Innovative approaches to upskilling and reskilling
The digital skills gap has persisted for well over 20 years, in spite of many attempts to improve the pipeline for employees with the skills that industry needs. There have been numerous calls for innovation in how training and education is delivered and the subjects that are taught. Applying an equity, diversity and inclusion lens to skills training is essential because of Canada’s changing demographics and the lack of inclusion for Indigenous peoples, racialized people, and women in the digital and green economies.
Traditional approaches to training such as education at a university or college are time-consuming, intensive and focused on a narrow range of skills. Furthermore, the importance of workers who possess hybrid skills, that is, a combination of technical skills and soft skills, means that training that incorporates a range of skills is increasingly desirable. There are many new approaches to reskilling, upskilling and improving credential recognition that are evaluated. The researchers of this project have explored and evaluated new approaches to upskilling and reskilling with respect to information communications and technology skills and the potential of these approaches for scalability.
All sectors have felt the imperative to upskill or reskill to keep up with the march of digital technology and governments are no exception. A shortage of digital skills has hampered government digitization efforts. The Government of Canada has prioritized digitization of processes and services for more than a decade since the release of its report, Improving Canada’s Digital Advantage in 2010 and in response to citizen demands, accountability frameworks, and the need to do more with less. The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically accelerated government digitization and sharpened the focus on the need to attract talent, as well as to reskill and upskill the existing work force.
The articles, reports and publications below examine promising approaches to upskilling, reskilling and training needs in the Canadian economy.
Treviranus, J. (2022). Learning to learn differently. (external link) In W. Holmes, & K. Porayska-Pomsta (Eds.), The ethics of artificial intelligence in education (pp. 25-46).
Cukier, W., Gagnon, S. M., & Tomke, A. (2022). Incubators and accelerators as illusionary leaders for equality in entrepreneurial ecosystems. (external link) Academy of Management 82nd Annual Meeting Proceedings.
Gooch, E., Chaktsiris, M., Jae, K., Patterson, L., Suleman, S., Urban, M.C., Cukier, W. & Luke, R., (2022). The future is micro: Digital learning and the micro-credentials for education, retraining and lifelong learning. Diversity Institute, eCampus Ontario, Magnet, Future Skills Centre.
Harrington, S., & Cukier, W. (2022). Digital transformation of government: Addressing talent gaps and the needs of an inclusive workforce. Deloitte, Diversity Institute, Future Skills Centre.
Lévesque, C., Bowkett, C., Pérez-Lauzon, S., & Emilien, B. (2021). Industry 4.0, the future of work & skills: Building collective resources for the Canadian aerospace industry. Diversity Institute, Future Skills Centre.
Young, S. J., Deller, F. M., & Mccallum, K. E. (2021). Innovation in post-secondary education. Public Policy Forum, Diversity Institute, Future Skills Centre.
Chaktsiris, M., McCallum, M., Luke, K., Cukier, W., Patterson, L., Garreffa, N., & Gooch, E. (2021). Is the future micro? Unbundling learning for flexibility & access. Diversity Institute, Future Skills Centre, eCampusOntario.
Diversity Institute. (2023). How innovation can connect students to future jobs. Future Workforce Conference.
Diversity Institute. (2023). Massive job growth and opportunities for greenpreneurs as demands for innovative solutions grow. Jobs in the Net-Zero Economy hosted by Diversity Institute, Future Skills Centre, Magnet.
Cukier, W. (2022, August 30). Youth and skills in the digital economy (external link) [Virtual presentation]. Joint Meeting of the OAS Permanent Council and Inter-American Council for Integral Development.
Cukier, W., Elmi, M., Wilson, B., Fradley, D., & Smajda, A. (2022). An innovative online individualized tutoring program to minimize educational disruption among racialized, Indigenous and immigrant students during COVID-19 (external link) . 14th Annual International Conference on Education and New Learning Technologies International Education Conference.
Cukier, W. (March 23, 2022). The State of Microcredentials in Canada and Specific Areas of Focus FSC is working on. Remarks at the Fast Track to skills: Microcredentials in Action Webinar.
Cukier, W. (2020). Employer-centered approaches for tapping into the immigrant talent pool. 2020 Metropolis Canada Conference.
This project is funded by the Government of Ontario. Opinions, results and conclusions are that of the authors, and no endorsement by Ontario is intended or inferred.
