The authors of this document argue that in an uncertain economic climate, Ontario’s local economies can endure by planning ahead, staying competitive, and adapting to change. Workforce planning boards and regional literacy networks can contribute a great deal to this effort.

By creating strong workforce development pipelines and career pathways at the local level, local economies can gain and maintain a competitive edge that contributes to the prosperity of Ontario as a whole, they note. This work, however, needs to be a shared responsibility between industry, labour, government, community agencies, Literacy and Basic Skills (LBS) service providers, and Employment Service (ES) providers.

Among the topics the authors deal with are Labour Market Information (LMI); the importance of industry clusters; and the career pathway model.