Linking hands-on education at 2025 Polytechnic Showcase
Representatives from more than 10 Canadian polytechnics are in Winnipeg for an annual conference that allows them to share ideas and projects in progress.
The 2025 Polytechnic Showcase kicked off Wednesday at Red River College Polytechnic's downtown campus.
Under the theme, 'Propelling Canada forward,' the two-day event is exploring how polytechnics — post-secondary institutions that offer applied and hands-on learning — are propelling the country toward a more prosperous future.
Organized by Polytechnics Canada, a non-profit association representing 13 schools, the conference is a great opportunity for members to compare notes, according to CEO Sarah Watts-Rynard.
'The network gets to learn from each other, which I think is an important part of having the kind of education that is supposed to be responsive. It means you're constantly evolving,' Watts-Rynard said. 'Big institutions can get blinders on and so this is the kind of event that is really designed to come and hear what others in your network are doing.'
The conference comes on the heels of a new study the association released last month to illustrate the extent to which polytechnic education responds to labour market demand for talent in the five provinces — B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario — where its member institutions are located.
The association worked with researchers at the Conference Board of Canada to create the report. Researchers assessed more than two million job postings in 2023, compared wages by credential and provided five-year job forecasts.
Key findings included the most in-demand skilled occupations can be found in five clusters: health care; skilled trades; information and technology; tourism and hospitality; and care occupations including child care, social services and early education.
All five clusters demonstrated robust hiring demand in 2023, despite cooling in the overall job market. Employment in these fields is projected to experience steady growth in the next five years, the report says.
According to the report, employment and job postings data reveal significant labour shortages in the five high-demand occupation clusters, particularly for skilled workers with post-secondary education. Job postings requiring apprenticeships, diplomas or certificates offered substantial wage premiums and increases in 2023.
Polytechnics Canada member institutions offer programming that prepares graduates to work in 86 per cent of in-demand skilled occupations within the five clusters, the report states.
Polytechnics Canada initiated the report knowing there would be a change in the federal government and wanting to showcase the value of a polytechnic education 'from the point of being responsive,' Watts-Rynard said.
'I think part of what came out of that was we actually understand local labour market demand,' she said. 'That's what we're all about. It's really trying to give people the skills, the competencies, the confidence, the industry connections to be able to develop those skills and then go and actively use them in the workforce.'
Growing Canada's hospitality sector, the ways post-secondary institutions are pursuing truth and reconciliation and artificial intelligence were some of the topics presenters explored during keynote speeches, panel discussions and breakout sessions.
During one session, Myles Bartlett of Sheridan College addressed the rise of AI in the context of his teaching work in the Southern Ontario institution's faculty of animation, arts and design.
He shared an observation from a member of a faculty working group Sheridan created to address AI: 'Our goal as educators shouldn't be to outpace the machine. That is a fool's errand. It's to elevate the uniquely human capacities our students bring: judgment, ethics, cultural awareness, emotional intelligence and the ability to solve novel problems.'
To that end, Sheridan has been reworking its course offerings to focus on helping students develop these capacities.
The conference started with a keynote presentation by University of Manitoba professor and Free Press columnist Niigaan Sinclair, who reflected on the truth and reconciliation journey of post-secondary institutions in Canada and suggested ways they can continue to deepen their relationships with Indigenous students and communities.
Truth and reconciliation is key to building a sustainable economy, Sinclair said, and it's something people in all occupations — from front-line workers to people working at hotels and grocery stores — need to be knowledgeable about.
'Reconciliation is not the right thing to do, it's the only thing to do,' Sinclair concluded.
RRC Polytech considers it a privilege to host the Polytechnic Showcase, said Fred Meier, president and CEO. 'We've never had that opportunity to host before and so we're excited about that, and excited to show people from across Canada what's happening here in Winnipeg at RRC Polytech as well.'
Around 140 people are attending the conference, which continues today.
aaron.epp@freepress.mb.ca
Aaron EppReporter
Aaron Epp reports on business for the Free Press. After freelancing for the paper for a decade, he joined the staff full-time in 2024. He was previously the associate editor at Canadian Mennonite. Read more about Aaron.
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