Canada’s goal of a net zero economy by 2050 will require a broad reassessment of how we live and work, creating some entirely new jobs and reshaping many others. Postsecondary colleges say they are already shifting to train the next generation of workers.
“Colleges and institutes have a critical role to play in promoting sustainable development, fighting climate change and helping Canada achieve net zero emissions by 2050,” said Denise Amyot, President of Colleges and Institutes of Canada.
Canada’s effort to move away from an economy that relies on the extraction and use of fossil fuels is already generating movement in many industries, which typically work closely with the country’s trade schools to help them teach the skills required in Canada. labor force.
“We know that employers are looking for new skills and students are also applying for programs that help them find work in a green economy while making a difference and contributing positively,” he said.
There are at least 343 post-secondary programs in Canada that incorporate climate change into their curriculum, according to an informal count by lobbyist staff, representing vocational schools and other non-university educational institutions offering more than 10,000 courses. in general. (This number does not include courses taught at Canadian universities or the small number of technical schools that are not members of the voluntary association.)
The tally showed that Ontario has a slightly higher share of green fields than its share of the nation’s population in 41 percent of programs for 38 percent of Canada’s population.
British Columbia is well above its weight, with 28% of the green trade courses for 13% of the population, while Alberta, the site of most of the country’s oil and gas industry and the province Most in need of green transition training opportunities, trailing with 23 courses, or less than seven percent, for more than 11 percent of the total population.
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Between half and three-quarters of Canadians employed in the oil and gas sector could lose their jobs en route to 2050, TD Economics estimated. in an April report, It warned of disastrous consequences similar to the manufacturing collapse in the 1990s and early 2000s, unless governments develop worker transition plans now.
On the other side of the coin, some 10 million green jobs could be created worldwide by delivering thousands of turnkey renewable projects, consulting firm EY estimates in July.
Ontario’s Green Trade Count curriculum included the two colleges with the most of these courses, with Centennial College serving primarily the eastern side of the greater Toronto area, offering 19 and Algonquin College campuses in Ottawa and its surroundings offer 16.
The green transition will need skilled apprentices, architects, engineers and other climate-educated workers, many of whom are just finishing high school or in the middle of their post-secondary education. #GreenWorkforce
“Centennial green is our color, and we live those values through a strategic engagement with an activist university and … through the intentional development and modification of cutting-edge programs that will address the needs of not just today’s in the workplace. work but the sustainable jobs of tomorrow, ”said Marilyn Herie, Centennial’s director of learning.
Modifications include a revival of the university’s architectural technology course some 15 years ago with a focus on green building design and technology and the move to add teaching on hybrid-electric powertrains to its transportation school more ago. of a decade.
The university has also incorporated farm-to-table practices into its culinary programs and is working with an industry partner, Safran Landing Systems, to investigate electrically powered landing gear to replace heavy hydraulics in commercial aircraft, which it would reduce fuel consumption.
Morgan Sharp / Local Journalism Initiative / Canada National Observer
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