Vocational education and training - VET

This report analyses the demand for positions that require skills needed to develop or work with AI systems across 14 OECD countries between 2019 and 2022. It finds that, despite rapid growth in the demand for AI skills, AI-related online vacancies comprised less than 1% of all job postings and were predominantly found in sectors such as ICT and Professional Services. Skills related to Machine Learning were the most sought after. The US-focused part of the study reveals a consistent demand for socio-emotional, foundational, and technical skills across all AI employers. However, leading firms – those who posted the most AI jobs – exhibited a higher demand for AI professionals combining technical expertise with leadership, innovation, and problem-solving skills, underscoring the importance of these competencies in the AI field.

The economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has heightened the need for skills development in Canada to help adult learners navigate the rapidly evolving world of work.[1] Even before the pandemic, Canada’s skills development systems were failing to keep pace with changing labour market needs. Technological and demographic changes have increased the pressure on governments to offer more training and other support to workers — especially those with low skills — to prepare them for in-demand jobs, and to give employers access to the talent they require to thrive. These challenges call for governments to adopt more flexible, responsive and resilient workforce development approaches. How can that be achieved?

Professional skills are foundational for both safety and success in the workplace, so why are we seeing a gap in their development by STEM graduates? In Electricity Human Resources Canada (EHRC)’s review of university and college engineering and technology programs, we found that there are gaps across the board when it comes to active listening, speaking, self-awareness, social perceptiveness, collaboration, time management and active learning.

What are the new and emerging skills? Do current training and education models stand a chance? What has to change?

Amid the many uncertainties that this new year brings, we can make one prediction with confidence: In 2021 – and beyond – many Canadians will need some kind of training to ensure they have the skills needed to succeed in their current job or to find a new one.

However, as of today, Canada has no information system that would help workers in need of reskilling to find suitable education and training options that could provide sought-after skills.

As Canada grows its green economy, targeted training is urgently needed for a workforce that lacks the skills vital to our climate transition.

For Canada to have effective training and education policies, it needs to properly classify and define skills and link them to occupational data.

Up until March 2020, Canada had minimal to no real unemployment. Essentially, it was a seller’s market where anybody looking for work could find it. This reality, which defined and drove compensation priorities and strategies, was especially true for highly skilled and knowledge-intensive employees, and organizations that required their critical competencies to deliver on mandate expectations. Opportunities and challenges were particularly pronounced for unique job families and roles like Cyber-Security and AI Specialists that were short on supply and in high demand.