The paper, Global Skilling Centres: Building Canada's Talent Pipelines Abroad, proposes a bold new model: purpose-built, Canadian-led training institutions operating in key international markets that would deliver Canadian-recognized vocational credentials to prospective immigrants in their home countries, in sectors facing urgent shortfalls.
With nearly 93,000 job vacancies in health care and social assistance, 25,000 in cybersecurity, and 16,000 in educational services, Canada's skills crisis is no longer a future threat -- it is an economic emergency unfolding in real time.
For these sectors facing critical skills shortages, the Global Skilling Centre (GSC) model addresses a fundamental gap in Canada's current immigration system: immigrants are selected on educational credentials, but too often arrive without the specific vocational skills these employers need most. One-in-four recent immigrants with a bachelor's degree or higher experience an education-occupation mismatch, while workers with college and trade certifications - the very credentials filling Canada's most acute gaps - represent just 12 per cent of economic immigrants.
GSCs would flip this equation. Canadian training institutions would co-design programs with employers to train internationally - producing graduates with Canadian-recognized credentials, pre-arrival workplace orientation, and in many cases, job offers already secured. Upon program completion, GSC trainees would be strong candidates for immigration, especially if supported by new or adapted pathways including Express Entry category-based selection, Provincial Nominee Programs, and a proposed pilot "Globally Skilled Workers Program."
A New Chapter for Canada's Education Exports
Beyond immigration, 369 Global's paper positions GSCs as a significant opportunity for Canada to diversify its export economy. While Australia, Germany, and the United Kingdom have actively invested in expanded technical and vocational education and training (TVET) internationally, Canada has lagged behind, leaving billions in potential services exports on the table.
The paper calls on Export Development Canada to provide financing and risk-management support for institutions establishing GSCs abroad, and urges the Trade Commissioner Service to help Canadian colleges and training providers navigate international markets. With a proposed $300 million Global Skilling Fund over three years, Canada could become a world-leading exporter of vocational education - building goodwill, alumni networks, and lasting economic ties in key regions.
Sixteen Recommendations for Action
The paper sets out 16 concrete recommendations for federal and provincial governments, employers, diaspora communities, and ecosystem partners - covering funding frameworks, immigration pathway reform, employer partnerships, credential recognition, and the establishment of a Government of Canada advisory table on international TVET and labour mobility.
As first-generation Canadians, we know firsthand what it means to arrive and have to prove yourself all over again - to have your skills doubted, your credentials questioned. Global Skilling Centres are about dignity as much as economics: train people properly, give them real credentials, connect them to employers who want them, and set them up to succeed from the moment they land. -- Muraly Srinarayanathas, Chairman, 369 Global
Canada is in a race for human capital it doesn't yet know it's losing. While we debate immigration numbers, other countries are proactively building pipelines through global skilling partnerships with each other - training workers overseas, in their own languages, with their own credentials, and bringing them in ready to work from day one. Global Skilling Centres are how Canada can do the same. -- Kumaran Nadesan, Group Chief Executive Officer, 369 Global
The full policy paper is available at globalskillingcentres.com.
About 369 Global
369 Global is a Canada-headquartered group of companies with interests in skills training, media, and global talent mobility. Our vision is to activate global connections through deeply human experiences. Learn more at www.369global.com.
SOURCE 369 Global Inc
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