Technology is evolving at a rapid rate, with disruptive innovations like A.I. upending how companies do business.
Given change as a constant in tech, talent has also experienced turbulence: work environments have pin-balled from fully in-office to fully at-home, settling everywhere in between.
Moreover, yesterday’s skills are not the same as tomorrow’s.
Heading into 2024, we looked at three trends: the rise of AI at work, the rebound of hiring companies, and the lack of confidence among Canadian tech talent.
Moving into summer, we cover three more: shifts in corporate culture, Canada’s cybersecurity situation, and the trajectory of life sciences employment in B.C.
Shifting Corporate Culture
As the Boomer and X generations leave the workforce, replacing them is a wave of Gen Z and Millennials, who are determined to blur the boundaries between work and life more than ever.
“Modern employees are completely rewriting the rulebook on employee-employer relationships and expectations,” says Caitlin Nobes, who functions as head of Workforce Research and Content at Achievers Workforce Institute.
Notes recalls the former standard: an unspoken rule that left work at work and home at home.
“But now, younger generations are urging their employers to make space for the uncomfortable, take a stance, and acknowledge and meet their multifaceted needs,” she says.
For example, younger employees are much more keen on their organizations taking public stands on world events, according to “Getting Comfortable with the Uncomfortable at Work,” a recent report from Achievers Workforce Institute—something corporations would have actively avoided doing in prior generations.
“Taking a company-wide stance on global events and politics is difficult,” acknowledges Hannah Yardley, who serves as chief people and culture officer at Achievers, “especially when you have intersecting generations who have different perspectives on company publicity.”
If you do choose to foray into global events, she adds, “empower people leaders with tools and resources, create safe spaces, and support those who want to create space for life outside work in the workplace and for those that don’t.”
This approach will also adhere to the needs of employees “who want work to be a haven from personal obstacles and devastating headlines,” says Yardley.
Cybersecurity Pipeline Construction
Pipeline construction in Canada is often a contentious topic of discussion. But when it comes to our nation’s cybersecurity, the answer is obvious: we need to build better pipelines for talent.
Total employment in Canada’s cybersecurity sector rose more than 12% last year, a report from Upskill Canada and Deloitte found, but up to one-in-six positions remain unfilled.
Amid a slew of counter-measures to the talent void is a targeted program from longstanding talent supplier Lighthouse Labs.
“The number of cyber attacks and incidents in Canada has been unprecedented, and as a result, the industry need for skilled cyber security professionals is at an all-time high,” Jeremy Shaki, CEO of Lighthouse Labs, stated recently.
Aiding the cause are universities like uOttawa and private organizations including Google and Check Point, whose SecureAcademy Program provides students with cybersecurity skills, learning resources, and hands-on training.
Life Sciences on Life Support?
It’s not just cybersecurity. Canada’s life sciences sector is also struggling with a supply-demand gap.
Since 2019, B.C.’s sector achieved 27% growth in GDP, making it the fastest growing life sciences sector in Canada and outpacing the growth of the overall B.C. economy.
Today, the province’s sector is a source of high-paying jobs for nearly 30,000 workers and is home to nearly 2,000 life sciences companies, including several of Canada’s leading organizations in the field, such as AbCellera, StarFish Medical, STEMCELL Technologies, and Xenon Pharmaceuticals.
But while the sector is poised for further growth, a labour market intelligence study from Life Sciences BC found that, over the next five years, the sector is expected to face a widening talent supply gap, projected to rise to over 5,000 by the end of 2027—an order-of-magnitude increase from the current gap of 500.
The study, “Fostering a Globally Competitive Life Sciences Ecosystem in B.C.,” was funded through B.C.’s Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills Sector Labour Market Partnership program and conducted with methodology and project support by KPMG.
Seven recommendations presented in the labour market study by sector stakeholders aim to address challenges—including creating a talent council to speak as a single voice for sector needs and enabling a responsive ecosystem that is focused on attracting, developing, and retaining talent.
There are roughly 1,800 life sciences companies currently based in BC.
