The purpose of Digital Talent: Road to 2020 and Beyond is to provide practical recommendations that will position Canada's talent as a comparative advantage in the increasingly global and rapidly evolving digital landscape. This strategy is unique in that it targets both the œvertical ICT industry and the œhorizontal adopters of ICT and digital technologies, both of which depend on a strong, vibrant digitally-savvy workforce. This strategy is not intended to supplant digital strategies developed by provincial governments (such as British Columbia's technology strategy) or other associations representing sub-sectors of the ICT vertical (such as the Entertainment Software Association of Canada's talent strategy). Rather, it supports and reinforces the elements of those other strategies that we believe should be prioritized at a national level

The Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC) is pleased to present the Digital Economy Annual Review 2016, exploring broad trends over the past year in Canada's digital economy with respect to economic impact, labour market, technology adoption, and more. The report utilizes historical data starting 2001 through 2015 and estimated data for 2016 based on January 2016 - June 2016 results. Skilled Canadians are the foundation of economic growth in today's globalized digital economy. The latest innovations in ICTs - in particular the internet of things (IOT) as well as Social, Mobile, Analytics, Apps, and Cloud (SMAAC) - have the potential to significantly heighten Canada's competitive advantage. Over the next few years, the adoption of smart and connected technologies will continue to reshape all sectors of our economy including manufacturing, natural resources, financial services, health, transportation, and more. Looking ahead, the technological subsectors that are primed to grow the fastest and make the largest economic contributions to the Canadian economy over the next few years include Analytics, Informatics and Social Networks, Automation and Robotics, High Performance Computing, FinTech, e-Commerce, Virtual Construction, and Connected Cars. The confluence of these interconnected technologies is creating unprecedented volume and depth of data - widely known as big data - that is increasingly being used by companies large and small to transform products and services to reach new clients, achieve scale, and grow. With all sectors of the Canadian economy adopting more technologies, we will see an increased hiring requirement in Canada for ICT talent. As more retirement occurs in the top-heavy ICT workforce, knowledge retention and a leadership vacuum are two critical challenges facing Canada's digital economy that must be planned for and addressed in the coming years. Interested readers are encouraged to review ICTC's related recent research exploring the long term labour market outlook, talent solutions, and the adoption of digital technology by Canadian enterprises of all sizes. These studies provide insights at the municipal level to assist employers, policymakers, educators, and the like in making optimal contributions to the digital economy with appropriate policies and training to ensure jobseekers have the right skills, and employers the human capital they need.

Building on our January 2017 report on automation, McKinsey Global Institute’s latest report, Jobs lost, jobs gained: Workforce transitions in a time of automation (PDF–5MB), assesses the number and types of jobs that might be created under different scenarios through 2030 and compares that to the jobs that could be lost to automation. The results reveal a rich mosaic of potential shifts in occupations in the years ahead, with important implications for workforce skills and wages. Our key finding is that while there may be enough work to maintain full employment to 2030 under most scenarios, the transitions will be very challenging—matching or even exceeding the scale of shifts out of agriculture and manufacturing we have seen in the past. What impact will automation have on work? What are possible scenarios for employment growth? Will there be enough work in the future? What will automation mean for skills and wages? How do we manage the upcoming workforce transitions?

Continuous innovation and improvements in technology need to be synchronous with the required number of skilled ICT professionals for the digital economy to grow sustainably. To better understand the supply-side dynamics of ICT talent, this study concentrates on (i) the supply flow of ICT talent from Canada’s post-secondary education stream, and (ii) strategies outlining the way forward to enable better decision making by all stakeholders for a more productive, innovative, and globally competitive Canadian economy. In addition, availability of gender disaggregated enrolment and graduation data allows us to gain a better understanding of talent supply by gender.This study begins with an outline of its analytical framework. The next section provides in an-depth overview of ICT supply from Canada’s post-secondary education stream. The gender perspective and other important considerations are explored in the following two sections. In a final section of the paper, the findings of this study are summarized in the context of a discussion about strategies to stimulate the Canadian economy with required skilled ICT talent.

This discussion paper summarizes the key issues and questions that crop up in debates about digital literacy, and sets out our initial thinking on the need for digital knowledge and skills, what digital literacy comprises, and a framework for understanding digital skills. To inform this discussion paper, BII+E conducted an in-depth literature review and jurisdictional scan. We also spoke to policymakers, program delivery experts, and industry experts across the country about the importance of digital skills, trends in education and training, and the challenges associated with equipping the present and future workforce with the skills to participate in an increasingly digital economy. This discussion paper will be used to test our definition of digital literacy and our framework for understanding digital skills from across sectors. It will also inform consultations with experts on the next steps in our research agenda. In future phases of work, we will more closely examine data related to digital skills supply and demand across Canadian occupations and industries; map current digital literacy-focused programs and policies in Canada; and develop actionable recommendations to address existing barriers and take hold of opportunities to equitably develop digital literacy in Canada.

This report is designed to provide insight into this new world of work—insight that leads to action. We aim to jumpstart a meaningful discussion among Canadian business executives, government leaders, and workers themselves not just about how to survive in the Intelligence Revolution but how to thrive in it. To this end, we outline the future-proofed capabilities Canadians will need to succeed in the Intelligence Revolution and describe a series of the new work archetypes we envision as the necessary foundation for the future of work. And finally, we offer a series of recommendations for Canadian government, business, and workers that we believe must be implemented to put us on the path to success.

The future of learning is here. As schools and educators consider how to approach the rapidly changing realities of education, new research suggests children starting school today will graduate better prepared for their futures if they have a strong social and emotional foundation, developed in a personalised learning environment. This new research draws on multiple sources, including a collaboration between Microsoft and McKinsey & Company’s education practice and voices of the students themselves, rarely heard in most research. Find out how you and your school can stay on the cutting edge of the changing classroom and best prepare your students for success now and into the future.

There is a tendency in some quarters to regard skill deficiencies simply as a consequence of the business cycle. The evidence does not support such a conclusion and points to more complex underlying causes and more serious consequences. It is clear that skill deficiencies are widespread across organisations. Many employers reported that they experienced recruitment problems related to the availability of skills, and/or that their existing workforce was not proficient enough to meet the needs of the business. Moreover, it is demonstrated that, where they exist, such problems have had a significant impact on organisations’ economic performance, both with regard to employers’ immediate perceptions and their effect on the longer-term performance of business. In aggregate, this has important implications for the overall performance of the economy and national wealth. In this sense there is a very real skills problem: skills matter.

We use the Destination of Leavers from Higher Education Survey (DLHE) to estimate the socio-economic gradient in access to unpaid internships among English and Welsh graduates six months after completing their first degree, and the return to this internship experience 3 years later in terms of salary, occupation, contract type and career satisfaction. We show a significant salary penalty at 3.5 years after graduation compared with those going straight into paid work or further study, but also that graduates from higher socio- economic status have an advantage in accessing internships while being significantly insulated from their negative effects.