Future of work

This innovation report looks at the skills necessary for the post-COVID economy. The findings suggest that over half the Canadian workforce will need to reskill within the next five years due to the disruption of the pandemic and accelerated technological automation. The pandemic has exacerbated these challenges in adopting and creating new technologies. Despite significant public investment in research and development, Canada’s innovation sector is lagging relative to other developed nations. The report calls for a strategy that addresses skills for innovation across sectors. Additionally, clear gaps within the innovation ecosystem can be addressed to improve its outcomes. The main issues that arise in its current form show that competition for scarce resources, a dearth of entrepreneurial management training opportunities, and lack of coordination among funding organizations creates fragmentation and duplication of effort for institutions, jurisdictions and sectors alike.