Canadian HR Reporter

SEPTEMBER 8, 2014 CANADIAN HR REPORTER & STRATEGIC CAPABILITY NETWORK Global labour markets are undergoing a major change that will sig- nificantly affect the lives of working Canadians, unless the country's skills strategy is overhauled in time, according to Ilse Treurnicht, a member of Canada's Advisory Council on Economic Growth. e rapidly shifting world econo- my will see many jobs disappear, while creating others, she said. "is is a very complex prob- lem; it can't be fixed overnight," said Treurnicht. "But if we don't become proactive, of course, the fear is that we will only be dealing with the dislocation that comes from disruption and that we won't necessarily be prepared to take advantage of the opportunities that will come from this turmoil." "e urgency cannot be under- estimated," she said. "In the short term, working adults will carry the brunt of the impact… e long- term consequences — not just on our economy, but on our quality of life — will be very significant." Speaking at a recent SCNet- work event in Toronto, Treurnicht discussed the advisory council's fi- nal recommendations released in December 2017, focusing on the business investment and skills development needed to boost Canada's growth agenda. e country is facing the pres- sures of an aging demographic, technological disruption and a shift of trade towards Asia — all of which could contribute to a significant drop in growth do- mestic product (GDP) from three per cent annually to 1.5 per cent, she said. "We're not immune. These changes will come at us. If you just look at job losses as a result of technological change… there is a significant chance that 10 to 12 per cent of the population will face job losses or will really struggle to find alternative employment un- less they are formally reskilled and acquire new qualifications." "ere's absolutely no question that there will be very significant turmoil and we need a new toolset to be prepared to deal with this." Finance Minister Bill Morneau established the independent advisory council in 2016 with a mandate to develop policy advice promoting long-term economic growth in Canada. The 14-member council is made up of business and academ- ics leaders, and has released three reports. e first focused on the need to create a national infrastructure strategy and permanently increase immigration levels, while the sec- ond focused on the creation of a FutureSkills Lab and getting citi- zens in underrepresented sectors back to work, said Treurnicht. "e topic of skills has pen- etrated pretty much all of our conversations and all of the rec- ommendations that have come out so far." Training challenges Across Canada, an underinvest- ment in machinery, equipment, software and people remains a "chronic challenge," said Treur- nicht, even as the country em- ploys a high proportion of work- ers with post-secondary degrees. Seventy per cent of private sec- tor employers are small or me- dium in size, and often lack ad- equate training budgets, she said. "For some time, Canadian em- ployers have significantly under- invested in worker training. It's really important to help people navigate this more effectively," said Treurnicht. "Sophisticated employers will help their em- ployees through this process, but there was a very strong feeling on the council that we need to seri- ously rethink the interface with Canadians and SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises)." "is is a massive transforma- tion process." e partnership between Cana- dian business and post-secondary educational institutions has been identified as an area that could require transformation, such as a shift away from formal program degrees to more agile, part-time options, she said. "It would be so much better if those programs can be developed in partnership with employers so that they are really relevant," said Treurnicht, acknowledging that while much of the educational programming remains high qual- ity, students may need to become life-long partners with educa- tional institutions to "refuel and retool" as necessary. An increase in online training programs could also prove favour- able, especially in more remote ar- eas, she said. Change inevitably comes with an upside as well, said Treurnicht. "New opportunities will also arise and many of those will re- quire new skills. ere is a huge upside if we are prepared and ready to take advantage of these opportunities." In terms of a national skills strategy, Canada will need to focus on employee dislocation, but also prepare workers to take advantage of new opportunities, she said. Developing skills A different pattern of work is emerging alongside the new-look economy. Today's employees may spend time with more employ- ers over shorter periods, or even work on a fluid basis within the gig economy, said Treurnicht. e government needs to be active in this transformation, es- pecially in terms of buffering the impact against society's most vul- nerable people, she said. Quality of work and income security have a very profound im- pact on people's sense of self, while inequality can also be a harbinger for loss of social trust, presenting a challenge to Canadians' way of life, according to Treurnicht. At present, Canada's skills development system provides support in terms of education opportunities and retraining the unemployed, but another pillar is needed for working Canadians Credit: crazystocker (Shutterstock) Building a learning nation Rapid pace of economic change will require new toolsets for workers BY MARCEL VANDER WIER "We will need to rethink all of our training programs to make them much more agile, much more current and relevant to the skills we need today." BETTER > pg. 17

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