Postsecondary students have been increasingly combining education and employment as a way of enhancing skills and not only as a way of managing costs. This Mowat note summarizes what descriptive statistics from Statistics Canada’s most recent Longitudinal and International Survey of Adults (LISA) data tell us about students’ work experiences while in postsecondary education.

The threat of automation implies a race between education and technology.1 In most developing countries, education systems are not providing workers with the skills necessary to compete in today’s job markets. The growing mismatch between the demand and supply of skills holds back economic growth and undermines opportunity.

In the aftermath of the economic crisis, few policy issues have attracted as much attention as skills development. Discussion has focused on the types of skills that employees need to ensure they can successfully navigate an ever-more demanding labour market, and those that employers need to have on hand to help them survive in an ever-more competitive marketplace. This has been accompanied by concerns about skills gaps and mismatches — about whether some Canadians are making poor choices when it comes to their education and training, and whether the labour market is beset with a paradoxical combination of over- and under-qualified workers.

Asia-Pacific has been witnessing dramatic shifts in its population. Since 1950, the share of children has consistently contracted, while the shares of working-age and elderly people have steadily risen. On the cover of this report, patterns in the balloon depict shifting shares from 1950 until 2100. Population dynamics and a period of demographic transition will transform the future of the region, with profound implications for human development. The picture of a girl and a boy, a working-age woman and man, and an older woman and man convey that all people—including those with other gender identities—are inherently valuable and ought to be equal members of families and societies. Together, they represent how collaboration and interdependence can lead to greater mutual well-being. Ensuring equal rights and opportunities for all population groups will determine collective strength and resilience. Leveraging the capacity and creativity of different people will enable countries to reach higher levels of human development. The depiction of a hot air balloon carrying the people of the region upwards represents dynamic change and optimism. The balloon can take the region, with more than half the world’s population, to new heights, in any direction. In a time of change, the ability to navigate in the right direction will depend on clear, well-informed policy choices and abilities to adjust to changing needs. Making the most of the dividend that can accrue from demographic transition will require countries to read the wind, and to remain alert and responsive to impending challenges as well as opportunities.

The “Career Pathways” model developed in the US organizes different government support systems and allows adult learners to constantly upgrade skills.

Previous research has shown that employers and employees in rural areas are likely to be disadvantaged with respect to both skills needs and the opportunities for those skills needs to be addressed because of their small and sparsely distributed populations, remote location and distances travelled over a poorer transport infrastructure. This paper uses the UK Commission’s Employer Skills Survey 2011 and Employer Perspectives Survey 2012 to explore differences and commonalities in vacancies, skills deficiencies and approaches to training and staff development.

By 2015, there were more than 1.6 billion people in the world who were part of the 50-plus cohort. By 2050, this number is projected to double to nearly 3.2 billion people. Throughout the world the growth of this age group is having a transformative impact, economically and socially. The US alone is home to 111 million in the 50-plus cohort; they represent a powerful force that is driving economic growth and value. The contributions of this age group are collectively known as the Longevity Economy. It is the sum of all economic activity driven by the needs of Americans aged 50 and older, including both the products and services they purchase directly and the further economic activity this spending generates. The difference it makes is substantial; in 2015, the Longevity Economy fostered $7.6 trillion in economic activity.

For decades, income distribution was ignored by a policy consensus that favoured free markets. Research on income inequality is challenging that view.

Throughout history, technological change has helped lift people out of squalor and poverty, raised standards of living and improved well-being. Technological change, however, can also be disruptive – rendering specific occupations and skills obsolete, unsettling economic structures and contributing to unemployment and economic uncertainty. Innovation is a driving factor of productivity and economic growth, but increasing productivity means that fewer people are needed to produce the same amount of goods. The increasing pace of technological change has led some to speculate that, in the digital era, technology might destroy old jobs faster than new ones are created. Job losses can occur, however, only if innovation outstrips growth in demand for new products and services. As well, the potential for automation does not necessarily translate into actual automation: the decision to automate depends on factors such as firm size, competitive pressure and the cost of a machine versus the cost of human labour. This Commentary assesses the impact of technological change on Canada’s labour market over the past 30 years and highlights its implications for the near future. If the past is any guide, a continuation of gradual changes can be expected in the demand for skills in the labour force. This is a natural market reaction to technological change. There is unlikely to be a drastic shift in employment due to automation in the near future, although some industries and types of occupations will be more disrupted than others. Here, public policy could both encourage automation and prepare the workforce for the transition.