Highlights from 2023: Skills Insights

Welcome to our newsletter, your digest on the latest news and insights on Canada's skills landscape. Accéder à la version fran?aise de cette infolettre.

The holiday season offers a much-needed time for reflection, spending time with loved ones and a chance for us all to recharge. It is also a time for gratitude. A heartfelt thank you to our FSC team for your steadfast dedication, as well as to our partners, for your continued trust and support in our mission.

Our commitment remains strong: to foster sustainable skills, create pathways to good jobs, and ensure everyone in Canada has access to lifelong learning opportunities. We believe that skills training must remain at the centre of workforce development strategies for Canada’s future success.?

As we look towards 2024, we are excited to share key insights from this year as a testament to our joint achievement, especially in light of the impact global challenges have on our lives and workplaces.May your holidays be filled with joy and peace, and a Happy New Year!?

From all of us at FSC

What we know about employer-sponsored training

Labour and skills shortages, once perceived as cyclical and localized, are now widespread across provinces and sectors. Access to upskilling is crucial for both unemployed or underemployed workers and employers facing lower productivity and hindered technology adoption. Our research explores the root causes of Canada's comparatively low investments in employee training.

A cross-section of FSC research and pilot projects reveal important lessons on how to leverage employer engagement for successful skills delivery:

• Providing early and ongoing support to employers is crucial: Well-resourced and trusted intermediary organizations that coordinate efforts among stakeholders can help alleviate employer capacity constraints, especially for SMEs, and improve program design.

• Balancing regional and firm-specific needs: Collaborative efforts and risk-pooling among diverse employers can address concerns about talent loss.

• Complementary skill sets: Training programs are most effective when they go beyond technical skills. Collaboration across sectors for both technical and non-technical skills can yield efficiency gains.

>>Read the insights

Adapting to the digital skills demand

As artificial intelligence and new technologies continue to change the way we work, new research provides an overview of how skills demand - digital skills in particular - has changed since the onset of the pandemic.

The research outlines key policy areas for action:

• Incorporate skills demand analysis in workforce planning: Access to granular skills-demand data and tools can enable a more responsive approach to changing skills profiles for employers and industry intermediaries.

• Education and training providers should adopt agile approaches to updating programs and curricula swiftly, incorporating skills demand data to reflect the changing demands of the job market.

• Employers are seeking hybrid (digital and non-digital) skills. Recognizing that workforce trends will continue to evolve, education and training providers should use skills demand analysis to focus resources on upskilling for the most in-demand skills.?

>>Read the report

More than just an income support program?

In 2020, Canada responded quickly with new income support programs to address the widespread economic closures. Research data shows programs, like CERB, gave recipients time to reflect on their jobs and make investments in education and skills training leading to new career paths. Making a conscious effort to integrate an education or upskilling component into income supports could further help people re-enter the labour market following job loss.

>>Read the report

An analysis of skills training patterns in the Canadian labour force

Our Survey on Employment and Skills explores the experiences of workers in Canada. Following the onset of COVID-19, the survey was expanded to investigate the impact of the crisis on Canadians’ employment, earnings and work environments. The project now includes five waves of data collection, from spring 2020 to spring 2023.

>>Learn more

Brush up on your AI skills this holiday season

This fall we held three Peer Learning Groups as part of our Community of Practice to discuss the evolving role of employment and skills training practitioners in the age of artificial intelligence and strategies for effective AI tool integration into services. Access all the recordings and resources:

• AI and workforce development?
• ChatGPT for skills and workforce development professionals
• Elevate your career with AI

Skills Central Blog

Proving the case: Career development as a lever for poverty reduction

By: Donnalee Bell , CCDF-FCDC , Sareena Hopkins , CCDF & Julia Blackburn , NPower Canada

The proof is in the programs. Insights from our projects show links between career development programs and poverty reduction.?

>>Read Now

10 recommendations to reduce long-term labour market scarring on youth

By: Victoria Barford , Century Initiative

Mitigating the pandemic’s harm on youth, we must look for ways to bridge gaps in young people’s career transitions.

?>>Read Now

Most desirable skills for the future of work are definitely not “soft”

By: Julie Cafley, PhD , Catalyst Inc.

See why labelling core skills as ‘soft’ devalues their significance.

>>Read Now

New Brunswick Mi’kmaq community comes together to improve early childhood education

By: Magnet

Read about how a Mi’kmaq community in New Brunswick has come together to form solutions in education for Indigenous youth.

>>Read Now

The Future Skills Podcast

Each episode features conversations with leading voices to unpack the issues facing employers, workers and policy makers in Canada and help listeners gain a deeper understanding of the solutions for the future. Are you all caught up yet?

>>Check out all three seasons

See you at Cannexus in 2024!

FSC's panel "Beyond Career Development: Workforce Trends Every Practitioner Should Know" at CERIC 's Cannexus24 is a must for those seeking to stay ahead in the dynamic world of career development. Our panel, featuring experts from diverse fields, will focus on pivotal topics like employment pathways, SME adaptability, sustainable transitions, and the impact of technology and automation.?

>>Get more information and register