White Paper

This inquiry was established in 2017 to investigate the impact of technological and other change on the future of work in Australia. Particular issues included: the future earnings, job security, employment status and working patterns of Australians; the impact on different population groups; the wider impacts on inequality, the economy, government, and society; the adequacy of current laws, regulations, policies, and institutions to prepare Australians for that change; and international approaches. This report presents the findings of the inquiry and the recommendations for government policy and planning. It looks at how work is changing in Australia, assesses arguments around the possible impact of technology on jobs, examines how workplace laws can be modernised, considers approaches to knowledge and skills training, and examines how the social security and superannuation systems will need to evolve. Other issues include: the ageing population, gender inequality and the role of women, young people, Indigenous people, and people with a migrant background.

In recent years, there has been a revival of concerns that automation and digitalisation might after all result in a jobless future. The debate has been fuelled by studies for the US and Europe arguing that a substantial share of jobs is at œrisk of computerisation. These studies follow an occupation-based approach proposed by Frey and Osborne (2013), i.e. they assume that whole occupations rather than single job-tasks are automated by technology. As we argue, this might lead to an overestimation of job automatibility, as occupations labelled as high-risk occupations often still contain a substantial share of tasks that are hard to automate. Our paper serves two purposes. Firstly, we estimate the job automatibility of jobs for 21 OECD countries based on a task-based approach. In contrast to other studies, we take into account the heterogeneity of workers' tasks within occupations. Overall, we find that, on average across the 21 OECD countries, 9 % of jobs are automatable. The threat from technological advances thus seems much less pronounced compared to the occupation-based approach. We further find heterogeneities across OECD countries. For instance, while the share of automatable jobs is 6 % in Korea, the corresponding share is 12 % in Austria. Differences between countries may reflect general differences in workplace organisation, differences in previous investments into automation technologies as well as differences in the education of workers across countries.

The purpose of this research is to understand new and emerging skills required in the digital economy, nature and scope of the skills gaps, various causes of skills gaps, the impact on Canadian businesses, and how they respond. Hence, this report: 1. Provides a brief overview of the digital economy; how and why technologies are transcending all sectors. 2. Defines the new and emerging skills shaping the new economy and outlines the skills necessary to succeed in today‘s digital economy. 3. Explores the ―skills gap‖ concept in the Canadian context. 4. Highlights the strategies to address skill-related trends and challenges. 5. Provides case studies to showcase how companies address different aspects of the ever-changing skills landscape of the Canadian labour market. 6. Summarizes the policy responses to overcome skill-related challenges that will help Canadians compete and operate in the digital economy.

This report offers advice on the challenges, obligations and opportunities facing business leaders. It also outlines recommendations that, taken together - as coordinated action between industry, governments, young people and other stakeholders - create a strong framework for advancing the cause. But it’s more than a collection of ideas. This report represents a bold vision to convene business around a movement to prepare youth for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. It’s a call to action—to respond to critical challenges by committing to support and develop the workforce of tomorrow.

The vast majority of Canadians want their communities to be fully accessible for people with disabilities, and believe their country should be a leader on this front. But they also see massive gaps between this ideal, and the reality people with mobility challenges face where they live. They also recognize barriers to employment and education facing people with disabilities, but one-in-two say œit's understandable if businesses feel it's risky to hire employees with these challenges. And while most Canadians have experienced some exposure to people with physical disabilities in their day-to-day lives, they also vastly under-estimate the pervasiveness disability in this country. These are among the findings of a new national survey canvassing disability and accessibility issues conducted by the Angus Reid Institute, in partnership with the Rick Hansen Foundation.

In the past 20 years, a series of new digital technologies, and the business models that they enable, have come to dominate much of the economy. This shift has created a host of novel challenges in areas as diverse as competition, privacy and labour rights. In response, there is growing consensus across society that the current under-governed character of these digital spaces needs to change. But even as the need for more effective governance grows, change will not be easy. Building governance mechanisms for the digital economy is a project that faces many obstacles. Most obviously, the global scope of digital technologies transcends traditional jurisdictional boundaries, making action at the national level difficult to sustain. Moreover, these challenges will only grow more acute as the emergence of even more powerful and novel technologies continues. Is there a role for standards-based solutions to help address these challenges? This report provides responses to this question with regards to three critical parts of the digital economy: Data governance: The emergence of “surveillance capitalism,” a digital business model focused on the collection and exploitation of users’ data, has raised many concerns (Zuboff, 2015). Specifically, security breaches like those at Equifax and Yahoo, and scandals like Facebook’s links to Cambridge Analytica, have raised questions regarding informed consent, data security, privacy, accountability and the ethical use of user data. Artificial intelligence (AI) and algorithms: The use of AI and algorithms is spreading through society and the economy and replacing human actors in contexts as diverse as judicial sentencing, employee scheduling and the generation of consumer recommendations. The bases for algorithmic decisions often lack transparency, making it difficult to evaluate decisions’ alignment with human rights codes, labour laws or other governance frameworks. Digital firms are also increasingly using algorithms to set prices based on inputs such as a user’s postal code and their browsing history and in ways that may be undermining economic fairness. Digital platforms: The structural characteristics of digital platforms have helped to make these platforms useful and central to the digital economy. But these characteristics have also created significant power imbalances between platforms and different types of users. This is particularly so in cases where digital labour platforms serve as marketplaces for matching workers (e.g. drivers, hosts and freelancers) to consumers/clients. While they offer workers flexibility and new opportunities to earn income, the lack of labour standards governing these platforms means that work in the resulting

Employers are often criticized for not investing enough in the training and skills development of their employees. Educational institutions are expected to do a better job at preparing individuals to enter the workforce, with more of the skills employers are seeking. The context for this report is the fact that employers may sponsor more formal training of their employees and of prospective employees either as a result of their own proactive workforce plans or as a result of a fi nancial incentive to be made available. Specifi cally, in its 2013 budget, the federal government set in motion changes to training support that are aimed at better linking the training of workers to the skills needs of employers. To understand the potential outcomes of increased upskilling by employers, it is worth having a picture of employer-sponsored training and the need for upskilling and realignment of skills in the workforce. This report is largely a review of Canadian research to synthesize what we know about the training eco-system and what employers offer to their workforce. It is interspersed with sidebar interviews with several members of the Canadian Chamber who provide the views of human resource executives, employers and educators.Various related topics are covered including customizing education for employers; the issue of the apprenticeships; planning for reskilling and redeployment; job-readiness training for youth; and the perennial demand for soft skills. This report offers an overview of all of the kinds of formal training available for employees. It also points out which skills development, training and learning seem to fall outside the purview of employers and may rest with educational institutions and other parties. The main aim of this report is to investigate what to expect from employer-sponsored training and the possible outcomes of an incentive for such training. The focus here is on formal training of employees where the employer selects or approves and pays for the training. Formal training typically takes place off-site, often at educational institutions or training providers that can offer certifi cations (see theDefi nitions' section). By laying out the training eco-system and its key players, this report will reveal any gaps left unaddressed by employer-sponsored training. Policy recommendations will fl ow from the identifi cation of the current eco-system and the gap analysis of training for employees.

The 2015 Engineers Canada Labour Market Study provides supply and demand projections for 14 engineering occupations. The report highlights a large and growing need to replace retiring engineers as they exit the workforce. This is particularly relevant for civil, mechanical, electrical and electronic engineers as well as computer engineers. Replacement demand for engineers is an important theme that will be relevant for the next decade as the baby boom generation retires.

Much ink has been spilt on the difficulties faced by newcomers to Canada and, in particular, the challenges of integration into the labour market. The barriers they face, including inadequate language skills and credential recognition issues, are reflected in the widening gaps in labour market outcomes relative to native-born Canadians. This has quickly become one of Canada's most pressing public policy challenges as immigrants now account for more than 1-in-5 Canadians. And with the oncoming retirement of the baby boomer generation, immigration's role in the Canadian economy will only grow. Thus, addressing these integration issues is crucial for the long-term prosperity of all Canadians and would yield enormous benefits. For instance, simply closing the gap in employment rates between newcomers and native-born Canadians would equate to approximately 370,000 additional people working. Fortunately, a radical overhaul of our immigration system is not required to achieve significant positive change. Indeed, Canada's system is often looked to as a model by the many other countries that also struggle with the same demographic changes. But while many of the pieces appear to be in place, some need to be added and/or rearranged to make it all fit together. We identify two critical areas of reform: the federal and provincial selection processes and the network of immigrant settlement services. The opportunities available to reap efficiencies suggest that there are adequate resources in the system already, an important conclusion in light of a fiscally constrained environment. The various federal and provincial programs through which skilled immigrants are admitted, the Federal Skilled Worker (FSW), the Provincial Nominee (PN), and the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) program, are all seemingly designed to address short-term labour demand. This has created significant overlap, while leaving the job market's long-term needs unaddressed. The needs of employers could be much better met by a more coordinated approach. The PN and TFW programs are much better positioned to identify and respond to the rapidly changing needs of the labour market and they should remain focused on short-term needs. However, the PN programs could benefit greatly from adopting similar standards and practices. In turn, the FSW program should shift towards meeting the job market's longer-term demand, with a heightened focus on language proficiency. This will require a labour market information system that is able to identify current and future high-demand occupations and a systematic, transparent method of changing the eligible occupations for the program. A minimum language threshold for principal applicants would also help ensure better labour market outcomes for newcomers. In light of the poor economic outcomes of newcomers, many organizations providing settlement services have popped up over the years. However, the patchwork way in which services are delivered, such as language training programs, has resulted in uneven outcomes for newcomers. Many have fallen between the cracks. Newcomers could benefit through a more integrated approach to service delivery in which agencies adopt similar best practices. Along the same vein as the provincial nominee programs, the federal government could consider a devolved settlement funding arrangement in which the provinces are given a lump sum of settlement funds. Having a better idea of what services best suit the needs of the immigrants present in their own jurisdictions, the provinces are better placed to fund particular organizations to optimize service delivery and outcomes. This standardization must apply, in particular, to language programs and credential recognition services given the importance of the two to success in the labour market. Consideration could be given to standardizing the curriculums for federally/provincially-funded language programs to a single model which has measured levels of success. For credential recognition, a longer-term goal would be to have national regulatory bodies for all regulated occupations and harmonized equivalency requirements. However, this may not be possible in the near-term given the complexities of the accreditation process. Another potential solution would be to develop and expand the roles of fairness commissioners across all provinces and more aggressively pursue mutual recognition agreements.The federal government should also expand the Canadian Immigrant Integration Program, which provides pre-arrival services, to more countries around the world and consider setting up a similar integration portal here in Canada. Such a portal would be used to extend upon what was achieved at the pre-arrival stage. Newcomers could find out where to go to obtain the specific services, databases of immigrant skills and experience could be created, and businesses could use it to connect to the skilled professionals that they need. Lastly, more frequent data is needed on the integration of newcomers. Much of the current analysis on the poor labour market outcomes of immigrants was taken from a single survey conducted over a 5-year period which happens to coincide with the tech bust. At the time, Canada was admitting large inflows of immigrants with IT-related credentials, which may have skewed the overall picture. Ongoing information is needed to truly assess both the economic outcomes of newcomers, and our efforts in addressing this issue. Canada admits hundreds of thousands of highly-educated, highly-skilled immigrants each year to meet labour demand or to fill skills gaps. And yet, any reason for participating in skilled immigration is rendered null and void if those immigrants ultimately take lower paying jobs unrelated to their training because of the labour market barriers that they face. Solving the issues immigrants currently confront is crucial to our long-term prosperity and we have all of the pieces necessary to do so. At the moment, we have fit many of those pieces together in a patchwork way. Now, we need to organize those remaining pieces and complete the puzzle.