SMART | city


Te education system is failing students and business S


hortly after my abrupt removal from elected office, I at- tended the executive program at Queens to try to get my head out of politics and back into business. Te only thing I came out of it with was a new


appreciation for the benefits of physical stretch- ing and a realization that I had to get my body moving or end up in a wheelchair, I was that unfit from flying back and forth and from sitting in countless and endless meetings every day. I also left understanding that the academic


system is not about preparation for work, even though this was a business refresher. Students are learning things that are about the past and are, worse, passé. Te reason? Te teachers either had been out of active business for so long that they just weren’t current, or they were viewing the issues so academically that their conclusions frequently bore no relationship to actual practice. And these guys came to the classroom with big credentials. Flash forward until today and a conversation


forced to re-educate himself with reference to papa Google in order to fill in the skills gaps. My granddaughter works with mentally challenged adults, a job she loves. She wants to upgrade her education in ways meaningful to her employment. One field she has examined is sign language, but to achieve certification the courses required for this simple skill present a heavy burden on a working girl and take about four years. She has considered other options, such as nursing, but a nurse today has to study as long as a lawyer does in order to practice. I am an employer. I notice the lack of prepara-


Bold Ideas Dorothy Dobbie


with my recently graduated grandson who took the full Monty of business courses, first at Red River for two years (where you are supposed to learn practical stuff) then at Asper School of Business for a couple more. He earned his business degree last summer and he is putting what he learned, or is trying to put what he learned, into practice in his work. His first job was a term position for a major local employer.


He ran afoul very soon when it as discovered that in spite of his degree, he did not have the practical computer skills to meet the employer’s needs. Why not? His minor in Human Resources did not include anything about data management, social media (an important skill in the recruitment field today) or the current opportunities available in labour saving apps. His term position behind him, he was immediately em-


ployed by a head-hunter and is facing more of the same skills issues. After all that time and money spent on school, he is now


tion and skills that young people bring to the table straight out of school. Tey have big expectations about salary, working conditions and what they like and don’t like to do, but they are sadly un- prepared for the realities of actual work. I don’t blame them. I blame the system. Unfortunately, as a small businessperson, I don’t have the re- sources to retrain them, so I end up hiring older adults. Tis is not good for the young people or for me – I know we would benefit from their energy,


their ideas and their fresh outlook. But the basics still have to be accomplished every day. Major systemic changes must be made to the way we educate


our children. We have to remove the politics and ideology from education and prepare students to think critically, to be resourceful and to work hard. We have to give them the skills that they and their employers need: how to spell (no, spell check is not reliable – example: I received a paper the other day that used the work “chalk” when what was meant was “chock” as in “chock-full”), how to do basic arithmetic, and how to read, if not use, cursive writing. Tey also need to understand the rudimentaries of the digi-


tal world they live in. It is unbelievable that a student entered in a marketing job has not been taught how to use Google ad words or how to read Google analytics. Many don’t know how to set up a spread sheet. Tey may have learned from friends or


A new year means a new budget H


ello and welcome to this month’s issue of Smart Biz! We’re into the start of a new year,


which is always an exciting time. A new year means a new budget, and preparing a city budget is no easy task. It requires difficult decisions and difficult choices, and I am pleased that in December Council voted on and passed the 2018 City of Winnipeg budget. Demands on this year’s


budget were incredibly high again, and we encountered significant revenue challenges during the last year. At the same time, the city continues to be squeezed by increasing infrastructure demands that come with being a growing city while grappling with the need to rebuild and repair many city assets that fell into disrepair following years of neglect. At the start of the 2018 budget process, the


holder groups, Councillors, and the public service resulted in a budget that is balanced without any draw on the financial stabiliza- tion reserve. I believe the 2018 budget


strikes the right balance be- tween responding to the fis- cal challenges of today while continuing to invest in key ser- vices and infrastructure that will build and prepare Winnipeg for strong and steady population growth projected into the future. It also reflects the lowest level of expenditure growth in decades. Tere are no new fees in the


State of the City Brian Bowman


2018 budget, the frontage levy is not increased, and the water and sewer dividend rate remains un- changed. And every cent of this year’s two percent property tax increase is dedicated to meeting the city’s infrastructure needs.


Te 2018 budget responds to one of the


city was facing an $89 million deficit in the tax-supported operating budget. Over the course of the last year, a lot of input from citizens and collaborative work with stake-


top priorities of Winnipeggers – fixing the roads! Tis year, $116 million is committed to road renewal, the highest annual level of investment in road renewal in Winnipeg’s history! Fixing our roads continues to be a top priority for many of you, and this level of


through self-teaching how to send a tweet, but they have not been taught how to market using Twitter or Facebook or Pin- terest or Instagram or even email – they don’t understand the different applications of each of these social media networks, unless they took a specialised course in social media. Yet sales and marketing today are all about the use of this media. At one time, Red River had a network of business advisors


who brought first hand business knowledge to setting the syllabus for each course. Tis was one of the things that kept the college at the forefront of training for work. It appears that this collaboration between the College and the community is no longer in existence. Why not? Surely the College (and the universities for that matter) can only benefit from staying in constant contact with and taking advice from the consumers of its main product. When it comes to concern about the relevance of today’s


education system, we are not alone. In the United States, the concern goes deeper than asking that employees have a user- based knowledge about the tech world. In a recent report, the question was asked: “Why were 600,000 high-paying tech jobs unfilled in 2015 in the United States alone, or is the better question: Is technology developing faster than humans can learn to handle it? “According to the White House, by 2018, 51 percent of STEM


jobs will be in computer science-related fields. However, the number of tech employees has not increased along with the number of jobs available. Why? Te answer is simple: lack of relevant education.” C.M. Rubin, the author of the report goes further to suggest


that basic coding should be part of every grade-schooler’s education and predicts that over the next 15 to 20 years, “Coding will become less about rote memorization of basic syntax and more about high-level understanding of what’s really going on.” Here in Canada, we are still wasting students’ time by drag-


ging them through antediluvian thought processes about esoterica that no longer apply to the fast pace of today’s world. It’s time to rethink education.


investment reflects how much of a priority this is for residents across our city. To continue powering the economy and


reduce the burden on small businesses, the 2018 budget reduces the business tax from 5.25 percent to 5.14 percent. Since this Council took office in 2014, we have reduced the business tax rate from 5.7 percent to 5.14 percent representing a 9.8% decrease since 2014. Collective agreements negotiated and


ratified throughout the last year between the city and its major unions contributed significantly in managing the overall level of expenditure growth in 2018, totaling almost $21 million annually in 2018. I want to thank all of our valued city employees for their ef- forts in helping negotiate agreements that are not only fair to employees, but also more affordable to taxpayers and ultimately more sustainable over the long term. Te 2018 budget provides a total invest-


ment of $17.3 million in new active trans- portation infrastructure, a record level of investment representing an increase of $4.1 million or 31% from $13.2 million in 2017. Investing in active transportation not only supports active healthy lifestyles, it is also essential to supporting a modern, growing city like Winnipeg.


News and notes from the Legislature


Province issues 2017 fall conditions report Additional Flood Variables to be Moni-


tored Over Winter Months A new report indicates soil moisture levels


are normal to drier than normal in most of Manitoba, Infrastructure Minister Ron Schuler recently announced. “We have several months before the spring


flood season begins, but this report provides us with an idea of moisture levels in the soil now, plus water levels in rivers and lakes as the deep freeze begins,” said Schuler. “Floods are caused by a combination of unique circumstances and there is a risk of over-estimating or under-estimating the flood potential too far in advance.” Te 2017 Fall Conditions Report covers


three key potential flood factors: soil mois- ture at the time of freeze-up, base flows on rivers and water levels on lakes prior to spring run-off, and long-term forecast winter precipitation.


New report predicts strong growth in Mani- toba’s economy A new report predicts more than 23,000 workers will join the labour force each year


4 Smart Biz


between 2017 and 2023, Growth, Enter- prise and Trade Minister Blaine Pedersen and Education and Training Minister Ian Wishart announced last month. “Te findings this year support the grow-


ing sense of optimism that business owners have about our economy and its growth in the years to come,” said Pedersen. “Te La- bour Market Occupational Forecasts report looks at a number of factors and provides projections about the future of Manitoba’s economic performance that support eco- nomic development planning.” The unemployment rate is expected to


continue to decline over the same time period, while the provincial economy is expected to grow an average of 1.5 per cent per year. Nearly 54,000 new jobs are expected to be


created between 2017 and 2023. Te majority are expected to require at least some post- secondary education and training including university, college or a trade certification.


Province invests in improvements for in- ternet service in the North. Te government of Manitoba is making a


contribution valued at up to $20 million to provide increased broadband connection to First Nations, rural, and northern Mani- toba communities, Premier Brian Pallister announced last month. Tis is Manitoba’s contribution to a $63-million project to bring high-speed Internet to 72 rural and remote communities in the province. “Tere is tremendous potential in north-


ern Manitoba. Developing that potential is a priority of our provincial government and to do that we need the tools to maximize our opportunities,” said Pallister. Manitoba Hy- dro will allow Clear Sky Communications, a Manitoba First Nations-owned and -oper- ated Internet service provider, to access and utilize existing fibre-optic cable network and related assets. Once completed, the broad- band project will include 10-gigabit Ethernet fibre connections that will provide 72 com- munities – 37 of which are First Nations and 18 are located in remote regions of northern Manitoba – and 88 institutions with access to high-speed Internet services on par with southern urban areas.


Province announces regulations for rec- www.smartbizwpg.com


reational vehicles and factory built homes to be updated Te Manitoba government will be mod-


ernizing the regulations for manufactured homes and recreational vehicles (RVs), Growth, Enterprise and Trade Minister Blaine Pedersen, minister responsible for the Office of the Fire Commissioner (OFC), announced in a release last month. “Te manufactured homes and RV indus-


tries have changed significantly over the past 40 years, and it is time for us to adapt as well,” said Pedersen. “We heard this loud and clear in our public consultations. Manufactured homes and RVs are both


currently regulated under The Buildings and Mobile Homes Act. Changes affecting manufactured homes will include updating the definitions and referenced standards under Te Building and Mobile Homes Act, and removing the permit and inspection requirements for the sale of used ‘mobile homes’. Te minister noted these changes are part


of an ongoing initiative to reduce red tape across government and will take effect in the spring of 2018.


March 2018


A growing city like Winnipeg needs an


efficient, well-functioning, and safe transit service. Te 2018 budget invests over $28 million to purchase 40 new transit buses to continue to modernize and renew the bus fleet. It also recommends that a long-term strategic plan be undertaken in response to declining ridership and the new fiscal real- ity the city faces following an end earlier this year to the long-standing city-provincial funding partnership. Te 2018 budget continues to invest in


building Winnipeg’s reputation and pride by bolstering the Special Events Marketing Fund as well as developing a multi-year downtown safety strategy through a more strategic distribution of the accommoda- tion tax. Moving into the final year of this Council’s


mandate, I believe City Hall is on a better track today than it was three years ago. We have made significant progress


toward making City Hall more open and transparent, more accessible and respon- sive, and we have strengthened our sense of pride in our city. Despite our current fiscal challenges, I believe the 2018 budget continues this momentum and continues to respond to the needs of a growing, thriv- ing city.


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