Skills Central

When we talk about AI, the conversation often jumps to one big question: Will it replace jobs? From what we’re seeing across Canada’s labour market, the more relevant question is: How will AI change the way we work?

When people talk about the future of work, the conversation almost always starts with artificial intelligence. And that’s understandable. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming industries, reshaping jobs, and changing the way we work at an unprecedented pace.

Canada is intent on building things: more roads, pipelines, homes, and large infrastructure projects. To do so, we require coordinated investments from government and private capital in critical drivers such as technology and infrastructure.

Most program evaluations capture short-term results, leaving long-term benefits and the return on public investment unclear. A new partnership links administrative data to track long-term outcomes, value for money, and returns to Canadians.

Canada has no shortage of innovation in skills training; it has a shortage of adoption. Promising skills interventions often remain confined to a single organization, creating a landscape of siloed programs competing for the same resources. Replication offers another option.

There’s a question that keeps coming up in the conversations I’ve had lately with business leaders, policymakers, labour unions, educators, and community builders: how can we join forces to build the big things Canada needs?