide broad intellectual and personal development, I take issue with his implied message that universities need not be burdened by training graduates to meet the needs of the business world because that is an employer's responsibility," Mr. Acchione said in a letter to the editor. Research by OSPE's Underemployment Working Group has shown that tight budgets and intense competition have fostered growing reluctance among employers to train new graduates. Instead, they are focusing their recruitment efforts on engineers with 5-10 years of experience who can hit the ground running without training - a much less plentiful group. As a result, employers are struggling to find job-ready engineers, while new grads are hard pressed to get a foot in the door. This troubling disconnect hurts both engineers and the province's economy. Based on these findings, OSPE is advocating for a collaborative approach among governments, industry and universities to develop solutions. "We can point to others to solve the problem, or we can admit the problem is much bigger than any one institution or decision maker can solve," Mr. Acchione said. "We all need to work together to find a solution to our growing underemployment of university graduates." Mr. Acchione discussed his comments to the Globe and Mail in his President's Perspectives blog at www.ospe.on.ca and via OSPE's LinkedIn Group, which generated lively discussion on the subject. Many of the engineers who weighed in agree that multiple stakeholders have a role to play in fostering job readiness and career advancement for engineers. OSPE is continuing to research the engineering labour market and is meeting with elected officials and deans of engineering across Ontario to raise awareness of this critical issue. To read Mr. Acchione's full letter to the Globe and Mail, visit his President's Perspective's blog at www.ospe.on.ca. To view engineers' comments and add your thoughts to the discussion, check out OSPE's linkedIn Group. * Engineering labour markets are characterized by a surplus of recent graduates, who have little or no experience, and a shortage of experienced engineers with five or more years of practical experience, and the specialized, experience-based technical skills that employers require. * According to 2006 Statistics Canada data, of the 157,900 immigrants in Canada who studied engineering and were employed, 30,000 were working as an engineer, a match rate of 19 per cent. Slightly more Canadian-born graduates who studied engineering (167,300) were employed in engineering, a match rate more than double that of immigrants (42 per cent). * At current levels of immigration and graduations, labour markets remain tight because of replacement demands related to increasing rates of retirement among Baby Boomers. Recruiting experienced engineers will be especially difficult for employers. TheVoice Fall 2013 1 9 http://www.ospe.on.ca http://www.ospe.on.ca

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of OSPE - The Voice - Fall 2013

OSPE - The Voice - Fall 2013
Contents
Viewpoint
Newsbytes
Engineers of Influence/WEAC Fall Forum
OSPE-PEO Chapter BBQs
Tom Anselmi, P.Eng.
Profile: Bill and Bob Goodings
The 66th Annual Professional Engineers Awards Gala
Now Hiring Engineers?
Preparing New Grads for Employment
Canada’s Engineering Labour Market
Point & Counterpoint
Tackling Transit
OSPE Political Action Network in Full Swing
Energy Planning
Elliot Lake Inquiry
Intellectual Property
Learn, Develop, Grow Your Career
Grow Your Engineering Team

OSPE - The Voice - Fall 2013