Budget 2019: Sets groundwork for improved access to STEM

OTTAWA, March 19, 2019 /CNW/ - Engineers Canada is pleased to see the federal government's commitment to Indigenous peoples' access to post-secondary education, investment in critical STEM skills, and securing Canada's future in space, as laid out in Budget 2019: Investing in the Middle Class.

"Engineers Canada is happy to see the government's significant investment in Indigenous peoples' access to post-secondary education, reducing barriers to pursue careers like engineering," said Annette Bergeron, MBA, FCAE, FEC, P.Eng., President of Engineers Canada. "This is buttressed by a future-facing emphasis on preparing youth for the careers of tomorrow by equipping them with essential STEM skills."

Engineers Canada has been actively advocating to improve Indigenous peoples' access to post-secondary engineering education. This formed one of our key recommendations in our pre-budget submission in July 2018. We are encouraged by the government's substantial commitment in this budget to ensuring that Indigenous students have better access to post-secondary education and that they have more support for their studies.

The government must build on this and invest in engineering access programs specifically. A career as an engineer presents a meaningful and well-paying path to building stronger communities and lays the groundwork for opportunities for future generations.

Engineers Canada is also happy to see Budget 2019's promise to expand STEM programs and to present youth the opportunity to gain work experience related to their field of study. We advocated for additional support from government on existing work-integrated learning programs to guide students through the transition from post-secondary studies to employment.

We're also encouraged by the budget's investments in developing important STEM skills for youth, which will equip today's youth with the critical skills and opportunities they need to pursue an engineering education.

Further to the government's previous announcements, Budget 2019 promises an important investment in Canada's future in space exploration. Canada's participation in the NASA-led lunar gateway and funding for a Canadian space strategy are investments that will provide an important boost for a great number of engineering jobs and companies in Canada. Engineers Canada was proud to participate in the MDA-led "Don't Let Go Canada" campaign to advocate for renewed space research and exploration funding, and we are delighted to see the campaign come to such a successful fruition.

Engineers Canada submitted budget recommendations to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance in July 2018. This pre-budget submission called for investment to attract and retain women and Indigenous peoples in post-secondary engineering education and the engineering profession, investment in engineering labour market data collection and analysis, and the extension of funding to integrate public infrastructure climate vulnerability assessments into life cycle asset management. Read the full submission on Engineers Canada's website.

Engineers Canada upholds the honour, integrity, and interests of the engineering profession by supporting consistent high standards in the regulation of engineering, encouraging the growth of the profession in Canada, and inspiring public confidence.
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SOURCE Engineers Canada