Government wants better alignment between workforce strategies, training institutions, labour groups, employers, and economic priorities
The federal government is seeking public feedback as it works to develop a modern 21st century workforce.
“Canada is home to the smartest minds, the most talented workers and a strong education, training, and employment system. Building on these strengths will help us adapt to a changing global economy and get ahead,” says Randy Boissonnault, minister of employment, workforce development and official languages.
“This online engagement is step one of that process and will help us identify all the ways we can build a more innovative, productive, and competitive labour force that benefits Canadian workers and employers alike.”
Canada had one of the fastest employment recoveries in the G7 following the pandemic, with total employment in Canada reaching 20.5 million in June 2024, according to the federal government.
Employment in Canada remained largely unchanged for the third consecutive month in July 2024, according to Statistics Canada (StatCan).
Ottawa is inviting Canadians to read an online discussion paper that provides an overview of the current labour market context, major trends, a snapshot of Canada’s skills development landscape and future opportunities.
They can provide their feedback by responding to an online questionnaire, available until Sept. 30, 2024. The results of the online engagement and summit will be accessible publicly.
Workforce modernization priorities for Canada
Ottawa has three priorities for building the workforce for the 21st century:
- Ensuring better alignment between workforce strategies, training institutions, labour groups, employers, and economic priorities
- Eliminating inefficiencies and barriers in Canadian labour markets
- Maximizing labour productivity through strategic skills development and lifelong learning
This year, low performance from workers and a skills mismatch are rising among the reasons for job cuts, according to a previous report from LHH.
Challenges for Canada’s job market
Canada’s workforce has gone through a lot of changes in the previous years.
Between 2019 and 2023, the participation rate for women 25 to 54 years old with children under 6 years old increased by 3.8 percentage points to 79.7 per cent, representing over 51,000 additional women joining the labour force, according to the federal government.
Also, according to StatCan, the participation rate for people over 55 was 37 per cent in 2023, compared to 25 per cent in 1998.
But there are still challenges.
In 2021, 3.2 million persons with disabilities aged 15 to 64 were employed. However, in 2022 over 1 million persons with disabilities aged 15 to 64 have potential for paid employment in an inclusive, accessible, and accommodating labour market.
Youth have experienced rising unemployment rates (13.5 pr cent in June 2024) and Indigenous people at all education levels had higher unemployment rates in 2023 (7.7 per cent) than the non-Indigenous population aged 25 to 54 (4.5 per cent).
About 600,000 skilled trades workers are set to retire over the 2022-2031 period. This trend will drive both loss of skills and opportunities for restructuring labour demand with tighter labour supply.
And according to the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), the transition to a sustainable economy is driving demand for new skills. Over the next 10 to 20 years, this demand could see up to 400,000 jobs added where an enhanced skill set will be critical.
Finding employment in Canada is becoming a bigger challenge, and those who currently do not have jobs are losing confidence they’ll be employed soon, according to a previous Indeed report.
