Bridging the Skills Gap Within Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in Quebec: An Analytical and Empirical Analysis.
Skills gaps and labour shortages have been important issues for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) for many years. Technological, economic, and environmental transformation, including the COVID-19 pandemic have only exacerbated those concerns. Entrepreneurs, policymakers, business leaders, and job seekers are coping with those changes and the challenges
of planning for the future under conditions of uncertainty and limited resources. What is the future of work and what skills will SMEs and workers need to thrive in the future?
Bridging the Skills Gap Within Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises in Quebec: An Analytic and Empirical Analysis offers rich insights into the skill needs of SMEs and ways to support them in providing training to “upskill” and “re-skill” their employees to succeed in the future. Technical skills frequently become obsolete and need updating and the need for softer skills – such as
creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, and adaptability –, is stronger than ever. This is especially true as we are navigating a still new reality where hybrid work is here to stay, which changes management methods and the skillsets required of both employees and leaders.
At the Future Skills Centre, we focus on helping Canadians gain the skills they need to thrive and employers with the talent needed to innovate and grow in a changing labour market. It is critical to ensure that everyone, especially under-represented groups, can access opportunities and resources to succeed and share in Canada’s prosperity. As part of our mandate, we emphasize the pressing need to address skills gaps and labor shortages, while being more inclusive and driving skills development transformation.
We thank our partners at the Diversity Institute and at the BMO Chair in Diversity and Governance at the Université de Montréal for convening this research. Planning is a perennial challenge for many and collecting disaggregated data on a large scale can contribute to our ability to create best practices that will help businesses thrive and foster concrete transformational changes for a more inclusive future. We also thank the Government of Canada for its support of a pan-Canadian future skills strategy that builds on evidence generation and practical delivery of skills training and assessment programs.
