Post Secondary Education Strategy

Does Mississauga need more post secondary education institutions? The key role post secondary education plays in City building has been proven by many studies, for students, the economy and for the vibrancy of the City. Particularly the cities on the periphery of larger cities, world‐class universities have been shown to be important, as in Stanford CA or Cambridge MA. As Canada’s sixth largest city, and Ontario’s 3rd largest, does Mississauga have enough and the right mix of post‐secondary institutions?

Mississauga’s has a population in excess of 700,000 and its population is projected to increase to over 788,000 by 2041. Studies show that today students tend to stay in their own communities for university and that graduates tend to similarly stay in the communities they went to school in. Without enough post‐secondary places are we at risk of losing our best resource, our young people.

The city has one great university, University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM), which has been expanding is undergraduate and graduate programs and is starting to introduce doctoral programs. Its student population exceeds 10,000 students. There are also a number of adult education programs offered by the public school boards, and private career colleges. In close proximity, residents have access to 10 universities and colleges.

When one examines how other nations are moving ahead in the global innovation race, it’s clear that talent is a key ingredient – including talent development through advanced education. For the period from 2006 to 2015, for example, Human Resources and Social Development Canada estimates that two‐thirds of all job openings will require post‐secondary education… a transformation in our labour markets. Canada is therefore fortunate to have attracted a tremendous number of ambitious and highlyeducated immigrants in recent years. As well, Canadians have the highest postsecondary participation rates in the OECD. That said those participation rates are driven overwhelmingly by high community college attendance. Canadians go to university at about the OECD average rate ‐ 18th out of 27 nations in 2005, without much movement in the past couple of years. Furthermore, in graduate education, we are laggards, sitting well down any list of the per‐capita output of persons with either Masters or Doctoral degrees.

The most successful cities in Canada and worldwide have a strong post secondary education culture. Toronto, Waterloo, Boston in the US, and London, in the UK are a few examples. The synergistic relationship between post secondary education and training institutions, business and government drives innovation and the cultivation of new business opportunities. New business will spring up from these relationships as well as new business will be attracted to establish themselves in Mississauga to have access to the benefits that economic cluster provide as well as having access to a well educated and trained labour pool.

From a social perspective, access to post secondary education and training is a key poverty reduction strategy. Local access to post secondary educational opportunities makes it affordable for individuals from low income backgrounds or workers who are displaced and require retraining, to pursue their interests and increase their knowledge and skills.

Access to education and upgrading their professional credentials is especially important for new immigrants coming to our community. Mississauga is one of Canada’s largest gateway community’s. Foreign trained professionals are attracted to Mississauga because of the availability of professional positions and post secondary education for upgrading their skills.

As we think about our future Mississauga, it is crucial that we understand our future economy and our education and training requirement to achieve our objectives. How do we need to align our economic development, with post secondary education opportunities, to ensure that continue to be a strong and diverse business centre.

Report - April 29/2010

Building human capital

Post Secondary education

Waterfront development and environment

Centre of excellence for diversity and immigration

The Mississauga Works Task Force