One of the greatest joys for us at the Skills Centre is to learn.  Consider our tagline: “

“when planning for a year plant corn

when planning for a decade plant trees

when planning for a lifetime, train and educate people”

This past week, and continuing into next week, we are fortunate to be participating in the premiere learning event, Cannexus which is an annual conference of the CERIC organization.  Attendance at this conference pre-covid was cost prohibitive, however if there is to be a silver lining in this pandemic, it is that many opportunities have gone “online” bridging the great geographical divide.  So we jumped at the opportunity.

The insights we have garnered so far are immeasurable, but today we will talk about one.  What will be the future of work?

Consider these statistics

• 50% of employees will need reskilling or upskilling to meet future demands
• Technology will become pervasive: Artificial intelligence, Robotics will be key drivers
• Digital skills will be essential “just to access information”
• Canadian employers lag the rest of the world in providing learning opportunities to their employees: this will impact our competitiveness on the global stage
• Employers will need to build learning into the flow of work: embedded learning
• All of us need to get used to becoming Novices again and again.  We must be prepared to challenge our competency, while we are learning

Preparation for the future of work should be occurring now. 

To quote Steven Covey: “If you don’t choose to do it in Leadership time upfront, you will do it in Crisis Management time down the road.”

With the speed of information these days, traditional business models are requiring adaptations more frequently when life was slower.  Long term survival is directly tied to your ability to adapt and change.   Learning is the key.