|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
CareerWise is always on the lookout for the latest reports related to career development. Here are several reports that we found interesting this week.
Two-Thirds of Students (66%) Pursuing Skills Outside Formal Education (Ipsos)
This national poll conducted by Ipsos on behalf of CIBC finds that two-thirds of Canadian post-secondary students are building skills outside their formal program, most often through online courses, side projects, professional certifications and AI-related training. Concerns about the job market have shaped these decisions for 76% of students, with improving earning potential and job prospects cited as the top motivations. Despite worries about tuition costs, most students report feeling optimistic about their financial future and confident in the decisions they’re making along the way.
2026 ETS Human Progress Report: Adaptability & AI (ETS)
Drawing on responses from more than 32,000 people across 18 countries, this annual report from ETS examines what it calls the “adaptability paradox”: most workers know they need to keep evolving to stay employable, yet many struggle to see where the future of work is heading. It finds that 77% of employees globally believe job security no longer exists without continuous adaptation, and that workers are adopting AI tools under pressure to stay competitive even as a 19-point gap persists between how important they see AI literacy and how proficient they actually feel. The report also points to demand for clearer AI skills credentials, with a large majority of workers saying industry-specific AI competency standards would help them understand which skills actually matter.
Hinge Moment for Canada’s Workforce and Industrial Policy (Centre for Future Work & CCPA)
This report reviews the six new “Workforce Alliances” the federal government is establishing to strengthen the labour side of its industrial and trade strategy, alongside a $6-billion investment in Red Seal skilled trades training. Drawing on presentations from the 2026 Canadian Industrial Relations Association conference, it argues these Alliances could meaningfully improve training, labour supply and labour standards, but only if unions push past a narrow focus on meeting employers’ skills needs to also shape sector standards, worker retention and industrial governance. Contributors examine sectors from construction to the care economy, concluding that Canadian unions have a genuine opening to influence this round of industrial policy if they engage with ambition.
Dual-Use Defence in Canada: Opportunities for SMEs and the Implications for Skills and Capacity Building (Diversity Institute, Toronto Metropolitan University)
With Canada channelling major new defence investment into technologies and infrastructure that serve both military and civilian needs, this report from TMU’s Diversity Institute looks at whether small and medium-sized enterprises, which already make up 92% of Canada’s defence industrial base, are positioned to benefit. It finds that many SMEs face barriers at every stage, from simply becoming aware that defence opportunities exist to meeting security requirements and navigating procurement, with equity-deserving, Indigenous and northern entrepreneurs facing additional gaps in capital and networks. The report calls for coordinated supports tailored to firms’ stage of readiness, including defence market intelligence, compliance and cybersecurity training, and trades-specific capacity building.
A Playbook of Best Practice: Support Trans Employees (Diversity Institute, Toronto Metropolitan University)
This resource compiles more than 100 promising practices from Canadian organizations for supporting trans inclusion in the workplace, organized across six areas including governance and leadership, HR processes, workplace culture, and measurement of progress. It notes that 72% of gender-diverse workers report experiencing workplace discrimination, and situates trans inclusion as both a human rights responsibility and a business case tied to talent retention and innovation. Examples range from board diversity targets and gender-affirming care benefits to employee resource groups and pay equity audits.
