Focus on the future of skills and work in a digital economy
As digital technologies transform our economy, the way we work is rapidly changing.
To appreciate what this means for Canadians, and to better understand how the COVID-19 pandemic affected transitions within the digital economy, we partnered with the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) to launch a Knowledge Synthesis Grant competition on Skills and Work in the Digital Economy.
Thirty-six project teams worked to summarize existing knowledge about the challenges and opportunities in adapting to new digital activities, including in the context of the current COVID-19 pandemic. By synthesizing existing knowledge, these projects identified both what we do and don’t know about the nature of work in the digital economy.
Discover the Skills and Work in the Digital Economy research reports
Among these Knowledge Synthesis Grants, FSC has supported 10 research projects exploring more specifically the next steps of training and learning as part of a changing digital economy.
This research project reviewed existing literature to better understand online experiential learning and identifies promising strategies for integrating experiential learning in online courses.
University of Ottawa
This project investigated the obstacles and personal costs online abuse presents to knowledge workers in research and public education fields, and identifies practices that organizations could incorporate to help these workers.
Royal Roads University
This project explores how much the current engineering design (ED) curriculum across Canada is effectively tackling new AI solution topics, with the purpose of guiding curricula and policy change for engineering education decision-makers across Canada.
University of Toronto
This project explored the impacts and implications of the growing electronic surveillance of workers, mediated through rapid developments in digital technology and further accelerated by the pandemic and shift to remote work.
Toronto Metropolitan University
This knowledge synthesis project explored the impact that COVID-19 has had on the transition to the digital economy and identifies the significant gaps in knowledge for organizations and policy-makers alike.
University of Toronto
Canada has groups of people who are significantly underrepresented in the STEM fields, including and especially women of colour. This project identified strategies that support the retention of women of colour in their postsecondary STEM programs.
Ontario Tech University (University of Ontario Institute of Technology)
This project explored how AI technologies are transforming the nature of work, and how these technological changes affect employee psychological health, engagement and performance.
Université de Laval
This knowledge synthesis project examined how and where racialized immigrant women in Canada have been most impacted by the digital transformation of workplaces, and identifed potentially successful reskilling approaches that equip racialized immigrant women workers to take advantage of these digital transformations.
University of Waterloo
This report synthesizes research focusing on the impact of digital technologies on work and worker engagement, exploring several aspects including how digital technologies are transforming the nature of work and workplace practices.
Carleton University
This knowledge synthesis report synthesizes existing research and knowledge about the connection between Artificial Intelligence (AI) and (in)equity and suggests considerations for public and private sector leaders when implementing AI.
University of Toronto
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