Automation, AI: schools prepping students for jobs of the future - Electronic Products & Technology

As automation and artificial intelligence continue to transform Canadian workplaces, post-secondary institutions across the country say they are working to prepare students for jobs that may not even exist yet. Climate change, data science and cybersecurity are increasingly in the spotlight at Canadian universities as they adapt their offerings to address "the needs not only of a changing marketplace but of a changing society," Paul Davidson, president of the association Universities Canada, said in a recent interview. Forecasting can prove difficult, however. "There are numbers like 50 per cent of the jobs (of the future) have not yet been defined, and so how does any organization … prepare for that kind of change?" A research paper released in 2018 showed half of Canadian jobs will be affected by automation in the next decade, and so-called "human skills" such as critical thinking and problem solving will be key to remaining competitive and resilient in an era of disruption and artificial intelligence.