The global labour market is entering a decade of profound change. According to the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025, structural shifts will displace more than 90 million roles worldwide while creating nearly 170 million new ones. For Canada, this churn is less a crisis than a crossroads. The question is how workers and employers can position themselves to turn upcoming disruptions into opportunity.
The global forces reshaping work
Three forces dominate the outlook: digitalization, climate transition, and demographic change. Employers can expect that by 2030, nearly one in four jobs globally will be reshuffled. Roles anchored in routine clerical tasks are on the decline, while demand is rising for talent in artificial intelligence, software development, data analysis, cybersecurity, and renewable energy. At the same time, the cost of living, supply chain fragmentation, and adaptation to climate impacts will reshape the skills organizations value.
Canada mirrors these shifts with its own nuances. Current signals indicate strong demand for AI and machine learning specialists, security management experts, and software developers. Northern America more broadly anticipates that two-thirds of its workforce will require upskilling or reskilling before 2030. That scale of transformation calls for new strategies on both sides of the labour market.
What job seekers can do
- Invest in skills on the rise: Build proficiency in AI, data, networks, and cybersecurity. Just as critical are human capabilities such as analytical thinking, creativity, leadership, and resilience – because they travel across industries.
- Adopt a co-pilot mindset: Instead of seeing automation as a threat of being replaced, approach it as augmentation. Those who learn to co-pilot with digital tools will adapt faster, deliver more efficiently, and stay ahead of change.
- Target Canada’s growth clusters: Security, software, and green energy are emerging as high-demand career pathways. Positioning toward these fields will help stay head of industry changes.
What employers and organizations can do
- Treat reskilling as an investment strategy, not charity: With two-thirds of workers needing new skills, structured upskilling improves retention, builds internal mobility, and helps organizations pre-empt shortages.
- Prioritize human–machine collaboration: Productivity gains are highest when humans and technology work in harmony with one another, not when automation replaces people outright. AI may streamline routine tasks, but skilled workers remain vital for innovation, strategy, and adapting to complex contexts.
- Build for the green economy: Canada’s transition to net zero will create new roles in renewable energy, environmental engineering, and sustainability services. Planning now secures future talent pipelines.
- Strengthen resilience: Fragmented global supply chains and rising security risks make cybersecurity, logistics, and risk management essential investments. This will also have indirect effects on smaller businesses and their functions.
Looking ahead
By 2030, work will be distributed more evenly between humans, machines, and hybrid collaboration. For Canada, that signals possibility. Jobseekers who stay adaptive and employers who build talent pipelines will rise beyond just weathering disruption — they’ll lead in defining the next decade of work.