Management Skills Development In Canada

This paper focuses on management education, training and development. It examines the contention that there are worrisome deficiencies in management skills in Canada. After briefly describing the context within which this challenge to competitiveness arises, the question of adequacy is addressed. Evidence that suggests deficiency is presented, and the particular problems of small- and medium-sized enterprises are highlighted. The hypotheses that Canada lacks a training culture and that management development is not an integral part of doing business in Canada, are examined.

Canada’s Constitution Act (1982) recognises three Indigenous groups: Indians (now referred to as First Nations), Inuit, and Métis. Indigenous peoples make a vital contribution to the culture, heritage and economic development of Canada. Despite improvements in Indigenous well-being in recent decades, significant gaps remain with the non-Indigenous population. This study focuses on four priority issues to maximise the potential of Indigenous economies in Canada.

Important questions exist about differences & similarities in the training patterns of the self-employed. At one level are basic questions about participation in work-related training. At another level are questions about the types of training undertaken by the self-employed. This paper examines these questions by drawing on the Survey of Self-Employment conducted in April 2000. The Survey provides current & much-needed data on the self-employed population in Canada. The introduction reviews existing research on training & skill development in Canada & other countries to provide general context for the analysis that follows. The paper then uses cross-tabulations to examine four key issues: general training patterns, participation in formal training, type & duration of informal training, and the perceived usefulness & advantages of formal & informal training.

The Canadian food and agriculture sector is for the most part competitive and export-oriented: although challenges and opportunities vary significantly between regions, primary agriculture benefits from an abundance of natural resources and faces limited environmental constraints.