Preparing Canadians for the Future of Work

Preparing Canadians for the Future of Work:

Bridging the Skills Gap for Employees and Employers

By Navdeep Bains Canada’s Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development

I travel quite a bit across this great country and abroad. I talk to all kinds of CEOs: individuals just starting companies, serial entrepreneurs, those ready to scale, CEOs of Canadian firms with an international footprint and CEOs of international firms with a Canadian footprint.

I often ask them, “In your view, what’s Canada’s value proposition?” And they tell me without hesitation that it is our country’s incredibly talented and diverse workforce.

Of course, they are right. Nearly 57 percent of Canadians between the ages of 24 and 65 have a post-secondary education – the highest amongst OECD countries.

Now more than ever, Canada must maintain its talent advantage, with the right competencies and the flexibility to meet the evolving demands of a workplace being disrupted by changing business models.

Technological progress is shaking up entire industries. The agricultural manufacturing sector is no exception.

While traditional assembly line workers may find some of their jobs are being replaced by automation, employers are having difficulty filling the jobs created in the digital economy.

In fact, according to a survey by ManpowerGroup, in 2018, nearly half of Canadian employers reported a talent shortage, particularly in skilled trades, sales, and among professionals and engineers.

As an accountant by training, the solution seems obvious to me: we need to balance the ledger. We need to help Canadians get the skills they need, and help firms fill their talent gaps by recruiting from a broader, deeper pool of Canadians who have acquired strong STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), business, creative and digital skills.

That’s the great thing about skills: they can be acquired. But only if the right training is available and accessible.

All Canadians, but particularly rural Canadians, youth, women, Indigenous peoples and other underrepresented groups, must have opportunities to develop their skills. This is not just imperative for workers to get the wellpaying jobs of tomorrow; it’s necessary to drive our economy.

Since 2015, Canadians have created more than a million jobs, and unemployment is at a record low. We need to work not only to ensure more Canadians have the right skills to succeed; we also need to attract talent to Canada.

So, what’s the solution?

A good start is the programs our government has introduced as part of the Innovation and Skills Plan to ensure that Canadians — in every segment of society and throughout their entire lives — receive the support they require to thrive in this new economy.

Our government is taking a partnershipdriven approach with industry, postsecondary institutions, not-for-profits, provinces and territories.

Under our Plan, we introduced a program called CanCode, which has already given 1.3 million students and their teachers access to coding and digital skills. And we are investing further, to see another million follow in their footsteps.

Moreover, we are investing in programs like Mitacs, which offer a greater number of work-integrated learning placements for young Canadians to have the handson skills and experiences they need to get good jobs.

And our new Canada Training Benefit is going to help Canadians at all stages of their careers cover the costs of their training and re-training, so that new skills are within everyone’s grasp.

These programs will help us make good progress. However, our strong economy and job growth record is outpacing even our homegrown talent development. That is why, through our Global Talent Stream, we have taken steps to make it easier for innovative companies to attract the highly skilled talent they need to scale-up and grow.

On the jobs side of the ledger, our Innovation and Skills Plan makes important investments to help Canadian business create new, modern jobs that require new digital skills. The Innovation Superclusters Initiative in particular is expected to create more than 50,000 jobs over ten years.

These Superclusters are innovation hotbeds that bridge science and investment, drive growth and create jobs. Among other things, they connect industry with post-secondary institutions to help young Canadians acquire the skills they’ll need to succeed in tomorrow’s jobs. Specifically, the Protein Industries Supercluster, headquartered in the Prairies, is working on making Canada a leading source for plant proteins globally. Ultimately, we expect it to create 4,700 new jobs.

Additionally, we are making important investments through Canada’s six Regional Development Agencies across the country to support the growth of Canadian businesses so they can integrate into value chains, export and compete globally.

In short, we are taking action to balance the skills ledger: we’re helping Canadian workers gain new and modern skills, and we’re working with business to create the kinds of new, good quality, high-tech jobs that depend on these skills.

Our government is working to ensure that Canadians have the ability to reach their potential. We want to attract investments to Canada thanks to our skilled and innovative workforce. And, we want more Canadians to feel the same pride that I get when CEO after CEO tells me what a great workforce we have.