OSPE - The Voice - Spring 2020 - 15

ADVOCACY IN ACTION

with AM specific skills. Lastly, the Government of Ontario
should work with Ontario's post-secondary institutions to
fund and support disruptive AM start-ups led by students
and recent graduates with subject matter expertise.

be full partners in the development of the Ring of Fire. Lastly, the
government must ensure that Indigenous talent is well supported
and developed, while working with Northern Ontario engineering
programs to promote work opportunities to students.
13. Create a data governance framework.
To leverage the power of data for both public and private sector
efficiencies, it is imperative to address key considerations related
to transparency and privacy. The public has expressed concerns
regarding the use of data, primarily the risk of data breaches
for personal, privileged or high value data, as well as the misuse
of public/open data. There are also concerns with the lack of
commitment and continuity in reporting data consistently, over
a long period of time, and how this impacts the usefulness of data
to serve all Ontarians. To address these concerns, the government
should commit to providing data at regular intervals, with
consistent quality and over a sufficiently long amount of time for
trends to be established.

15. Foster a diverse and skilled labour force.
It is imperative that the government demonstrate leadership
in ensuring that Ontario's workforce is equipped with the
skills required by the labour market of the future. It is equally
important that the labour force is reflective of the Ontario
population, and possesses the intercultural competence to
participate in a globalized economy. This requires bridging
the current skills-gap, ensuring that graduates are work
ready, and addressing inequities that negatively impact
underrepresented groups affecting their ability to participate
in the sector, and ultimately costing Ontario the opportunity
to realize its full economic potential.

14. Invest in growing the advanced manufacturing
(AM) sector.
Manufacturing has been and continues to be a key driver of the
Ontario economy. With enormous export potential and positioned
for growth, the manufacturing sector is transforming through
the incorporation of advanced robotics, automation, and additive
manufacturing. However, the AM sector faces two key challenges
in Ontario: a lack of skilled labour trained in AM technology and
cost of adoption for this technology. The Ontario government
should work with all levels of governments to provide additional
AM-focused programs with potential tax rebates and upfront
grants to incentivize companies to adopt AM technologies.
The government should establish a fund for manufacturers to
hire/contract engineers to redesign their systems to run more
efficiently. To ensure a flow of labour, the government should
support flexibility within the accreditation system in order to
ensure that curriculum is adapted to produce engineering talent

Spring 2020 THE VOICE

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