CONSULTATION 3
PublicSector: Government andCommunityServices
The third consultation involved employers and community members from the public sector, including elected
officials, federal services, economic development organizations, and community services. Forty-four people
attended.
Participants identifiedWindsor-Essex as diverse and promising. They saw leadership, partnership, outreach, and
innovation as among themost important contributions theUniversity canmake to the region. Leadership, capacity
to learn and adapt, critical thinking, and the ability to communicate well were seen to be essential skills students
need to learn at university. Informed community engagement was identified as an important priority for the
University’s futurework.
As in the service sector, participants noted the challenge of attracting and
keeping good employees, particularly inmedical fields. Like those in other public
sector fields, there was an interest in graduates with cross-over abilities –
commitment to and knowledge of social justice issues, for example, combined
with accounting skills, or policy and governance combined with management
skills. Some participants’ experiences tended to suggest that students
graduating in business found municipal and community-based agencies of
limited interest. There was also demand for students with core community,
mental health, and social services skills combinedwith strong knowledge of how
such services might be perceived by or of greater benefit to newcomers and
diverse populations – greater knowledge, for example, of non-Western
approaches to mental health. Participants from government services noted the
need for graduateswith strong ethics backgrounds, with an understanding of the
importance of loyalty and confidentiality. One challenge a number of participants
noted was that in some fields there was a perceived lack of opportunities for
advancement locally, noting the importance of adaptability for those in this sector.
Citizenship and community engagement were seen as a strength of the University’s programming by many, with
encouragement to expand these approaches, which were viewed as enhancing students’ awareness of social
justice and community service. Although participants recognized strong volunteerism at the University, they
perceived an opportunity to expand student activity beyond traditional charitable organizations and intomunicipal
settings: these participants noted the strong success of municipal co-op students in finding work in municipal
governments. Partnerships among the University and local hospitals were cited as an example of strong practice,
with the hope that this would continue as the mega-hospital initiative develops. Support for local entrepreneurs
was also identified as a strength, with the suggestion that thismight further evolve to incorporate support for those
seeking to expand existing successful startups. As the University continues to expand its downtown operations,
participants looked forward to expansion of these programs in the downtown core.
Theexperience
of understanding
theother sideof
things is
important. Not
everything is so
clear cut.
- Participant
15
