As Canada faces critical labour shortages in key industries, the Future Skills Centre (FSC) is announcing a $5.5 million investment to build a strong, resilient workforce that can drive Canada’s productivity and long-term economic prosperity. Through the Replicate initiative, funded by the Government of Canada’s Future Skills Program, FSC is widening access to proven training solutions to help more Canadians, particularly youth and those facing barriers to employment, find stable jobs and navigate a changing economy. 

Work hard. Get a promotion. Work harder. Get another promotion. And climb that corporate ladder. That's the script a lot of us grew up with. But according to a 2025 study from Deloitte, that's not what some younger workers are interested in doing. The study found only 6 per cent of Gen Z workers want to move into a leadership position. Instead, they want things like more work/life balance. Flexibility. Mental health. We talk to Tricia Williams, the director of Research, Evaluation, and Knowledge Mobilization at TMU's Future Skills Centre, about how young professionals are redefining the way they work.

Amid a focus on large-scale, nation-building projects, the workforce needed to pull this strategy off is the topic of discussion at the ECO Impact Conference in Calgary tomorrow. For more, we spoke with Noel Baldwin, the Executive Director at the Future Skills Centre.

AI is reshaping entry-level jobs in ways that could weaken young workers’ career pathways, experts say

In a Q&A interview, Baldwin talked with Research Money’s managing editor Mark Lowey about: how Canadian workers can keep upskilling in the face of automation and rapid technological change; how young people can gain the right skills in finding employment; the value of formal and information education and work-integrated learning; how government can help workers who need transition in their careers; Canada’s labour market strengths; and the aim of FSC’s recently launched Resilient Workforce Working Table.

The Indigenous Skills and Employment Training Program is a federal initiative that supports Indigenous organizations and communities to design and deliver culturally grounded employment and skills services.

From May 22-23, 2025, the Future Skills Centre, in partnership with Jelly Academy Inc. co-hosted an in-person, two-day Innovative Indigenous Career and Future Skills Symposium.

In this episode of The Finance Cafe Podcast, host Shannon Pestun welcomes Laura McDonough, Associate Director of Insights & Knowledge Mobilization at the Future Skills Centre. Laura leads national research and knowledge-sharing efforts that help shape evidence-informed policy and practice across Canada’s skills ecosystem. With a background in research and evaluation at United Way Greater Toronto and a deep commitment to making data accessible and actionable, Laura brings a unique lens that bridges research, lived experience, and real-world workforce development.