Remember BlackBerry? Canada’s smartphone pioneer once dominated business communications. Then everything changed. Apple and Google created platforms designed to evolve as technology and users’ needs changed.

Canada’s post-secondary education and vocational training systems face a similar risk. Canada spends more than $66 billion annually on universities and colleges. Yet despite having one of the world’s most educated populations, Canada’s productivity remains weak in comparison to others in the G7.

Economists traditionally measure productivity by examining figures related to economic output or the total value of all goods and services produced per hour worked.

Productivity supports higher wages, economic growth and higher living standards when it’s buttressed with related policy. It depends on investment, a competitive business environment and, critically, people’s knowledge, skills and capabilities — our human capital.

As our research argues, the challenge isn’t simply producing more graduates or delivering more courses and “better” training. It’s about how as a society we can ensure that this learning creates lasting value as work and society change.

Preparation needed for lifetime of change

Machines wear out. Software becomes obsolete. Human capabilities also depreciate — but unevenly. Some technical expertise becomes quickly outdated, while reasoning, judgment and the ability to learn, unlearn and relearn retain their value over a lifetime.

Yet recent post-secondary education policy and employment systems are increasingly prioritizing immediate performance.

Ontario’s performance-based funding framework, introduced in 2020, includes graduate employment and earnings among its measures. Alberta announced a similar approach in 2020.

Neither framework systematically measures how well graduates adapt throughout their careers, nor do their performance indicators capture the full range of capabilities students develop.

Employers face a similar challenge. Statistics Canada reports that only 29.7 per cent of workers participated in structured job-related training in 2024.

An OECD comparison shows Canada exceeds the OECD average in adult learning participation. Yet across participating........

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