The Brookfield Institute is announcing a new research project, Employment in 2030, that aims to forecast employment skills that are in demand by the year 2030.
Brookfield said the research will assist Canadians with future-proofing themselves against job disruption and an economy affected by automation and technological change.
“Forecast[ing] which skills will be in demand ten years from now is such an advantage to Canada.”
“Increasingly, Canada requires a more holistic, detailed forecast of in-demand skills, and a distribution of these skills across geographies, industries, and demographic groups in order to navigate the innovation-driven economy,” said Sean Mullin, executive director of Brookfield Institute.
The research’s key objectives include providing a skill set forecast that involves skills and occupations predicted to be in demand in 10 to 15 years. The institute also aims to outline risks and opportunities faced by Canadians across all skill sets, locations, ages, and incomes. Additionally, the research will be used to inform the design of Brookfield’s education and training policies.
“The world of work is changing and so are the skills Canadians need to succeed,” said Patty Hajdu, minister of Employment, Workforce Development, and Labour. “The ability to forecast which skills will be in demand ten years from now is such an advantage to Canada.”
Employment in 2030 will be conducted using a mixed method approach, combining research, insights from experts, and machine learning algorithms to map out how Canada’s skills and employment landscape will change 10 to 15 years from now.
The project is funded by a $1 million investment from the Government of Canada’s Sectoral Initiative Program and the Max Bell Foundation. The Brookfield Institute is also partnering with Nesta, a UK innovation foundation that piloted a similar study in the UK and the US in 2017.
The institute said this additional research will build on its previous report on the impact of automation, titled, The Talented Mr. Robot: The impact of automation on Canada’s workforce, as well as its Digital Literacy Series, which includes Levelling Up: The Quest for Digital Literacy. In April, the institute launched a digital literacy pilot program to help youth prepare for a digital economy. Last year, Brookfield also released a report surrounding the risks and rewards of automation for Ontario’s workforce.
The insights gleaned from Employment in 2030 will also go towards the work of the Future Skills Centre, a research institution that specializes in how to prepare Canadians for the workforce.
Featured image courtesy Brookfield Institute.
