Four Ways To Close Canada’s

Skills Gap

There is currently a large skills gap within Canada, in a number of different industries, as it is increasingly difficult for professionals to get the proper

training needed to move up the career ladder.

In fact, a recent survey found that while 71% of employers agree they have the responsibility to provide the necessary career management programs

for their employees, yet only 29% of the companies actually offer such programs.

It is clear that everyone recognizes that this is a pressing issue within Canada, but now the question remains, how do we close this skills gap?

1) The Specialized Generalist: In a challenging job market, it is important to have skills that are both specialized to particular industries and jobs as well

as generalized skills that are easily transferable.

Continuing education can help you continue building your knowledge and skills to find an entirely new career or advance the one you currently have.

It is important to sharpen your soft skills as well, such as attitude, communication skills, teamwork, and work ethic, as these are highly

regarded by companies in any industry.

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2) Customized Online Learning: You may find yourself to be too busy to continue your education; your full-time job, volunteer obligations, family, and social commitments tend to fill up your entire schedule. But a great

way to work around this busy schedule and continue your education at the same time is to take classes online.

Not only are online classes more flexible but they are also a great way to take the classes you want, even if they are not offered in close proximity to

you. With an online course, you could take classes best suited for your needs from an institution anywhere in the world. With such accessible

education tools at your fingertips, a busy schedule is no longer an excuse!

3) Intrapreneurship: Many companies these days are looking for intrapreneurial employees who can think like business owners to solve

problems by utilizing an entrepreneurial mindset.

An intrapreneurial employee is able to find and implement new solutions to common problems. Continuing education is a great opportunity to expand your mind and learn more about entrepreneurial behavior, strategy, and opportunity identification, which will be highly valuable in the workplace.

4) New and Emerging STEM Careers: Technology has progressed at an unprecedented rate over the past decade. Jobs within the science,

technology, engineering, and math fields – also known as STEM – have experienced incredible growth as a result.

It is amazing to think that many of the fastest growing jobs today did not even exist several years ago. A great place to begin adapting to these

growing technologies and make a valuable impact in the workforce is to build skills to interpret data. As technology has grown, we have been

presented with massive amounts of data which can truly change the way we live our lives if internalized properly.