This report illustrates the need for urgent attention to be paid to this issue. It will start by describing some of the technological trends that are reshaping the future of work, and the challenges and opportunities they present for youth. It will explain the impact of these trends on the skills and experience that will be increasingly demanded of youth entering the workforce. Finally, it will outline potential avenues that can be explored to help ensure Canada's youth are well-positioned to thrive and prosper in the future.

the purpose of this report is to understand the effects that automation can have on our labour force. Overall we found that nearly 42 percent of the Canadian labour force is at a high risk of being aected by automation in the next decade or two. Individuals in these occupations earn less and are less educated than the rest of the Canadian labour force. While the literature suggests that these occupations may not necessarily be lost, we also discovered that major job restructuring will likely occur as a result of new technology. Using a different methodology, we found that nearly 42 percent of the tasks that Canadians are currently paid to do can be automated using existing technology. But the data does not paint an entirely negative picture. Using the Canadian Occupation Projection System (COPS), we found that the occupations with the lowest risk of being affected by automation are projected to produce nearly 712,000 net new jobs between 2014 and 2024. As with any type of forecasting exercise, there are always going to be uncertainties associated with the predictions. However, we do hope that this study provides a tool to help guide future decision-making.

Key findings: One of the top labour market information needs as reported by Canadians is the skill requirements of jobs. As jobs evolve alongside technological innovations, workers will need to hold the right skills to be successful. Analyzing the more than 400,000 paid job vacancies posted on LinkedIn in 2018 across 10 major Canadian cities reveals that the three top skill groups demanded by employers on LinkedIn are: Business Management, Leadership and Oral Communication. The most frequently advertised job titles across the 10 cities include Customer Service Specialist, Project Manager, Retail Salesperson, Salesperson, and Software Developer.

Key Findings: Research points to long-standing ambiguity over the notion of skills and how they are defined. Skills shortages have traditionally been measured by estimating the supply and demand shifts of certain œskill proxies, such as educational qualifications, fields of study, and occupations; however, this approach does not adequately depict the diverse and rapidly changing skill needs of the Canadian economy. Technical advances in data analysis (i.e., machine learning, natural language processing, and web scraping) facilitate the use of data from online job postings for gaining insight into skills shortages. Observing the frequency, content, and duration of these postings, as well as job seeker profiles provides an opportunity to improve our understanding of the changing nature of jobs. The availability of online data, combined with a Canadian skills and competency taxonomy, creates an opportunity to map skills to the Canadian National Occupational Classification (NOC) system, which will contribute to ensuring that Canadians have the right skills to succeed.

Key Findings: Two-thirds of Canadian employers rely on labour market information (LMI) for human resource management but the vast majority have difficulty finding and understanding LMI. The challenge is particularly acute among smaller employers. Employers say information related to wages, worker availability, and benefits is the most important but also the most difficult to find. The main challenge faced by employers is that LMI is outdated, difficult to find, and not specific enough to their needs.

The skills required to succeed in today's world of work are rapidly changing. Workers experience pressure to continuously improve their skills, and employers struggle to find workers with the right skills to achieve their goals. - Developing a pan-Canadian mapping system that links skills to occupations is an important step towards improving our understanding of the changing nature of jobs. - A five-phase plan is proposed to assess, develop, and maintain a mapping between the recently developed Skills and Competencies Taxonomy of Employment and Social Development Canada and the National Occupational Classification (NOC) system. - The various approaches for achieving such a mapping will be evaluated against a number of established criteria, including, among others, data collection requirements, their statistical rigour, utility in supporting people to make informed decisions, as well as the cost of establishing and maintaining these different approaches. - To ensure the Skills and Competencies Taxonomy and its mapping to the NOC system continue to evolve to meet the needs of stakeholders, external input and feedback will be sought throughout the process. - To ensure the credibility, rigour, and integrity of the final mapping, Statistics Canada and Employment and Social Development Canada will manage and oversee the statistical infrastructure required to maintain and update the mapping.

Key findings from the report include; Labour shortages, skills shortages, and skills mismatches negatively impact individual well-being and dampen growth, productivity, and competitiveness at both the firm-and economy-wide level. These three concepts are often used interchangeably, creating confusion and uncertainty, potentially leading to inappropriate or ineffective solutions. As such, the following definitions are recommended: o Labour shortages refer to a lack of candidates for a specific job in a specific labour market. o Skills shortages refer to a lack of candidates with the skills required by particular employers. o Skills mismatches refer to situations in which an employee's current skills are not well suited to their current job.