Keeping up with tech and automation

Advances in technology and automation including artificial intelligence are rapidly affecting the skills needed across Canada’s labour market. While these changes bring new opportunities, they also create uncertainty and disruption that affect regions and sectors differently. To keep up, skills training must evolve to prepare workers and employers for a more digital and connected world.

Improving access to supports for digital literacy is particularly important for people who face barriers to participation or are at greater risk of technology-driven displacement. Workers equipped with the right digital and technical skills help businesses adopt new technologies faster and more effectively.

Bridging the digital divide

To stay relevant, everyone will need to adapt including employers, workers and skills training systems. However, there is a persistent digital divide. Not everyone has access to emerging technologies. The absence of robust digital infrastructure in remote, rural and Indigenous communities across Canada limits access to critical services, information and opportunities.

There is a pressing need to upskill workers in digital skills and AI across the labour market. We must ensure equity-deserving groups benefit, including newcomers and racialized people, Indigenous communities and people with disabilities.