The skilled trades shortage has a solution: women

But women have challenges that most men don’t have when entering the trades

The skilled trades shortage has a solution: womenThe fridge has stopped working, and your frozen food is melting. You call your usual appliance repair service only to find its cadre of four technicians has dwindled to two overloaded workers. They’ll do their best to come as soon as possible but can’t give a specific date. You contact friends about stuffing some food…

U of A ranks 11th in global list of top universities on sustainability

Expertise in biodiversity, agriculture, urban planning show in latest ranking of institutions

U of A ranks 11th in global list of top universities on sustainabilityThe University of Alberta has been named one of the world’s top 15 most sustainable post-secondary institutions for its ongoing efforts to create sustainability on campus and in the local and global community, notably rising from last year’s ranking of 64th in the world. According to the fourth annual Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings, which…

Economic growth for its own sake is misdirected

Economic growth for its own sake is misdirectedTwo centuries ago, clergyman Thomas Malthus expounded the proposition that population always outruns food supply. He said population increases geometrically while food supply increases, at best, only arithmetically. Half a century ago the Green Revolution, enabling massive increases in agricultural production, allayed such fears. Arguably, however, it will be impossible to repeat that revolution. Even…

Getting through a COVID-19 winter

A better future awaits if we use this period of uncertainty to work on our mental, physical and career well-being

Getting through a COVID-19 winterDread isn’t too strong a word to describe the feelings many have about the winter about to start. The COVID-19 virus is reason enough to worry. There’s not much individuals can do about that except follow all the good advice about staying safe. However, there are two other major depressing impacts of COVID-19 that we…

Making caring a key for business

Kevin Zentner turned his academic career around by getting involved, working with the less fortunate

Making caring a key for businessIn the weeks before his first University of Alberta classes in 2016, Kevin Zentner nervously paced the campus, trying to keep the acronyms straight. “I had no idea what everyone was saying when they said SUB or HUB or CAB or whatever else,” said Zentner. “It sounds funny but that anxiety was massive for me.”…

How to be an adult, one sound financial decision at a time

Many people take a long time to launch on adult life because they've never been taught to spend less than they make

How to be an adult, one sound financial decision at a time“The first responsibility of adulthood is paying your own bills,” according to Jamaica Finance Minister Peter Phillips. That country has worked hard to wean itself of dependency on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and is in a position to stand on its own feet economically. Paying your bills is a definition of adulthood that applies…

Keeping young, ambitious and talented people in Alberta

There’s already a strong engineering, finance and transportation capability in the province. We need to build on that in the new economy

Keeping young, ambitious and talented people in AlbertaA new study related to abandoned coal mining in the United Kingdom and the movement of displaced workers offers insight for Albertans. Not many of us read the online peer reviewed academic journal Nature Human Behaviour. That’s why occasionally perusing the back pages of The Economist makes sense. The Oct. 26, 2019, Economist reviews an…

Canada’s higher education system is in disarray

Mounting student debt and irrelevant fields of study have left us with a frustrated and unproductive young population

Canada’s higher education system is in disarrayLast summer, the federal government paid employers more than $200 million and up to 100 per cent of compensation to get them to hire students. If these young adults are Canada’s best and brightest – enjoying taxpayer-funded education – why are they so unappealing to employers that they have to be discounted to half price…

Can e-learners be sure their privacy is protected?

Can e-learners be sure their privacy is protected?Editor’s note: Online health and safety training is a booming industry, but how can trainees be assured that private information that they must share is protected? In the second part of a series, Troy Media investigates the complex world of online proctoring, and what it might mean to people who take online courses and exams.…

The rise of the student loan debt is killing initiative

The world has changed a lot but we still try to convince youth that they must go to expensive schools and take on debt that will burden them for years

The rise of the student loan debt is killing initiativeThe dream of future success is fading for many North American youth as higher education cost keeps rising. For example, according to official data, United States student loan debt increased from US$619 billion to US$1.56 trillion during the last decade. Canadian student loan debt exceeds $3 billion right now. Who’s at fault for the student…