Future of work

In two decades’ time, the world of work in Canada and other industrialized countries will look very different than it does today. Major forces are driving change: digital technologies, artificial intelligence, climate change, demographic shifts and more. This change may bring far-reaching social, political and economic consequences for a generation of workers. IWH researchers are exploring the emerging issues posed by some of these trends—on health and safety, on work inequities, and on the inclusion of vulnerable and often marginalized young adults in the future of work—and seeking policy, system and workplace actions that can be implemented now to help ensure a healthy and inclusive future for all

Featured

A young man working on a laptop as a female instructor guides him
At Work article

How job training can better meet the needs of persons with disabilities

Job training initiatives are an important gateway to work opportunities, especially for persons living with disabilities who face persistent barriers to employment. A pair of IWH studies found three key areas where these skilling programs should focus.
Published: January 11, 2024
Drawing of a Black youth looking at the Employee of the Month board, which features pictures of robots.
At Work article

Three future of work scenarios to help develop inclusion strategies for young people with disabilities

What do we need to do now to ensure the inclusion of young adults with disability in the future world of work? Using strategic foresight methods, an IWH team generated three future scenarios of the working world and their implications for persons with disabilities.
Published: May 31, 2023
A young man working on a laptop as a female instructor guides him
At Work article

How job training can better meet the needs of persons with disabilities

Job training initiatives are an important gateway to work opportunities, especially for persons living with disabilities who face persistent barriers to employment. However, as technological advances lead to changes in the nature and availability of work, training programs need to be more responsive to the diverse needs of persons with disabilities.
Published: January 2024
Journal article
IWH Speaker Series
IWH Speaker Series

Three scenarios of a future working world: Using strategic foresight to imagine and respond to a changing world of work for young adults living with a disability in Canada

Evolving social, technological, economic, environmental, and political forces are shaping all aspects of our working world. For young adults living with a disability who are entering and working their way up in the labour market, the changing nature of work can create both barriers and opportunities. In this presentation, Dr. Arif Jetha Jetha shares three scenarios or narratives describing the ways things might meaningfully change in the future for young adults with disabilities. He also discusses how these scenarios can be used to develop labour market policies and programs that respond to future needs and promote inclusion for young adults living with a disability.
Published: October 2023
Journal article
Drawing of a Black youth looking at the Employee of the Month board, which features pictures of robots.
At Work article

Three future of work scenarios to help develop inclusion strategies for young people with disabilities

What do we need to do now to ensure the inclusion of young adults with disability in the future world of work? Using strategic foresight methods, an IWH team generated three future scenarios of the working world and their implications for persons with disabilities.
Published: May 2023
Project report
Project report

Three scenarios of a future working world [for young adults living with a disability]

In the fall of 2022, an Institute for Work & Health (IWH) research team set out to examine how working life could change in Canada over the next seven years and what the implications might be for young adults with a disability. Using strategic foresight methods, the IWH team created three future scenarios that are designed to provoke discussion about the policies needed now to ensure an inclusive future for people with disabilities.
Published: March 2023
Journal article
Journal article

The future of work in shaping the employment inclusion of young adults with disabilities: a qualitative study

Published: Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, January 2023