Future of Work in Canada – 10 Megatrends

A new CERIC-funded report from Creative Futures Studio Inc. sheds light on 10 megatrends that will shape the future of work in Canada. The report, Career Development in 2040, digs into the trends that workers, employers – as well as those who advise them – need to understand to thrive in a labour market facing massive disruption. Based on an extensive literature review of as well as interviews with career development professionals (CDPs) and career services users, the report highlights 10 major trends:

10 major changes shaping the futures of work, workers, and career development in Canada

1. WORK ANYWHERE: COVID-19 accelerated a transition to remote work, creating conditions for working from anywhere – across borders, with greater mobility, and for any company.
2. AI & AUTOMATION: Artificial intelligence and automation is exploding across the labour market, with significant investments across all industries.
3. LIVING WITH CLIMATE CHANGE: The impacts of climate change, such as wildfires, heat waves, droughts, and storms are likely to increase, with impacts to air quality, food production, and diseases.
4. GEOPOLITICALCONFLICTS:Shiftingglobalpowers,conflict,andnaturaldisastersare creating complex political and economic dynamics with local impacts.
5. RECONCILING THE IMPACTS OF COLONIALISM: There is a growing awareness of the intergenerational impacts of colonization, the pervasiveness of systemic racism embedded in institutions, and truth and reconciliation as a national project.
6. ECONOMIC PRECARITY: Cost of living and affordability is increasingly a challenge for many Canadians, exacerbated by the housing crisis and increasing the number of residents who are food insecure.
7. GLOBALIZATION UNDER PRESSURE: COVID-19 and global conflicts have challenged principles of globalization, which may provide the conditions for a localized economy, or conversely accelerate the power of global corporations.
8. EDUCATION, DISRUPTED: Employers and hiring practices are focusing on skills over credentials, the rising cost of post-secondary education, and the availability of free online learning platforms may transform the post-secondary education sector.
9. DECLINING MENTAL HEALTH & WELL-BEING: Mental health challenges and drug and addiction rates have all grown significantly in recent years, in part due to COVID- 19, economic precarity, climate anxiety, and increased use of technology.
10. GENERATIONAL SHIFTS: New generations are taking power with different values than previous generations, while older workers are working longer.

The report also identifies microtrends within each area (32 in total), including the impact of the “green skills revolution” on new jobs creation, greater recognition of the skills of neurodivergent individuals, the increasing popularity of the “learn and earn” model of post-secondary education and how Gen Z’s values-driven approach to work will inform their leadership.

Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the whole story @ Report reveals 10 megatrends that will shape work and careers in 2040 – CERIC