By Julia Blackburn, July 14, 2025
World Youth Skills Day is a reminder to ask ourselves: Are we preparing today’s young people to thrive in a rapidly changing world? In Canada, the answer is complicated.
Youth unemployment has risen dramatically in the past year, up to 14%, despite the overall national unemployment rate remaining relatively steady at 6%. The problem isn’t a lack of jobs. It’s a mismatch between the available jobs and young people’s skills.
While AI, automation and other technological advancements are transforming work, Canada’s youth are not equally equipped to participate in or benefit from this transformation. Canada’s education and training systems haven’t kept pace. Too many youth, especially from underserved communities, lack access to the kind of applied, employer-driven training that opens doors to opportunities.
To close Canada’s digital divide, we need more than new tech. We need new thinking. The jobs are there; the youth are ready. It’s up to us to ensure they are prepared.
Elevating Digital Skills Training in Canada
Canada’s AI sector will see a 33.9% yearly increase in hiring for core roles such as AI developers, data analysts, and related positions from 2023 to 2028.
1. Make Digital Skills a Core Part of Education
According to ICTC, Canada’s AI sector will see a 33.9% yearly increase in hiring for core roles such as AI developers, data analysts, and related positions from 2023 to 2028. But this isn’t just about AI. In 2025, every company is a tech company.
If Canada doesn’t want to fall behind in the global economy, digital skills must be treated with urgency. It is no longer a “bonus” to have foundational digital and AI skills for entry-level roles; it’s a requirement. Yet many education systems still treat digital skills as a side offering or assume youth are already proficient because they’ve grown up online. In reality, being a digital consumer is not the same as having the skills to succeed in a digital workplace.
“Generative AI, data literacy, and cloud technologies shouldn’t be treated as advanced skills or electives; they should be core components of learning.”
Foundational tech training should be embedded across all levels of education. Youth should graduate with real-world experience using current tools and platforms. Generative AI, data literacy, and cloud technologies shouldn’t be treated as advanced skills or electives; they should be core components of learning.
Governments must work with educators, nonprofits, and workforce development organizations to ensure programs reflect the evolving demands of the labour market by embedding digital skills training into programs. This includes funding for curriculum development, employer-informed certifications, hands-on learning opportunities, and the infrastructure needed to deliver high-quality digital training at scale.
2. Ensure Equal Digital Opportunities for All
There are significant barriers to digital upskilling, including time constraints, financial costs, geographical barriers, and a lack of access to training programs. While new technologies are creating jobs, without equal opportunity for digital training, they are at risk of perpetuating existing inequities.
For example, women are more likely to be in roles at risk of automation, with McKinsey & Company estimating that 160 million women worldwide may need to change jobs through 2030. Despite growing demand in the tech sector, women remain underrepresented in training pipelines and employment and represent only 34% of individuals employed in Canada’s digital economy.
“For example, women are more likely to be in roles at risk of automation, with McKinsey & Company estimating that 160 million women worldwide may need to change jobs through 2030.”
Not only does this continue to increase the digital skills gap with unequal opportunities, but it also leads to ineffective businesses. Diverse companies earn 2.5 times higher cash flow per employee and make better decisions 87% of the time.
When we are developing digital skills programs, we must be designing them with all Canadians in mind to create a diverse talent pipeline for employers. Programs must be designed for equity-seeking groups, with support structures like mentorship, financial assistance, and mental health support embedded into the program.
NPower Canada has worked hard for ten years to learn how to best serve our diverse participant base. In 2024, 46% of participants identified as female, 82% from BIPOC communities, and 62% were newcomers to Canada. This diverse base creates a trained pool of job- and tech-ready talent for employers and allows these individuals to see growth and opportunity in the tech sector for their communities.
3. Invest in Alternative Training Models
Traditional education doesn’t work for everyone. Many youth, especially from underserved communities, can’t or don’t want to pursue college or university, but have the drive to work and succeed.
“Flexible delivery, like blended learning and individualized career support, helps participants build real skills that lead to real jobs.”
Alternative training models offer a path better suited to these individuals. Short-term, hands-on, and designed with employers, these programs meet youth where they are. Flexible delivery, like blended learning and individualized career support, helps participants build real skills that lead to real jobs. At NPower Canada, we collaborate with employers and use labour market data to ensure training aligns with demand. This approach helps participants prepare for the workforce and gives employers access to motivated, job-ready candidates.
4. Fund Evidence-Based Programs
With so many different microcredentials and tech training programs, where should the government be investing their dollars to support the future workforce? Youth unemployment rates show us that, despite the growing number of skills training programs, once young people enter the market, they are still failing to land jobs.
We encourage the government to support programs that produce measurable employment outcomes. This is a significant shift that would also require workforce development organizations to invest in evaluation. External evaluation will allow organizations to identify which components of their programs are leading to success and to encourage them to iterate and innovate successfully.
In 2021, we partnered with the Future Skills Centre and Blueprint to conduct a randomized controlled trial of our training programs in Ontario and Alberta to evaluate long-term impact. Early findings reveal that participants saw a 25% increase in employment rates and a 66.7% increase in median salary.
“It should be part of our government funding structure to ensure that financed programs truly improve lives and strengthen communities.”
Evaluation is time and resource-intensive, but it allows training providers to make data-driven adaptations to their programs and showcase real impact. It should be part of our government funding structure to ensure that financed programs truly improve lives and strengthen communities.
A Future Built on Inclusive Digital Opportunity
Women are more likely to be in roles at risk of automation. 160 million women worldwide may need to change jobs through 2030.
Canada’s future depends on the investments we make in youth today. Without deliberate, data-informed action, young people are at risk of being left behind. To support our youth and continue to compete in the global economy, we must treat digital skills training as an essential component of workforce development strategy.
We must invest in alternative, evidence-based training programs that are agile, inclusive, and designed around employer needs. The success of programs like NPower Canada shows that when training is hands-on, data-informed, and designed with equity at its core, it works—not just for participants, but for communities and employers alike.