Retention and recruitment of young skilled workers: Results by province and territory

A young skilled labour force can make important contributions to the economic, health, cultural and civic vitality of any community. Since Canada is a vast country with diverse job opportunities available in various locations, some provinces and territories may face challenges and opportunities in retaining and attracting young skilled talent. This article is the first to inform the issue by determining the share of youth who grew up in a certain province or territory and eventually obtained a postsecondary education but left to work in another province or territory (termed “skill loss”). Likewise, the article also looks at young skilled workers who entered a province or territory to work, as a share of that province or territory’s initial population of homegrown young skilled labour (termed “skill gain”). The findings suggest that net skill gains were highest (by far) in Nunavut, followed by the Northwest Territories and Yukon. Among the provinces, two were net skill “gainers” (Alberta and British Columbia). Net skill losses were particularly large in Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland and Labrador, while smaller losses were registered in Nova Scotia, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Quebec and Ontario registered very small net skill losses. In addition to being the only two provinces to benefit from the migration patterns of young skilled talent, Alberta and British Columbia were also less likely to provide a postsecondary education to their “leavers,” compared with the share of entrants who had already completed their postsecondary education elsewhere. British Columbia was, by far, the largest net gainer of medical degree graduates among the provinces, while British Columbia and Alberta were the largest net gainers of PhD graduates. These findings provide a starting point for discussions by provinces and territories around the issue of skill retention and recruitment among their youth populations.