Without the right policies, obstacles that women have encountered - and continue to face - in the analogue world are likely to grow exponentially in the digital future. The barriers to gender equality are numerous and diverse. Some are deeply rooted in the past, while others are unique to the digital world. Hurdles to access and affordability, inherent biases and sociocultural norms, coupled with lack of educational opportunities and skills, among others, curtail women’s ability to fully benefit from the digital transformation. However, these barriers are in no way insurmountable. In addition to identifying some of the main obstacles that women face in the digital world, this report shows how policy interventions can help pave the way to greater gender inclusion, with a focus on the fundamental role of education and training in bridging the (digital) gender divide.

Expanding on the ILO’s exploration of the likely job impacts by 2030 of keeping the rise in global temperature below the 2°C ceiling set by the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, this is the first global study to analyse the implications of the transition to low-carbon and resource-efficient economies for skills, gender and occupations (Based on 32 country studies). The main objectives of this global qualitative and quantitative analysis are to identify: the scale of the need for reskilling and upskilling to realize the employment potential of the transition to environmental sustainability (the “green transition”); changes in occupations, skills gaps and skills shortages in meeting the skills demand of the green transition; progress made since 2011 in the countries surveyed then in coordinating skills and environmental policy matters across ministries and between public and private sectors; the specific needs of vulnerable and disadvantaged groups in adjusting to change, and effective skills policy measures to increase productivity and support a just transition.

Canada’s labour market is undergoing changes, but what does the future hold? With a range of technological, environmental, and political trends driving change, which ones should Canadians pay attention to most? Signs of the Times: Expert insights about employment in 2030 offers a look at how a range of experts across Canada are thinking about the future of employment, ideas about possible new jobs, as well as which trends they believe are most likely to create change. This report aims to provide guidance to Canadian policy makers, educators, employers, students, and workers about what the future of Canada’s labour market may hold. Signs of the Times is the second report to be released as part of the Brookfield Institute’s Employment in 2030 initiative. Building on previous work conducted by project partner Nesta, Employment in 2030 uses futures research, expert workshops, and machine learning algorithms to project the skills most likely to be in demand in 2030 across Canada. The first phase of this initiative resulted in Turn and Face the Strange, a report that outlines 31 broad trends with the potential to impact Canada’s labour market. This research was used to frame the next phase of the project: six workshops held across Canada, inviting a range of diverse experts to share how they expect select occupations might change in the next 10–15 years. The insights we gathered from the experts are shared in this report, while data from these workshops will inform the last phase of the project: data analysis using machine learning algorithms to project these impacts across the labour market, shedding light on the skills most likely to be in demand. The findings from this final phase will be shared in a third report, which is set for release in 2020.

As the U.S. workforce ages, baby boomers retire, and birth rates decline, the United States is facing an estimated shortfall of 8 million workers between now and 2027. At the same time, the U.S. economy is becoming ever more knowledge-based. Having a marketable postsecondary credential, whether an academic degree or a professional certification or license, has become more of a necessity to secure a job that pays a family-sustaining wage. Amid these economic changes, immigrant-origin adults—that is, immigrants and their U.S.-born children—are projected to be the primary source of future labor-force growth. Yet about 30 million of the 58 million immigrant-origin adults in the country as of 2017 did not have a postsecondary credential, representing 30 percent of all U.S. adults without one. These immigrants and their children are thus an important target group for efforts by governments, educational institutions, civil society, and employers to boost the credential attainment of U.S. workers.This report offers a first-of-its-kind profile of immigrant-origin adults without postsecondary credentials, including a look at key sociodemographic characteristics, geographic distribution, and factors such as English proficiency and legal status that can affect their access to workforce programs. It also considers the labor-market returns of nondegree credentials, finding that immigrant-origin adults who hold such certifications or licenses have higher rates of labor-market participation, higher wages, and lower unemployment than counterparts who lack them.

The purpose of this report is to analyze which skills are most in-demand, and how skills from different domains go together, so job seekers can understand how to build on their existing skill sets to enhance their competitiveness in the labour market.

There are over 20 million young people of color in the United States whose representation in STEM education pathways and in the STEM workforce is still far below their numbers in the general population. Their participation could help re-establish the United States’ preeminence in STEM innovation and productivity, while also increasing the number of well-educated STEM workers. There are nearly 700 minority-serving institutions (MSIs) that provide pathways to STEM educational success and workforce readiness for millions of students of color—and do so in a mission-driven and intentional manner. They vary substantially in their origins, missions, student demographics, and levels of institutional selectivity. But in general, their service to the nation provides a gateway to higher education and the workforce, particularly for underrepresented students of color and those from low-income and first-generation to college backgrounds. The challenge for the nation is how to capitalize on the unique strengths and attributes of these institutions and to equip them with the resources, exceptional faculty talent, and vital infrastructure needed to educate and train an increasingly critical portion of current and future generations of scientists, engineers, and health professionals. Minority Serving Institutions examines the nation’s MSIs and identifies promising programs and effective strategies that have the highest potential return on investment for the nation by increasing the quantity and quality MSI STEM graduates. This study also provides critical information and perspective about the importance of MSIs to other stakeholders in the nation’s system of higher education and the organizations that support them.

Skills for a Changing World is a project of the Center for Universal Education at Brookings and the LEGO Foundation that seeks to ensure all children have high quality learning opportunities that build the breadth of skills needed to create a productive, healthy society in the face of changing social, technological, and economic demands. This research paper seeks to identify how a new generation of skills can best be developed and enhanced in young children and students so they can navigate education and work in the face of changing social, technological, and economic demands. The focus of Skills for a Changing World is breadth—breadth of skills, breadth across ages, and breadth of learning opportunities, both inside and out of school.

Business and academia in the U.S. have traditionally been able to equip new workforce recruits with the hard skills they need to perform at a high level in the workplace. But with the regular flow of new technologies and business models into the market, today's employees must navigate all this change with a varied skill set. This means soft skills such as adaptability and complex problem-solving are more important than ever for recent college grads, mid-career professionals, and seasoned executives. Employer needs are continually shifting in response to changes in industry and the marketplace, so workers also need to keep refreshing both their hard and soft skills. A 2018 Bloomberg Next and Workday survey asked if business and academia were meeting these challenges, and what areas they might need to refine or rethink to improve outcomes. The research team surveyed 200 senior-level individuals - 100 each in academia and business - focusing on four primary themes: preparedness, skills, collaboration, and planning. Corporate, professional service, and nonprofit respondents came from organizations with at least 500 employees based in the U.S. The survey results identified several significant issues: A majority of respondents said new hires are not well-prepared to perform at a high level in a professional environment, primarily because of insufficient soft skills; A surprising number of organizations lack formal plans and budgets for addressing the impact of emerging technologies; Business and academia are not collaborating as actively and effectively as they could be in preparing students for employment and reskilling individuals already in the workforce.

Representing the views of 10,000 adults in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K., and including interviews with chief human resources officers at 10 large corporations based in these three countries, this study from Northeastern University and Gallup measures perceptions of the impact of artificial intelligence on jobs, as well as the education choices respondents would make in response and their confidence in higher education, government and business to plan for widespread AI adoption. Key findings: In all three countries, few see higher education as doing a good job preparing current or future workers for the workforce. Most of the adults in these countries would not look to higher education as the first source for new skills and training to respond to AI adoption. Nearly all, in all three countries surveyed, see the value of lifelong learning. Many in all three countries question the value of a degree from a traditional college or university.