Turn and Face the Strange: Changes impacting the future of employment in Canada

Executive Summary

Most contemporary conversations about the future of employment tend to focus on technological trends. However, in order to support forward-facing planning and avoid blind spots, it is critical to understand a range of trends, with various levels of maturity, and how they might interact over time. This is the purpose of Turn and Face the Strange which outlines 31 broad trends that could impact the future of Canada’s labour market over the next 10–15 years.

What does the future hold for Canada’s labour market? Since the beginning, labour markets have experienced shifts based on a range of drivers, from urbanization to industrialization. As concern about the impact and pace of the most recent wave of changes increases, interest has also increased in education and training approaches focused on skills that are transferable across a range of occupations and industries rather than credentials. The rationale for this approach is that workers with in-demand and transferable skills may more easily find new work, upskill, or otherwise navigate changes in the labour market over the course of their careers. Given this focus on skills, policy makers, employers, and education institutions are investing considerable resources in skills development initiatives to prepare Canadians for what the future may hold.