Composite Learning Index

This assessment of the literacy skills of 15-year-old Canadians is part of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) conducted every three years by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

The authors note that according to Statistics Canada figures, one-quarter of working-age adults in Canada participate in job-related training, with younger adults more likely to be involved in such training than their older counterparts.

The percentage of Canadian workplaces offering some form of training has increased, from 54 percent in 1999 to 59 percent in 2005, according to Statistics Canada documents. But the authors note that despite this increase, Canadian employers lag behind their European counterparts when it comes to the availability of such training, placing well behind the United Kingdom, Denmark, Sweden and France.

According to Statistics Canada, the proportion of working-age Canadians with a university education increased steadily between 1993 and 2009. In 1993, 18 per cent of Canadians aged 25 to 64 had received a university certificate, diploma, bachelor’s degree or graduate degree; by 2009, that proportion had jumped to 28 per cent.

According to the 2006 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), conducted by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Canadian 15-year-olds scored above OECD averages in reading, math, and science literacy. Canada’s science scores put it in the top seven of 57 countries.

In this report by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the authors note that in 2009, the proportion of young adults participating in formal post-secondary education rose to its highest point in Canadian history, with the increasing proportion of young people attending Canadian universities serving as the main driver for the overall increase.

The authors of this document begin by defining the dropout rate as the proportion of Canadians aged 20 to 24 who have not completed high school and are not attending school.

The Composite Learning Index (CLI) is an annual measure of Canada’s progress in lifelong learning, based on statistical indicators that reflect the many ways Canadians learn.

The Composite Learning Index (CLI) is an annual measure of Canada’s progress in lifelong learning.