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Hot off the Press: Report release

I, Human: The digital and soft skills driving Canada's labour market

We’re pleased to announce the launch of a new report, I, Human: The digital and soft skills driving Canada’s labour market.

At work we’re often expected to possess a suite of skills from many domains simultaneously, including digital literacy, teamwork, social, and communication skills, as well as judgment, problem-solving, and creativity. These skill sets are often described in general terms and little is known about the current—let alone the future—landscape of employer demand for specific skills or combinations of skills.

Using job postings data collected by Burning Glass Technologies from January 2012 to December 2018 containing 13,000 unique skills, this report develops a new, demand-driven taxonomy for understanding the full spectrum of digital skills and uncovers the specific digital and non-digital skills that employers in Canada are seeking. We aim to help inform the efforts of policymakers, educators and training organizations, as well as the decisions of students and job seekers looking to understand which skill combinations are likely to serve them best in the job market.

This work is made possible thanks to Burning Glass Technologies, with support from the Ontario Association of Continuing Education and School Board Administrators (CESBA) and Desire2Learn (D2L).

Read this report to help you:

• Understand and categorize a broad spectrum of digital skills 

• Identify which digital skills are most in demand across Canada

• Identify trends related to which combinations of digital and non-digital skills employers are looking for 

• Design skill development policies and programs that reflect trends in employer demand 

Have you seen this yet?

Series: Into the Dataverse

Series: The Policymaker's Guide to the Galaxy

Series: Building inclusion and equity into Canada’s innovation economy

Hot off the Press: Foundational report

The Intangible Shift: Changing gears to compete in the new economy

We’re pleased to announce the release of a new foundational report, The Intangible Shift: Changing gears to compete in the new economy. This launches our upcoming research series that will examine, in detail, key challenges and opportunities associated with the shift towards an intangible economy. It is an area that is getting some much deserved attention in the ecosystem this week with the release of complementary reports by Statistics Canada and an expert panel on IP for the Ontario government led by Jim Balsillie.

Across all sectors, from manufacturing to technology to natural resources, a rising share of economic growth and prosperity is being driven by intangible investments and assets, such as data, digital services, brands, design, marketing and firm-specific training—and a declining share by tangible investments and assets, such as buildings, machinery, equipment and product inventories.

This foundational report provides an introduction to intangibles, including their significance and the issues they raise, for policymakers, business leaders, and other stakeholders. Those who understand the new economics of intangibles will be better positioned to design effective policies and business strategies. Canada’s future competitiveness, and the well-being of individuals and communities, depends critically on how well businesses and policymakers manage the intangible shift. 

Read this report to help you:

• Understand what the intangible economy is and what makes it unique

• Learn about the size of Canada’s intangible economy, how investments in intangibles contribute to economic growth, and how this has changed over time

• Identify key areas of strength and weakness in Canada’s intangible economy

• Identify policy areas that require further insight and action

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Join us today for an online briefing

Stimulus in a Global Pandemic Needs a New Playbook

Wednesday, March 18, 2020
4:00-5:30 PM

The Brookfield Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (BII+E) and the Ryerson Leadership Lab (RLL) invite you for a Zoom-enabled webinar briefing with Sean Mullin, Executive Director, BII+E; and Karim Bardeesy, Executive Director, RLL. 

They will take a deeper look into this op-ed around what economic policy demands in the coming weeks, months and years. They will be discussing the federal government's economic package, being announced today.

You will have an opportunity to directly engage with the content, your facilitators and fellow participants through the online chat feature. Use the button below to receive your registration link and the instructions to join our conversation.

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Introducing:

First Policy Response

We''re working on a new project that brings together the best economic and social policy ideas that will get Canadians through the immediate crisis and prepare us for a more sustainable and equitable recovery. 

We will: 

• Aggregate resources, content and commentary on policy related to COVID-19 from all levels of government, and trusted outlets for policymakers and the broader policy community
• Publish original commentary, content and analysis, including in key topic areas of interest for policymakers including economics, housing, income support and more. 
• Serve as a platform for collaborative policy work

This is a work in progress and we welcome other institutions to join and shape this project. There are more ways to get involved! We are seeking writers, editors/topic leads, and/or partners. 

Join our community by following us on Twitter (@PolicyResponse) and by signing up to our mailing list. If you would like to contribute a post, recommend an area to examine, or have us link to work that exists elsewhere, please email us at policyresponse@ryerson.ca.
 

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Hot off the Press: New report + open-source curriculum

Plugging In: Empowering communities to ensure digital literacy access for youth

Digital literacy is not just about technical knowledge-it's also about safety, social connection, and understanding how to spot fake news. In the era of COVID-19 and social distancing, accessible, relevant digital literacy education for all youth has never been more essential. 

We're pleased to announce the release of Plugging In: Empowering communities to ensure digital literacy access for youth, a culminating report which shares lessons and recommendations from our multi-year digital literacy + coding pilot and emphasizes the value of after-school spaces for digital access, learning, and peer connection. The pilot, in partnership with Canada Learning Code, Actua, Toronto Public Library, Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada, United Way Toronto and York Region, the Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC), Government of Ontario, Shopify, and YMCA Greater Toronto, reached almost 2,500 youth across the province over the past two years.

The report builds on three years of previous research on digital literacy and access, including Levelling Up: The quest for digital literacy, which mapped the digital literacy education and training landscape in Canada, and I, Human: The digital and soft skills driving Canada's labour market.

Read this report to:

• Understand the role of local community organizations and libraries in engaging underserved youth with relevant digital literacy education programs.
• Access an open-source digital literacy and coding curriculum for after-school programs for youth.
• Review our recommendations for how governments across Canada could help community organizations and libraries create ongoing impact and tap into the expertise of digital literacy program delivery organizations.

More from BII+E on digital literacy

Hot off the Press: New report

Growing Their Own Way: High-growth women entrepreneurs in Canada

When it comes to what makes a successful entrepreneur, a very narrow definition still dominates. Women currently comprise 28% of all entrepreneurs in Canada, according to a 2019 BDC study, but only a small percentage of high-growth firm founders. This is significant when we consider the role of high-growth firms, defined as companies with an average annualized growth of at least 20% in the past three years and at least 10 employees, as an essential source of job creation and revenue growth.

The Brookfield Institute for Innovation + Entrepreneurship (BII+E), in partnership with the Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub (WEKH), set out to better understand women''s experiences as they scale their companies. In Growing their own way: High-growth women entrepreneurs in Canada, a new qualitative study, we interviewed two dozen successful women founders across Canada. "We learned that these high-growth founders are no less successful than their male counterparts," writes Kim de Laat, researcher and postdoctoral fellow at the Institute for Gender and the Economy (GATE), "but their pathways to growth often look very different."

Read this report to:

• Learn about the unique ways women are scaling their firms.
• Understand the types of support that can help overcome persistent challenges faced by women throughout the high-growth phase.
• Find ways to provide greater value to high-growth women entrepreneurs, whether you are a government body, a policymaker, a financial support organization, or a business support organization.
• Identify opportunities for further research on how to support the success of women-led firms.

More from BII+E on Entrepreneurship