Humans wanted: How Canadian youth can thrive in the age of disruption
Canada is facing a quiet crisis. In the coming decade, half of all jobs will be disrupted by technology and automation. Some will change dramatically. Others will disappear completely, replaced by jobs that are yet to be invented. We are living through an era of radical change, with the latest advancements in artificial intelligence and automation transforming the way we work, even in unexpected fields such as law and customer service. How will we prepare Canadian youth for the workplace of the future?, Over the past year, RBC conducted a major study of the Canadian workforce. We crisscrossed the country, talked to students, workers, educators and employers in every sector. We studied job openings and automation trends and dug into mountains of data to figure out how the country is changing and what we can do to prepare. We discovered that the four million Canadian youth entering the workforce over the next decade are going to need a foundation of skills that sets them up for many different jobs and roles rather than a single career path. They will need a portfolio of human skills such as critical thinking, social perceptiveness, and complex problem solving to remain competitive and resilient in the labour market. We found that Canada is shifting from a jobs economy to a skills economy, and yet employers, educators and policy makers are not prepared. Here are four things you need to know about the coming skills revolution and the future of work: (1) Disruption is accelerating; (2) Flexibility is the future; (3) Digital literacy is essential; and (4) We need to prepare for the future of work.