White Paper

This report is designed to provide insight into this new world of work—insight that leads to action. We aim to jumpstart a meaningful discussion among Canadian business executives, government leaders, and workers themselves not just about how to survive in the Intelligence Revolution but how to thrive in it. To this end, we outline the future-proofed capabilities Canadians will need to succeed in the Intelligence Revolution and describe a series of the new work archetypes we envision as the necessary foundation for the future of work. And finally, we offer a series of recommendations for Canadian government, business, and workers that we believe must be implemented to put us on the path to success.

The future of learning is here. As schools and educators consider how to approach the rapidly changing realities of education, new research suggests children starting school today will graduate better prepared for their futures if they have a strong social and emotional foundation, developed in a personalised learning environment. This new research draws on multiple sources, including a collaboration between Microsoft and McKinsey & Company’s education practice and voices of the students themselves, rarely heard in most research. Find out how you and your school can stay on the cutting edge of the changing classroom and best prepare your students for success now and into the future.

There is a tendency in some quarters to regard skill deficiencies simply as a consequence of the business cycle. The evidence does not support such a conclusion and points to more complex underlying causes and more serious consequences. It is clear that skill deficiencies are widespread across organisations. Many employers reported that they experienced recruitment problems related to the availability of skills, and/or that their existing workforce was not proficient enough to meet the needs of the business. Moreover, it is demonstrated that, where they exist, such problems have had a significant impact on organisations’ economic performance, both with regard to employers’ immediate perceptions and their effect on the longer-term performance of business. In aggregate, this has important implications for the overall performance of the economy and national wealth. In this sense there is a very real skills problem: skills matter.

We use the Destination of Leavers from Higher Education Survey (DLHE) to estimate the socio-economic gradient in access to unpaid internships among English and Welsh graduates six months after completing their first degree, and the return to this internship experience 3 years later in terms of salary, occupation, contract type and career satisfaction. We show a significant salary penalty at 3.5 years after graduation compared with those going straight into paid work or further study, but also that graduates from higher socio- economic status have an advantage in accessing internships while being significantly insulated from their negative effects.

In this report the authors shed new light on the Swiss VET system, how businesses play—and benefit from—a central role in the training of a highly skilled workforce, and the seamless connections between VET and the broader Swiss education system.

This report looks into how to equip employees for the era of automation and digitization - and how models and mindsets of social entrepreneurs can guide us

This volume of best practices from cities in Canada, Germany, Sweden and Australia, highlights the challenges we share, and importantly, the opportunities we can leverage as we navigate migration in the 21 st century, together.

Artificial intelligence (AI), robotics and other forms of ‘smart automation’ are advancing at a rapid pace and have the potential to bring great benefits to the economy, by boosting productivity and creating new and better products and services. In an earlier study1 , we estimated that these technologies could contribute up to 14% to global GDP by 2030, equivalent to around $15 trillion at today’s values. For advanced economies like the US, the EU and Japan, these technologies could hold the key to reversing the slump in productivity growth seen since the global financial crisis. But they could also produce a lot of disruption, not least to the jobs market. Indeed a recent global PwC survey found that 37% of workers were worried about the possibility of losing their jobs due to automation. To explore this further we have analysed a dataset compiled by the OECD that looks in detail at the tasks involved in the jobs of over 200,000 workers across 29 countries (27 from the OECD plus Singapore and Russia). Building on previous research by Frey and Osborne (Oxford University, 2013)3 and Arntz, Gregory and Zierahn (OECD, 2016)4 we estimated the proportion of existing jobs that might be of high risk of automation by the 2030s for: Each of these 29 countries; Different industry sectors; Occupations within industries; and Workers of different genders, ages and education levels. We also identify how this process might unfold over the period to the 2030s in three overlapping waves: 1. Algorithm wave: focused on automation of simple computational tasks and analysis of structured data in areas like finance, information and communications – this is already well underway. 2. Augmentation wave: focused on automation of repeatable tasks such as filling in forms, communicating and exchanging information through dynamic technological support, and statistical analysis of unstructured data in semi-controlled environments such as aerial drones and robots in warehouses – this is also underway, but is likely to come to full maturity in the 2020s. 3. Autonomy wave: focused on automation of physical labour and manual dexterity, and problem solving in dynamic real-world situations that require responsive actions, such as in manufacturing and transport (e.g. driverless vehicles) – these technologies are under development already, but may only come to full maturity on an economy-wide scale in the 2030s. Our estimates are based primarily on the technical feasibility of automation, so in practice the actual extent of automation may be less, due to a variety of economic, legal, regulatory and organisational constraints. Just because something can be automated in theory does not mean it will be economically or politically viable in practice.

Part I of this report begins by describing the main forms of modern electronic monitoring and surveillance (EMS) that have placed more Australian workers œunder their employer's eye. These methods include the use of location tracking technologies, monitoring of emails and social media content, the œgamification of work, digital methods of performance monitoring, and even electronic systems for employee discipline and dismissal. Following sections examine the various purposes of modern EMS systems, and the extent of their application. This is followed by a brief description of the legal and regulatory system governing EMS in Australia; current regulations limiting employers' use of these systems are sparse and inconsistent. The last section of Part I discusses the direct and indirect consequences of these new forms of monitoring and surveillance for workers. It argues that the impact of omnipresent surveillance in workplaces may be contributing to the slower wage growth which has so concerned Australian economists and policy experts in recent years; because it is now easier and cheaper to monitor and œmotivate employees through surveillance and potential discipline, employers feel less pressure to provide positive economic incentives (such as job security, promotion, and higher wages) to elicit loyalty and effort from their workforces.Part II of the report then reports the findings of our original survey data regarding the forms, extent and impacts of EMS systems in Australian workplaces, and the attitudes of Australian workers towards these technologies and trends. We surveyed 1,459 people between 26 October and 6 November 2018, using an online survey methodology, conducted by Research Now. The sample was nationally representative with respect to gender, age and state and territory.