Across Canada

Improving quality of work, through better wages and benefits, social environments, security, safety, and inclusion, alongside skills and professional development is one part of a larger strategy to address these labour shortages.

In recent years, young people have faced difficulties in the labour market. Pandemic lockdowns impacted school and work for most young people, alongside accelerated technological change and the increasing prevalence of gig work (characterized by short-term, on-demand, and task-based labour) have all had negative impacts on quality of work for young people. 

With several years of hybrid work implementation, this project sought to document the hybrid work experiences of 20 Canadian executive-level leaders in workforce innovation and skills development and private sector organizations in culture, finance, tech, and professional services. 

This project used Canadian job ads to understand changes in the terms of employment offered to job seekers, focusing specifically on skill, education, and experience requirements, as well as job benefits, between the two-year period prior to the pandemic (2017-2019) and 2022.

Platform apps and gig work predate the pandemic, but the number of people that they employ increased sharply as a result of COVID-19 related lockdowns and job losses.