Innovation Projects
State of Skills: Quality of Work
Like many economies across the world, Canadians (and Canadian employers in particular) recognize that Canada needs more skilled tradespeople. Not enough Canadians, however, appear to be interested in pursuing these careers. Rates of enrollment in apprenticeships are falling short of where labour demand is. Past efforts to increase numbers of skilled tradespeople through immigration have fallen short of their targets, with low admittance through federal programs and a lack of information available for new Canadians on how to get qualified.
Transforming Skills and Talent Acquisition in Canadian Cybersecurity
In recent years, young people have faced difficulties in the labour market. Pandemic lockdowns impacted school and work for most young people, alongside accelerated technological change and the increasing prevalence of gig work (characterized by short-term, on-demand, and task-based labour) have all had negative impacts on quality of work for young people.
Building the Skills of the Trucking Industry for the Future Using Innovative Technology
For employers in the knowledge economy, hybrid work remains critical not only to post-pandemic recovery but to the future of work.
Skills and Strategies for Quality Hybrid Work in Canada
For employers in the knowledge economy, hybrid work remains critical not only to post-pandemic recovery but to the future of work.
Autism CanTech!: Social Return on Investment and Policy Review
This project sought to better understand the work experiences of young people with autism, the impacts of assured income policies on employment outcomes of participants, and the overall social return on investment of the ACT! program itself.
Work Quality Experience and Engagement among Young Workers
In recent years, young people have faced difficulties in the labour market. Pandemic lockdowns impacted school and work for most young people, alongside accelerated technological change and the increasing prevalence of gig work (characterized by short-term, on-demand, and task-based labour) have all had negative impacts on quality of work for young people.
Did the pandemic and current labour shortages change the quality of jobs?
This project used Canadian job ads to understand changes in the terms of employment offered to job seekers, focusing specifically on skill, education, and experience requirements, as well as job benefits, between the two-year period prior to the pandemic (2017-2019) and 2022.
Disabled Gig Workers in Canada: Exploring their Experiences and Identifying Interventions to Improve their Safety and Well-being
This project examined gig work literature and applied its insights to conduct semi-structured interviews with a small group of Canadians with disabilities engaged in gig work.
The findings from the review and interviews showed that many people living with disabilities feel pushed into gig work by a lack of other employment options.
Workplace Innovation for Quality of Work
This project worked with a small sample of Canadian workplaces to adapt research advances from Europe to improve quality of work through employee-led workplace innovation. It also identified what European policy and program issues and initiatives should be explored further to guide Canadian initiatives to scale-up employee-led workplace innovation for quality of work.