ANTICIPATING JOBS OF THE FUTURE: DEVELOPING DIGITAL TALENT

Presented by Wendy Cukier, Vice-President, Research and Innovation, Ryerson University

June 4, 2013

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OVERVIEW

Context

Digital Skills are the Foundation

The Challenges

The University of the 21st Century

Fuelling the Digital Innovation Ecosystem

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DIGITAL SKILLS ARE THE FOUNDATION

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Physical Infrastructure

Digital Skills

Capacity to InnovateContent AdvantageStrong ICT Industry

Elements of Canada’s Digital Strategy

What are Digital Skills?

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What gets measured gets done: Benchmarking Digital Skills• Measurements of Digital Literacy

– Often based on ability to access technology (OECD, International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) survey in 2011)

• Measurement of Business Technology (MoT) Skills– e-Business skills: “strategic and related in particular to innovation

management, rather than technology management” (European E-Skills Forum)

• Measurement of “Deep Technology” Skills– “Deep” technology skills are based on narrow measurement of the

number of advanced degrees in engineering and computer science– What about content?

• Measurement of Innovation and Entrepreneurship– Entrepreneurial mindset; intentions; processes; outcomes (Eg.

Global Entrepreneurship Monitor)

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[Longish term] Planning when you cannot predict

Top 10 Trends for 2013 (Gartner)• Mobile Device Platforms Battles (Consumerization)• Mobile Architectures and Application Tools (Touch Optimized)• Cloud and growth of Personal Cloud• Enterprise App Stores• The Internet of Things• Hybrid IT and Cloud Computing• Strategic Big Data• Actionable Analytics • In Memory Computing• Integrated Ecosystems

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THE CHALLENGES

Skills shortage (?)

The innovation gap

Planning when you cannot predict

Disruption in post secondary education

The catch 22’s of employment and innovation

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Skills “shortage”

• Aging population • Critical skills shortages

• US data shows universities producing 10% of computer scientists needed.

• High tech companies in Waterloo, Canada have vacancies they cannot fill in the middle of a recession.

• Female participation in computer science and engineering has not improved in 25 years

• Catch 22s

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Need to work upstream (Besecke and Reilly, 2006 )

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Under-employment

• Jobs that required unskilled workers in past now need training as a result of technological change and different processes/systems. • about 65% of all new jobs created over the next five years are

expected to require some form of post-secondary. • By 2016 there will be almost 450,000 unskilled workers who

will not be able to qualify for existing skilled vacancies• Engineers and doctors driving taxis: Average immigrant is

better educated but under-employed • Catch 22 – No experience no job. No job no experience• Undervaluing of non-STEM graduates and skills

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Skills Mismatch: People without jobs. Jobs without people.• Fundamental to a digital skills strategy is the matching of

talent (supply) to employment needs (demand). • ICT organizations claim that there is a skills shortage• Many segments of the population – for example

internationally educated professionals (IEPS) and recent graduates claim there are not enough jobs or that they are under-employed

• Certain segments of the population (women, visible minorities, Aboriginal people, and people with disabilities) are under-represented within the ICT sector

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Changing role of the UniversityThe University of the 14th (20th?) Century: A battlefront

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KNOWLEDGE THE ECONOMYVERSUS

Challenges to post secondary education

• Established systems and structures• Increased competition and new technologies• Increased demands for responsiveness• Demands for breadth AND career readiness and employability• Rate of change relative to planning cycles and absorptive

capacity• Needs for job creation• Eroding resources: doing much more with much less

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“We won’t be fooled again” (The WHO)

“We’re facing a serious capacity issue in our universities. The problem is not that we don’t have enough students who want to become engineers and scientists and computer programmers. Our sustained growth and on-going success in a competitive global marketplace require large numbers of new Canadian graduates in computer science, electrical and computer engineering, physics, and mathematics.”(Roth, 1998)

Access to Opportunities Program (ATOP) spent $150 million over three years into Ontario universities to address these skills

“Technological skills are not the only need. When Industry Canada first became interested in the software industry in 1987, it assumed that the industry's biggest problem was a lack of programmers [but] the real problem was finding sales and marketing people…."Marketers are harder to find than engineers." (CATA, 2001)

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THE UNIVERSITY OF THE 21st CENTURY

“Laddered” Curriculum• Deep technology skills (Computer Science) & Content (RTA Media)• Technology and Management (BTM)• “Soft skills”; digital specializations, bootcamps, SSH pilot projectInnovative Pedagogy • Informal, Experiential Learning; Coop; unique model of “Zone education”• eLearning and blended models, shift to facilitation, learning to learn,

competency based credentials (badges)Adaptable Faculty• Combine theory and practice; teaching skills are valued• Basic and Applied ResearchCommitted Partners• Internships, experiential learning opportunities, investmentsCustomized Support for Learners• Assessment, career counselling and support - WhoPlusYou• SOME bridging and targeted: immigrants, aboriginal students 16

Building the culture of innovation: next gen entrepreneurs

• Canadian business schools: one-third the rate of entrepreneurship US business schools - OECD, 2010

• Entrepreneurship is not in the genes, it is a mindset and an approach that can be taught – Peter Drucker, 1996

• You can’t learn surfing from a textbook - Michael Lazaridis, 2002

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Entrepreneurs and Innovators: Born or bred?

ENTREPRENEURStart with perception of

an opportunity

Bias toward action

Make adjustment as they go

Build teams and informal networks

Focus on impact

MANAGERStart with resources in hand (budget)

Bias toward analysis

Formal structure

Work independently and autonomously

Focus on traditional metrics 18

Growing entrepreneurs

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AWARENESSWorkshopsEvents

ENGAGEMENTCompetitions

SKILLS DEVELOPMENTCourses, Case Studies and Projects

APPLICATIONBusiness Plans

ACCELERATIONFinancingGrowthSustainability

EXECUTIONInternshipsZones

Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Action

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• Experiential learning opportunity for students to team with other disciplines, collaborate with other innovators and the experience in developing an idea from concept to implementation

• Stimulating Canada’s emerging digital economy• Employment ready graduates, more experienced and ready to

hit the ground running • Innovative new business creation opportunities for Canada:

successful start-ups and organizational innovation• A driving force in Canada’s innovation landscape

FUELLING THE DIGITAL INNOVATION ECOSYSTEM

Education (Students and

Faculty)

Government

Users (Consumers, SMEs, Industry, Government, NGOs)

Financiers

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Suppliers

Embrace Market Driven Innovation

Idea Generation

Prototyping

Implementation and Adoption

Needs Identification

Evaluation

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21st Century University

• No “ivory towers”: embedded in the community to meet societal needs• Erode barriers among disciplines, institutions, stakeholders• Focus on career readiness, agility and job creation• New models of curriculum and delivery – flexible, responsive, scaffolding• Value “real world” experience and applied research• Protecting traditional and quality while embracing change• Align reward system to strategy• Real time research into employment trends and skills, teaching and

learning (eg. Ryerson Research Institute for Skills and Employment - RRISE)

• Develop graduates with range of diverse skills and ability to learn23

What else is needed

• Alignment of policies, systems and funding models to support innovation• Incentives to private sector to do its part (internships, training, research)• More than STEM! (Science Technology Engineering and Math)• Bias free job analysis and recruitment – soft skills are hard!• Support for diversity and inclusion (bridging, targeted programs)• Promote technology adoption and government as a model user• Separate the hype from the reality• Performance metrics and rewards• Evidence based, agile policy and action: planning when you cannot

predict

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Thank you