A federal advisory panel established to determine whether Canada is experiencing a shortage of skills is recommending all levels of the educational system, from elementary to post-secondary, be drastically reshaped to suit the needs of business.

In its final report, Stepping Up: Skills and Opportunities in the Knowledge Economy, a copy of which was obtained by CAUT, the Expert Panel on Skills concludes there is no shortage of "technical" skills but that Canadians do lack "essential" communication and teamwork skills needed for today's business environment. The solution, the panel says, is for government to make sure schools, universities and colleges instil a more competitive and entrepreneurial spirit in students.

"The report completely misses the mark," said CAUT executive director Jim Turk. "Canada's schools and universities do not exist to serve as the handmaidens to the corporate sector. Our health as a country depends on the broadly-based education of our citizens."

The report, to be released publicly later this month, argues that schools need to better serve the interests of employers by promoting corporate values.

"Innovation, entrepreneurship and risk-taking," the report says, "are not the characteristics commonly associated with Canadians. Instead, we see ourselves, as do others, as more concerned with fairness and equity than with competitiveness and wealth creation."

The panel, whose members include Jacquelyn Thayer-Scott, president of the University College of Cape Breton, Tim O'Neill, chief economist with the Bank of Montreal, and representatives from manufacturing and high-technology industries, recommends governments work in collaboration with private industry and business lobby groups such as the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and the Canadian Federation of Independent Business to redesign course curricula, ensuring that entrepreneurship is a core element of elementary, secondary and post-secondary education.

"This report represents a serious attempt to highjack our educational system," warned Turk. "CAUT will be lobbying hard to make sure Canada's schools, universities and colleges are not held hostage by any special interest."