Bracing for Automation: What Are Canada’s Most Vulnerable Jobs?
Rapid technological change makes it more critical than ever that Canadian leaders understand how the adoption of new technologies impacts Canada’s labour markets. This briefing looks at which occupations have a higher risk of significant transformation and offer few options for workers to transition into lower-risk occupations.
Highlights
- Nearly one in five Canadian employees are in occupations at high risk of automation with few or no options to transition into lower-risk occupations without significant retraining.
- The top five industries in which these occupations are most concentrated are accommodation and food services, manufacturing, retail trade, construction, and health care and social assistance
- Based on total number of people employed, the top five occupations of this type in Canada are food counter attendants, kitchen helpers, and related; cashiers; administrative assistants; general office support workers; and cooks.
- Indigenous people, women, young people, and visible minorities are disproportionately represented in most of the top occupations.
Related Content
Research
Pathways to Financing: Journeys of Successful Black Entrepreneurs
Building on other research and projects to support Black entrepreneurs, including BACEL and Capital Skills, this short report examines the pathways to financing taken by some well-known Black entrepreneurs in Canada.
Research
Amped Up: Upskilling Canada’s Heavy Duty Vehicle Mechanics to Support the Transition to Electric School Buses
This project examined how heavy-duty diesel mechanics can be effectively upskilled to support the transition to electric school buses.
Research
Retention in Healthcare: Migration Costs and Systems Perspectives
We undertook an examination of the cost of turnover and out-migration among Canadian healthcare workers, as well as how regulatory bodies and training organizations monitor and respond to workforce exits.


