The Northern skills ecosystem is shaped by distinct challenges. This primer discusses how these challenges affect the ability of Northern skills ecosystems to respond to change.

Despite the significant attention paid to Canada’s loss of manufacturing jobs at a broader level, little is known about how individual Canadian regions have fared since the manufacturing employment decline of 2003-2009, caused by a combination of increased overseas competition, a rising Canadian dollar, and the 2008-2009 Great Recession.

Learning insights that gather research and early findings from our innovation projects to help navigate the future of work.

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.