These are the skills Canadian employers are looking for
Image: News Canada
From: Jane Hutchison, Conference Board of Canada
The project Digital Skills for Today and Tomorrow: Perspectives From Canadian Employers and Industry Leaders was developed to address the call for a better understanding of the skills that Canadian businesses need to thrive in an increasingly digital future, as well as the tools and training required to respond to these needs.
Excerpts from the report, below:
Due to the technological disruptions caused by COVID-19, there is a greater demand than ever for people who can operate in a digital economy and have the knowhow to adopt and use digital technologies. Yet research and industry surveys consistently reveal that Canada’s digital skills preparedness is falling short.
As a first step, we held interviews in 21 key informant industries with executives and upper-level managers at leading Canadian companies, as well as representatives from sector organizations. The goal of these interviews was to hear directly from employers about their digital skills needs, the impacts of COVID-19 on the workplace, and ideas for training/upskilling. Insights from these interviews were used to inform this issue briefing, as well as a larger survey that will be delivered to skills leaders across different industries and regions in Canada.
Through this survey we aim to better understand the specific digital skills that are needed and provide recommendations on the tools and training that can help Canadian businesses better prepare for the future.
• The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the pace of digitalization in the workplace, resulting in a critical need for more workers with advanced digital skills.
• Basic digital skills are no longer enough. Demand for advanced digital skills – in areas such as data analysis, cybersecurity, and Cloud technology – is robust and expected to continue growing.
• To adapt, innovate, and grow, Canadian businesses need workers who know how to leverage and apply their digital skills to solve problems and to inform business solutions.
• Reliance on legacy technology is a barrier to the digital advancement of some organizations. Government programs and incentives can help Canadian businesses keep up with the pace of digitalization.
• Workplace training and upskilling is key to solving digital skills gaps. Companies need to provide their employees with the time, space, and motivation to continuously develop their digital skills.
The rapid digital transformation in Canada due to the pandemic could increase our productivity and growth potential for years to come.
How can Canada unlock this opportunity?
The pandemic changed how many Canadian workers do their job. For some, this change is minor. For others, it is seismic. A central feature of the shifts in working is the increased interaction with, and reliance on, digital tools. These tools – and the skills needed to use them – are largely what helped Canada weather the economic storm the pandemic caused and continue to support Canadian businesses in a strong recovery.
There is greater demand than ever for people who can operate in a digital economy and have the knowhow to adopt and use digital technologies. Despite Canadians’ potential to adapt to the dramatic digital shift sparked by the onset of the pandemic, literature suggests that we must better understand digital skills in the current climate to remain a competitive country and prepare for the future of work.
Yet research and industry surveys consistently flag Canada’s digital skills preparedness as falling short. The time to intervene is now.
Overwhelmingly, participants indicate that digital skills are essential for success in the pandemic-era workplace and suggest they will continue to grow in importance in the post-pandemic world. They describe that having workers with digital skills is essential to keep up with the pace of digitalization and remain competitive.
However, respondents emphasized that the digital skills needed in the pandemic-era workplace go far beyond basic digital literacy.
Further, employers need workers who can apply their advanced digital skills to solve problems and inform decision-making.
Training and upskilling are key to solving these digital skill gaps. To train effectively, employers must foster a company culture that motivates curiosity of, and openness to, new digital tools. This means that employees need ample time, space, and resources to be able to contribute to the culture of learning, upgrading, and expanding of their digital skills.
Which skills are employers looking for?
Canadian employers across most sectors are looking for workers with advanced digital skills. But they also need workers who can apply advanced digital knowledge to inform business solutions.
Pinpointing the specific digital skills that companies need to remain competitive is tricky, as these skills are constantly evolving and will depend on specific job functions and roles. However, the employers we spoke with expressed a critical need for more workers with proficiency in advanced digital areas such as data analysis, cybersecurity, and Cloud technology. Competition for talent in these areas today is fierce. Employers expressed concerns related to salary inflation, as well as loss of talent to other countries, such as the United States, where salaries tend to be higher.
Canada is falling behind. There are simply not enough workers in Canada with the advanced digital skills that companies need to succeed. For example, a recent industry survey found that nearly 70 per cent of small and medium business owners surveyed are having a hard time hiring workers with the digital skills that their companies need in order to grow.
Canadian employers say that because of the high demand and limited supply, they are being forced to look for digital talent outside of the country. To help solve this talent crisis, it is essential that we begin to train new and current Canadian workers in more advanced digital skills that go beyond basic digital literacy.
This is consistent with prior Conference Board research that highlights social and emotional skills such as critical thinking, communication, and problem-solving, as skills that are in high-demand by Canadian employers.
It is not just about knowing how to use technology but being able to use that technology to help businesses succeed and grow.
“Because everything is done digitally, it provides you with inordinate amounts of data and I think the skill set we actually need is how to take that data, use those analytics skills, and make it meaningful and actionable,” said an HR Executive at a large food retail company. “That’s the biggest gap that we see.”
Digital skills training and upskilling.
When it comes to training and upskilling, it is vital to instill a company culture of continuous learning and development. To close digital skills gaps, Canadian companies cannot simply hire new workers with the advanced digital skills that they need, as such talent is in critically short supply. Experts, as well as many of the employers that we spoke with, agree that training and upskilling the current workforce is essential to moving forward.
However, there are a few barriers that make this type of workplace training difficult to implement. In particular, employers are concerned that workers are already overburdened and reluctant to learn new skills. Between work, life, and the stresses associated with living in a pandemic, workers have a lot on their plate. Employers recognize that it is difficult for their employees to find the time and energy to engage in digital skills training.
The pandemic saw an increase in employee stress and other mental health-related challenges. For example, a recent report found that the percentage of Canadian employees reporting positive mental health dropped from 69 per cent pre-pandemic to 47 per cent in February 2022. Reasons for this decrease in employee mental health throughout the COVID-19 pandemic include increased workload, overwhelming and unsustainable work, and difficulty managing home and work life at the same time. It is therefore not surprising that employers are wary of adding to their workers’ responsibilities.
To overcome this barrier, many employers emphasize that companies need to foster a culture of continuous learning and development, where upskilling becomes a regular part of one’s job.
In other words, digital skills training should replace, rather than add to, existing workplace responsibilities. This means that companies will need to carve out time during the workday for employees to engage in training, rather than expecting them to do so on their own time. For example, some of the employers we spoke with offer “training days” in which employees are permitted to forego their regular work responsibilities to focus solely on training. This type of practice must be implemented more widely.
Respondents emphasize that effective training goes beyond providing the space and time for employees to engage in training to build their digital skills. They also need to effectively communicate the value proposition, and clearly demonstrate that it is not only useful for organizational success, but crucial for one’s own career advancement. Digital skills are often referred to as “future-proof” as they can help workers adapt and continue to succeed in times of change. They are also transferable across many different industries and can help workers transition into new and higher-paying roles.
Equipping workers with advanced digital skills can help businesses and individuals succeed in the future. Without fostering this type of culture change, companies may continue to meet resistance from employees who are reluctant to invest their time and energy into learning new skills.
“If you’re not communicating the reason why people need to learn something new, then there’s going to be resistance because it’s going to feel like somebody is adding to their job,” said an executive at a pharmaceutical sector organization. “They’re not going to be able to see the value of the investment of their time and energy into learning. So there has to be a shared understanding before the development can occur.”
It is also important to note that company training and upskilling is just one piece of the puzzle. Canadian businesses alone cannot solve the digital skills talent crisis. Increasing Canada’s position in the digital skills landscape will require a multifaceted approach. Canadian businesses, post-secondary institutions, and the government need to work together to equip Canadian workers with the digital skills that are needed to help companies and communities thrive in the pandemic-era workplace we are living in now, and beyond.
To ensure that Canadian businesses succeed in an increasingly digital future, it is critical that we better understand the digital skills that employers need today to help predict and prepare for what is needed in the future.