Restaurants, hotels, and attractions across Canada are an important place of work, particularly for youth, students, and newcomers to Canada. But with cycles of closures and layoffs, health and safety concerns, and new enforcement requirements due to COVID-19, there has been an exodus of workers from the hospitality and tourism industry. How are businesses rethinking their hiring, training, and compensation practices to adapt and recover?

This episode explores issues of workforce development and business strategy in the hospitality and tourism industry, in conversation with Krista Bax from go2HR and Adam Morrison from OTEC. We also hear firsthand from a business about their experiences. 

Guests

Matt Pearson, Director, Human Resources, Living Waters Resorts 

Adam Morrison, President and CEO, Ontario Tourism & Education Council (OTEC)

Krista Bax, CEO, go2HR

Host

Linda Nazareth

Links
Future Skills Centre Homepage: https://fsc-ccf.ca/ 

Future Skills Centre Twitter: https://twitter.com/fsc_ccf_en

The Conference Board of Canada Homepage: https://www.conferenceboard.ca/

The Conference Board of Canada Twitter: https://twitter.com/ConfBoardofCda

The Conference Board of Canada Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ConferenceBoardofCanada/ 

OTEC: https://otec.org/

Go2HR: https://www.go2hr.ca/ 

We are in the same storm, but not in the same boat. 

We know that COVID-19 has had disproportionate economic impacts on certain groups, including women, youth, Indigenous peoples, and newcomers to Canada. We are experiencing an undesirable “K-shaped recovery” where certain individuals and sectors recover more quickly than others. 

This episode highlights key challenges facing certain groups—such as Indigenous students and youth more broadly—when it comes to education and employment during the pandemic. We make the case for a more inclusive skills training strategy, that give all workers the skills to navigate a changing economy (and provides businesses the workers with the skills to help them adapt to future technological changes and economic shocks). 

Kory Wilson from BCIT, and Chris Duff and Erick Pelayo Aubert from the Canadian Council for Youth Prosperity join us to share their perspectives. 

 Links

Recovery for All: Finding Equities in Education and Employment:  https://www.conferenceboard.ca/futureskillscentre/sounding-tours 

Hire Next Tool: https://fsc-ccf.ca/projects/youth-jobs-ai/ 

Indigenous ICT Development Centre: https://fsc-ccf.ca/projects/indigenous-ict-development-centre/ 

Conference Board of Canada: https://www.conferenceboard.ca/ 

Future Skills Centre: https://fsc-ccf.ca/ 

 Guests

Kory Wilson – Executive Director, Indigenous Initiatives and Partnerships, BCIT

Chris Duff – Executive Lead, Canadian Council for Youth Prosperity (CCYP)

Erick Pelayo Aubert – Undergraduate student and Coordinator, CCYP

Host

Linda Nazareth

The nature of jobs is changing, with the growth of the gig economy and more work in all fields being tasked to contract workers, freelancers, and the self-employed. These independent workers lack the social support net that full-time employees benefit from. What are some ways to bridge the “support gap” and ensure that people don’t fall between the cracks in these precarious job markets?

In our final episode of Season 1 of the Future Skills Centre podcast, we discuss this question and more with Armine Yalnizyan (Atkinson Fellow).

Learn more

• Old Gigs, New Gigs (Paper Authored by Carole Piovesan)

Transcripts

• English
• Ce balado a été enregistré en anglais, mais vous pouvez en télécharger la transcription en français

Canada ranks among the top countries in the world in terms of its rates of postsecondary education attainment as well as annual spending per postsecondary student. While a majority of education providers believe that our graduates are well-equipped for the workforce, a much lower proportion of students and employers share that belief.

This points to a disconnect between the education and work worlds, one that could be bridged by incorporating real-world or experiential work into students’ education. The Business + Higher Education Roundtable aims to do just that, by ensuring that 100% of Canadian postsecondary students participate in a form of work-integrated learning before graduation. In our fifth episode of Season 1 of the Future Skills Centre podcast, we speak to Valerie Walker (Business Higher + Education Roundtable) to address some of these issues.

Learn more

• Business Higher Education Roundtable
• Are Canada’s Business Schools Teaching Social and Emotional Skills? (Paper Authored by Matthew McKean) 

Transcripts

• English
• Ce balado a été enregistré en anglais, mais vous pouvez en télécharger la transcription en français

Reskilling and upskilling are now imperative for both employees and organizations to keep pace with the digital and technological innovations that are changing the way we work. This is creating a new echelon of positions—those that require brand new skills and those that require an enhanced skillset.

Investing in reskilling and upskilling is critical at the organizational and individual level to ensure mutual preparedness and success in the new technology-driven world. But how can governments, organizations, and workers work together to ensure the right supports are being provided to those who need them most? In our fourth episode of Season 1 of the Future Skills Centre podcast, we speak to Glenda Quintini (OECD), Sashya D’Souza (Toronto Finance International), and Karn Singh (Cognizant) to answer some of these questions.

Learn more

• Automation, Skills Use and Training 
  (OECD Paper Co-Authored by Glenda Quintini)
• Why Returning to Toronto to Work in Financial Services Should Be Your Next Move (Toronto Finance International Blog Authored by Sashya D’Souza)

Transcripts

• English
• Ce balado a été enregistré en anglais, mais vous pouvez en télécharger la transcription en français

Apprenticeships get a bad rap. All too often, we perpetuate negative images of the trades: dirty, low pay, and boring. These stereotypes couldn’t be further from the reality of work—young people who pursue an apprentice-able trade should expect intellectually stimulating work, increasingly diverse workplaces, and significant opportunity for financial reward.

The knowledge and skills of our construction, manufacturing, automotive, and food service tradespeople can help support Canada’s transition to a more prosperous and sustainable future, but they will need resilience and teamwork to adapt to workplaces that are more efficient, automated, and digitally connected.

What emerging skills will tradespeople require to adapt to future work trends? How are emerging technologies changing what and how apprentices learn? Will traditional physical labour become a thing of the past, replaced by a need for digital, green, and social and emotional skills? In our third episode of Season 1 of the Future Skills Centre podcast, we discuss these questions with Andrew Bieler (The Conference Board of Canada), Jeff Ranson (Canada Green Building Council – GTA), and Jim Szautner (Southern Alberta Institute of Technology).

Learn more

• Apprenticeships and “Future of Work” (Authored by Erica Smith)
• Interview with Jim Szautner

Transcripts

• English
• Ce balado a été enregistré en anglais, mais vous pouvez en télécharger la transcription en français

Driven by an equity, diversity, and inclusion lens, the Future Skills Centre recognizes the competitive advantage that comes from fostering innovative solutions which address the needs of underrepresented and disadvantaged groups, including women, youth, newcomers, racialized minorities, persons with disabilities, LGBTQ+ people, and people from Indigenous, rural, remote, and northern communities.

Through authentic engagement with grassroots organizations and diverse communities across Canada, as well as the use of a strength-based and asset-focused perspective, knowledge and solutions are needed that shift the focus from just “fixing” job seekers to eroding systemic barriers to change our institutions, helping us build a more inclusive and equitable labour market. In our second episode of Season One of the Future Skills Centre podcast, we speak to Maya Roy (YWCA), Ed Ng (Bucknell University), and Jordan Wapass (The Conference Board of Canada) to take on some of these issues.

Further reading:

• All on Board (Women on Boards Online Experience Co-Authored by Maria Giammarco
• Employment Gaps and Underemployment for Racialized Groups (Paper Co-Authored by Eddy Ng)
• Addressing the Causes of Indigenous Vulnerability to Pandemics—not Just the Symptoms (Blog Post Co-Authored by Jordan Wapass)

Transcripts:

• English
• Ce balado a été enregistré en anglais, mais vous pouvez en télécharger la transcription en français

We’ve all heard it before: Technology is disrupting the world of work, eliminating “low skill” jobs and harming the future of the trades. Daunting? Sure. But there’s also growing demand for a specific type of worker. One with the ability to problem solve, lead, collaborate, communicate, and adapt to the ever-evolving world of work. In other words, there is a growing demand for strong social and emotional skills. The problem is, there is a gap between the demand for these skills and the skills Canadians acquire through education and training.

So, what exactly are these social and emotional skills? Why are they needed and why are we behind? What are our post-secondary systems doing to prepare future employees, and how do we ensure Canadians can “keep up” with changing demands throughout their careers? In our first episode of Season 1 of the Future Skills Centre podcast, we start to answer these questions through conversations with Paul Brinkhurst (Futureworx) and Jennifer Adams (OECD).

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Transcripts

• English
• Ce balado a été enregistré en anglais, mais vous pouvez en télécharger la transcription en français

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FSC—The Future is Social and Emotional (Online Experience):
https://www.conferenceboard.ca/research/the-future-is-social-and-emotional

FSC—The Future is Social and Emotional (Impact Paper):
https://www.conferenceboard.ca/e-library/abstract.aspx?did=10628

Karanga (Jennifer Adams is Chair):
https://karanga.org/

Futureworx (Paul Brinkhurst’s Organization):
https://futureworx.ca/

A podcast exploring some of the most crucial emerging challenges to the future of work, presented by The Conference Board of Canada.

Ce balado a été enregistré en anglais, mais vous pouvez en lire la transcription en français.