The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic triggered a rapid increase in the adoption of digital technologies, leading to significant disruptions across work and society.

The COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with economic uncertainty, has prompted various members of the workforce in Grand Erie to consider quality of work more holistically.

This project sought a better understanding of how PLAR is used, or can be used, to effectively accelerate learners through programs in the applied health sciences.

This project assessed the potential contribution of expanded and modernized seasonal occupational pluralism — where workers combine different jobs in different parts of the year to generate their annual incomes.

Ongoing and persistent labour and skill shortages coupled with underemployment among key segments of the population, notably Indigenous youth have left the connections between industry and Indigenous populations to remain underdeveloped.

In response to this challenge, the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) tested the virtualization of training by building a platform that provided learners, instructors and researchers with remote access to a physical training environment.

The research explored the extent of economic and job quality inequities between those who had access to remote work options during the pandemic and those who did not, as well as the widening disparity in job satisfaction between the two groups.

The pandemic expanded digital technologies to connect and support remote workers, and increased electronic monitoring of those working remotely. While some employers see value in monitoring, overuse can negatively affect employee well-being and job satisfaction. 

At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, Canada’s unemployment rate reached one of its highest levels at 14.1 per cent. In response, the federal government launched the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), providing a financial benefit of $2,000 a month to workers directly affected by COVID-19.