How does the current labour market training system function and whose interests does it serve? In this introductory textbook, Bob Barnetson wades into the debate between workers and employers, and governments and economists to investigate the ways in which labour power is produced and reproduced in Canadian society. After sifting through the facts and interpretations of social scientists and government policymakers, Barnetson interrogates the training system through analysis of the political and economic forces that constitute modern Canada. This book not only provides students of Canada’s division of labour with a general introduction to the main facets of labour-market training—including skills development, post-secondary and community education, and workplace training—but also encourages students to think critically about the relationship between training systems and the ideologies that support them.

In Federalism, Democracy and Labour Market Policy in Canada the authors provide comprehensive assessments of the current state of governance within the areas of income support for the unemployed, active labour market measures, and youth policy. The analysis focuses on how the current state of governance reflects a combined commitment to specific social policy goals, principles of federalism, and democratic oversight of the policy making process.;This volume sheds new light on the complex nature of the intergovernmental regimes governing labour market policy. It makes recommendations concerning how different governance structures might better serve both Canadians and the federation.

Policy silos and fragmented short-term policy interventions have become luxuries that our economies can no longer afford. This book provides concrete advice to policy makers at both national and local levels on how to better align policies, reduce duplication and waste, and “do more with less”.

Every developed country has a public employment service that connects job seekers with employers through information, placement, and training support services. In Federalism in Action, Donna E. Wood assesses how Canada’s public employment service is performing after responsibility was transferred from the federal government to provinces, territories, and Aboriginal organizations between 1995 and 2015. Drawing upon over twenty years of data, Wood reveals the governance choices provinces made, the reasons behind these choices, and the outcomes they achieved. Provincial decisions regarding employment programming is an important public policy issue about which little is known, and even less understood within the context of Aboriginal communities. Federalism in Action includes analytical comparisons of Canada’s employment programming with the United States, Australia, and the European Union, as well as information from insightful interviews with key informants from every province. In firmly placing Canada within the extensive international literature on the governance of welfare-to-work policies, this book makes an important new contribution to research.