As Canada approaches the 150th anniversary of Confederation, a new vision awaits. There are 1.7 million full-time students enrolled in universities and colleges. If just one percent were to participate in the Canadian National Leadership Program, this would translate into approximately 4500 graduates entering the workforce every year. In ten years, the result would be over 45,000 of such individuals, many already in junior or mid-level executive the CNLP. Their presence would transform not just the workplace but Canadian society: a new generation of confident, creative and courageous young men and women determined to make Canada their own, citizens building their own nation.
THE CNLP – A PROGRAM TO DEVELOP THE EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS CANADA NEEDS
The CNLP is much more than just a program to help Canadians reconnect with their military. It is also an excellent program to develop the employment and leadership skills of young Canadians.
Corporate Canada knows what employability skills it is looking for in university and college graduates, and the graduates themselves have a pretty good idea what these are. But neither are getting what they need from Canada’s post-secondary institutions. And very few seem to understand how to develop the skills required.
Approximately 20 years ago, The Conference Board of Canada formed a Corporate Council on Education. One of its products was a profile of the generic skills, attitudes and behaviours employers look for in a new recruit. The profile described a person with an ability to communicate, to think critically, to function effectively in a work environment, and to exercise leadership. The Conference Board’s updates Employability Skills 2000+ summarizes the skill set.
In its 2012 survey, the Canadian University Survey Consortium reported that a third to a half of the 15,000 graduates polled believed their university education had not helped them sufficiently to develop corporate Canada’s desired employability skill-set. Satisfaction levels were underwhelming right across the spectrum of employability skills.
– Leadership skills (self-confidence 54%, interpersonal skills 54%, leadership skills 48%),
– Communications skills (oral communications 61%, cooperative interaction in groups 57%),
– Critical thinking skills (thinking analytically 71%, identifying and solving problems 52%) and
– Work skills (“general skills and knowledge relevant for employment” 51%, planning and completing projects 61%, persistence with difficult tasks 58%, time management 56%, ability to work independently 72%, entrepreneurial skills 18%).
So there’s a problem. When the Corporate Council on Education asked the question “How are employability skills developed?”, the answer was that “Employability skills are developed in school and through a variety of life experiences outside school. The student, the family and the educational system, supported and enhanced by the rest of society, share this responsibility.” In other words no one is responsible.
Imagine a university and/or a college program that focuses on developing the working skills – in fact, the life skills – both employers and graduating students say they want and need. A few such programs do exist, but they tend to be limited to sectors of the economy where there is a well established linkage between training and professional success. Examples include medicine, nursing, law and other such professions as well as the apprenticed trades, such as electricians, welders, industrial mechanics, etc.
What is missing is a training program that develops core competencies – leadership, analytical thinking, communications, work skills – applicable to any and all professions. What would such a program look like? Well, look no further than the Canadian National Leadership Program (CNLP), which incorporates into a student’s university or college experience some of the highly regarded leadership and citizenship training common to military officer development programs in advanced democracies, without requiring participants to commit to national service.
To date, some 26 Canadian institutions of higher learning have expressed an interest in participating in the CNLP program. The Department of National Defence has agreed that the Canadian Armed Forces will provide the trainers and facilities.
What distinguishes the CNLP program is that it combines classroom learning about leadership with experiential learning of leadership, using a military officer development model. Students enrol full-time in a university or college program of their choice, while taking a number of courses on leadership themes – for which they receive academic credit. In addition, participating students enrol in the Reserves as officer- cadets for the duration of their time in the program – and are paid for the training they receive.
Training takes place on average one evening per week and one weekend per month during the academic year, and for up to 12 weeks during the summer. In the first two years, students learn skills such as communications, problem-solving, teamwork, small-task leadership and basic fieldcraft (first aid, hygiene, survival and evacuation skills). In the third year students shift to “leadership in action” mode, leading and supervising new recruits. On successfully completing the program, participants receive a certificate recognizing the skills they have acquired – for some, this would be a huge advantage for landing the job they want.
At some institutions, the military component of the CNLP training may be viewed as unsuited to campus life or institutional priorities. However, this is clearly not the view of the 26 institutions who are considering participating. Nor was it the view of the 27 Canadian universities and colleges who participated in a similar program until it was cancelled in 1968 for reasons which had nothing to do with its merits. Nor is it the view of the 18 universities in the UK, which include Oxford, Cambridge and London, where such a program has continued to thrive; or of the approximately
one thousand civilian colleges in the United States also involved, including Harvard, Yale and Columbia who all recently welcomed the program back to their campuses. What these universities value is the leadership competencies students acquire from the military training which benefits them in whatever profession they choose.
To quote one British “Captain of Industry,”
“A very large amount of my success as a businessmen in the UK has been driven by what I learned at the OTC (Officer Training Corps) twenty years ago. What I learned from my academic degree has got no comparison to the value I learned from the OTC.”
– Chris Histead, CEO Public Technology LTD, London.
The Canadian National Leadership Program goes to the heart of the existing student employability skills issue – the character of the individual. No other program has ever been as effective in ensuring students enter the workforce not just with subject-matter knowledge, but also, with personal and organizational leadership ability. It does so in a purposeful and practical way, utilizing a model whose effectiveness has been demonstrated in Canada and in other countries. It is a model which is attracting increasing interest and support from institutions of higher learning across Canada.
#Breakout #Breakoutnetwork #CNLPCAN #cndpoli #Breakouteducation #PolicyYouCanSee