The Survey on Employment and Skills, conducted by the Environics Institute for Survey Research in collaboration with the Diversity Institute and the Future Skills Centre, was designed to explore Canadians’ experiences with the changing nature of work, including technology-driven disruptions, increasing insecurity and shifting skills requirements.

For Labour Market Information (LMI) to be accessible, relevant and suitable for meeting the diverse needs of Canadians, it must consider who is using LMI and what they are using it for.

The economy in Northern Canada is changing. Sectors, such as mining, forestry, and tourism, can quickly expand or contract. Advancing technology is one factor driving those changes.

The Future Skills Centre and the Conference Board of Canada research the paths that workers could take to transition into sectors that are growing rapidly, starting with the clean economy.

By combining preliminary data from an ongoing survey of SMEs, associated focus group discussions, and existing research, this report highlights opportunities to better support SMEs in the pandemic recovery and after. This includes a specific focus on embracing diversity and inclusion as a key way of addressing their skills needs.

To be successful, Canada’s skills strategies must address skills for innovation across sectors from solo entrepreneurs, to small and medium-sized businesses, to large corporations – and even within government itself.

Canada’s post-secondary institutions are well positioned for the future, thanks to innovative approaches and a willingness to use technological advances in education. COVID-19 has challenged these institutions, but they have showed adaptability under pressure by accelerating their adoption of innovations. However, some challenges predate the pandemic such as better inclusion of equity-seeking groups in higher education. Better funding models and greater flexibility can build greater resilience and agility into the system while addressing long-standing challenges and inequities

The second wave of the Survey on Employment and Skills was conducted in late 2020, as the pandemic’s second wave gathered momentum in Canada and the number of new COVID-19 cases steadily increased.

Immigration is an important part of Canada’s economic growth - especially in terms of sustaining the labour market. And although Canada welcomes many immigrants to our shores, we aren’t creating an employment environment where they can use their skills to their fullest potential. There are several steps that Canada needs to take to fix this problem, such as getting better at recognizing the credentials immigrants possess and providing them with improved labour market information throughout their immigration journey.