One of the most distressing things I’ve learned in the past couple years is the painfully high rate of functionally illiterate men and women who are living in our region. The average is somewhere around 48% across the four Atlantic provinces (for the record, Ontario reports just under 45%, so we’re not alone in trying to solve this issue).

The Canadian Council on Lifelong Learning defines a person who is functionally illiterate as one who can’t function in a knowledge economy. I think that’s tragic. There are about 2,340,000 Atlantic Canadians, so those illiteracy rates would suggest that more than 1,000,000 of us can’t contribute to, or profit from, the knowledge economy due to functional illiteracy.

The knowledge economy permeates every industry, including energy, natural resources, transportation, health care, education, government, professional and financial services—and the list goes on. How does this situation manifest itself? There aren’t enough qualified people to fill all the available jobs.

Scientific, technical, and creative companies are stalled in their growth potential because the requisite talent is too difficult to find.

For the past several years, leaders in business, economic development, and government have all focused on immigration, and as we attract immigrants to our shores, they find a limited number of opportunities and eventually move elsewhere. So why don’t we look at this massive cohort of functionally illiterate Atlantic Canadians as an enormous opportunity?

These people are already here. They understand the region. Many live near a secondary learning institution. Is this not a market worth developing?

Let’s focus on getting 10% of the people in that demographic to complete high school and at least one level of university, college, community college, or trade school.

It would probably take 15 to 25 years, but the results—and rewards—would be overwhelming. It would translate into more than 100,000 people (and their families) moving from being “non-functional” to “highly functional.” Social costs would be reduced, but the savings there would be dwarfed by the increases in productivity and prosperity. Imagine it: More than 100,000 people would be employed in high-paying productive jobs. Potentially more than 10,000 new companies would be launched by energized entrepreneurs. The region would become a centre of commercialization and global trade. Anything would be possible.

The road to get us there won’t be without its potholes. Years of neglect and a lack of focus have led to a low level of understanding, appreciation, and respect for education. That attitude will be tough to change, but it can be done. If our provinces, cities, and the regions within our region would stop sniping at and competing with each other, we could direct our energy and focus on meeting this challenge.

Business leaders, community and economic development leaders, teachers, and educational institutions — and yes, even politicians—must work together to achieve a higher level of educated and motivated Atlantic Canadians. If we can meet this challenge, our economy, prosperity, and safety will be that much better.

It’s not a small task, but neither is it incomprehensible. The question is, are we ready to take it on?