What is the difference between Digital and Information Technology. A basic definition is: digital describes the content distributed through technological channels while InfoTech is the hardware that facilitates the distribution.
The technology sector consists of companies involved in information technology research and development, computers, hardware, and software. It revolves around the manufacturing of electronics, creation of software, computers, and other products and services related to information technology.
Digital technology in the context of jobs refers to the use of electronic tools, devices, systems, and resources that organizations utilize for various purposes. These technologies play a crucial role in processing or storing data, enhancing employee productivity, and improving efficiency.
ICTT also writes that; “Canada doesn’t really have a system for figuring out where digital technology jobs end and regular jobs begin or explore how a national standard of definition for digital skills and careers will be the gateway for policymakers and employers to fill any gaps.”
In the UK, the Northern Council for Further Education, NCFE is an example of Essential Digital Skills training and qualifications (EDSQ) that are; “funded qualifications mapped to national standards for essential digital literacy.” NCFE advertises that they “offer a vast range of digital units and qualifications to help adults progress in their careers and meet the need for a highly skilled digital workforce.”
Job growth in the Technology sector and E-commerce
“Technology is a growing sector in Canada driving employment and innovation. With approximately 37,000 companies and $160 billion CAD in revenue, the Information Technology Association of Canada (ITAC) terms the IT industry as the engine of growth and people often refer to Toronto, one of the IT hubs of Canada, as the Silicon Valley of the North”.
In their “Digital talent Outlook 2025” the Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC) advise; “By 2025, ICTC forecasts employment in the Canadian digital economy to reach 2.26 million, triggering a demand for an additional 250,000 jobs”.
Digital Economy
The digital economy is the worldwide network of economic activities, commercial transactions and professional interactions that are enabled by information and communication technologies (ICT)
The Digital Economy consists of all the transactions carried out over digital infrastructure or using digital technologies, including e-commerce. In fact, anything with an “e-” in front of it is part of the digital economy. It’s not just Facebook and Amazon, but even traditional companies that are part of the digital economy. The represents the shift in business to an increasingly digital form of operations.
Online e-commerce spending in Canada grew by 72.7% in 2020, totaling $28.6 billion (dollar figures are in USD). That growth exceeds what we saw in 2019, where e-commerce reached 16.6 billion dollars in spending and 3.6% of all retail revenues.
This growth in the e-commerce sector has created an increased demand and hiring for customer service representatives, warehouse and inventory managers, e-commerce managers & analysts, logistics specialists and others.
Digital skill demand
The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the pace of digitalization in the workplace, resulting in a critical need for more workers with advanced digital skills.
“Many industrial sectors across Canada are experiencing huge disruption with the advent of new technologies and automation, and experiencing a shortage of skilled workers.”
“Disruption in labor markets is referring to new technologies, mainly automation, which might take the form of robots in manufacturing, artificial intelligence in the office, computerization,” explains Pissarides. “Digital technologies are disrupting labor markets and the way they work because they require different skills.”
Digital skills
Tenzin Adams of High Speed Training writes the following on digital skills; “Whilst they range from entry-level tasks to advanced abilities, all digital skills are highly transferable and are now considered to be a critical component for employability. As the use of digital technology and automation is transforming the jobs market, transferable skills, particularly those in the digital sphere, are becoming more and more sought after.”
The digital skills you need will depend on the type of career you’re pursuing, however there are essential skills that are increasingly required in most jobs. These are skills that everyone should aim to develop.
Essential Digital skills
communicating
handling information and content
transacting
problem solving
being safe and legal online
For the more technically inclined, 10 of the top Advanced Digital Skills are listed below:
Blockchain: Understanding decentralized digital ledgers and their applications.
AI and Machine Learning: Grasping artificial intelligence concepts and machine learning algorithms.
Big Data Analysis: Proficiency in analyzing large data sets to extract meaningful insights.
Cybersecurity: Protecting digital systems and data from threats.
Cloud Computing: Utilizing cloud services for storage, computation, and collaboration.
User Experience (UX): Enhancing user satisfaction by designing intuitive interfaces.
Marketing and SEO: Navigating digital marketing strategies and search engine optimization.
Business Intelligence: Leveraging data-driven insights for informed decision-making.
Office Automation: Streamlining tasks using tools like spreadsheets, macros, and workflows.
Virtual and Augmented Reality: Understanding immersive technologies for various applications.
These advanced digital skills not only boost individual productivity but also contribute to a company’s competitive edge.
As technology evolves, fostering a digital mindset becomes crucial—enabling professionals to embrace digital transformation, innovate, and stay efficient.
Those with advanced digital skills can end up in current jobs and future opportunities being created.
“Best IT and tech jobs in Canada for 2023 and beyond.”
developer/programmer
Business System analyst administrator
data analyst /scientist
quality assurance/ analyst
security analyst/architect
cloud architect
IT project manager
network engineer
Essential tech skills yes, but not all of us have the aptitude or interest to obtain a computer science diploma or degree. Fortunately, countries like Canada offer Essential Digital Literacy programs as shown below.
For marginalized Canadians: “The Digital Literacy Exchange Program (DLEP) will invest $17.6 million to support initiatives aimed at teaching digital literacy skills to Canadians who face barriers to participating in the digital economy. The program aims to equip Canadians with the necessary skills to use computers, mobile devices, and the Internet safely, securely, and effectively. Project funding for the second phase will be available from 2022–23 to 2024–25.
Emotional/social soft skills plus hard skills or digital literacy will be highly transferable to different sectors of the current and future labor market. Or to reframe, you would be in demand in the job market and could work as a freelancer if that is your goal!
There are many different jobs, like working as a pilot for the Canadian Snowbirds, shown here. Each occupation/job will require varying degrees of education, skills or experience. This post provides an overview of the labor and skill shortages in Canada..
In 2022, Canada had unfilled job vacancies occurring across the board which may continue into 2023 and beyond. The aging and mass retiring Boomer generation is thought to underlie this labor crunch. It could prove to be an opportune time for older workers choosing to work past 65. For different motivations, opportunities also exist for Generations X, Y and Z people in this regard.
Labor or Skills shortage or Mismatch?
“When an employer is looking to fill a vacant job, what they are really looking for is a set of skills to complete a series of tasks. So, job vacancies can be thought of as skill-set vacancies, or as unfilled skills demand.
“These three concepts are often used interchangeably, creating confusion and uncertainty, potentially leading to inappropriate or ineffective solutions. As such, the following definitions are recommended:
Labour shortages refer to a lack of candidates for a specific job in a specific labour market.
Skills shortages refer to a lack of candidates with the skills required by particular employers.
Skills mismatches refer to situations in which an employee’s current skills are not well suited to their current job.”
Now that your well versed in skill jargon, time to move onto what shape the Canadian labor market is in.
The infographic below, for 2021 breaks down the labor force by broad occupational categories and the percent employment in each, as reported in the last Statistics Canada,Census 2021.
Digging deeper into job growth rates and job vacancies.
In September 2022, Statistics Canada in their Job vacancies, second quarter 2022 report advises; “Employers across all sectors in Canada were actively seeking to fill nearly one million (997,000) vacant positions in the second quarter, the highest quarterly number on record”.
From 2016 to 2021, Canadian health care employees increased by 204,000, with a total work force of 1.5 million. The demands of the pandemic, record retirements and an aging population were a large part of this %16.8 increase over 5 years, according to Canada’s 2021 census.
On top of the %16.8 increase , “there were 136,100 job vacancies in the health care and social assistance sector from the April to June 2022 quarter, up %28 or (+30,500) over last years quarter, with adjustments.”
The growth in the health-care sector was exceeded by the increase of workers in the professional, scientific and technical services industries, which grew by %17.3 or 219,000 workers over the same 5-year period. Workers in these sectors include software and web developers, auditors, accountants, data scientists and cyber security specialists.
Of Canada’s 1.5 million health-care workers,%80 are female while workers in the professional, scientific and technical industries are 57% male in this category.
What steps are being taken to address the labor,skill shortage?
Immigration Initiatives
Immigration has and continues to play a large role in meeting labour market demands across Canada, not always making everybody happy though!.
With Boomers retiring and Generation Z and Millennials leaving the service sector in droves, employers in Canada increasingly need to rely on immigration to recruit workers to fill jobs.
In November 2022 the Canadian Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, the Honorable Sean Fraser announced a new National Occupational Classification code (NOC) 2021 that creates 16 new occupations to help address acute labour shortages. Those applicants who are admitted under this Express entry program will be eligible for employment and eventual permanent residence. These occupations are:
payroll administrators
dental assistants and dental laboratory assistants
nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates
pharmacy technical assistants and pharmacy assistants
elementary and secondary school teacher assistants
sheriffs and bailiffs
correctional service officers
by-law enforcement and other regulatory officers
estheticians, electrologists and related occupations
residential and commercial installers and servicers
pest controllers and fumigators
other repairers and servicers
transport truck drivers
bus drivers, subway operators and other transit operators
heavy equipment operators
aircraft assemblers and aircraft assembly inspectors
“The targets for this program would see; “an increase in the number of immigrants entering include an increase in the number of immigrants entering Canada next year (2023) to 465,000, 485,000 in 2024 and 500,000 in 2025”. This is potentially 1.5 million permanent residents.
The Canadian labor market is in a state of flux, whether it is unfilled job vacancies, skill gaps, record retirement stats, an aging workforce, ambitious immigration programs to ease the labor shortage and Canada’s low fertility rate, skill training initiatives and the digital transformation taking shape!
Exciting times with all the changes and opportunities ahead!
With all the information out there about the mind heart and body, I am writing this post to help clarify their relationship to each other.
Please read through the list that follows. It supports how incredible the mind, heart and body are..
Mind, Heart, Body factoids
The “brain which is our “three-pound universe” contains 100 billion neurons, 50 trillion synapses and signals travel at 300 mph speed!.
The mind is home to approximately 6200 thoughts per day
We take 25000 breaths per day plus or minus.
Our hearts beat 100,000 times per 24-hour period and about 35 million times in a year. During an average lifetime, the human heart will beat more than 5 billion times!
Your heart generates the most powerful energetic field in your body.
The electromagnetic field your heart generates is 5,000 times stronger than the field generated by your brain.
Pretty amazing spec’s , people may appear like the silent type, but inside there is a lot going on.
Mind and Brain background information.
The mind is the seat of consciousness, the essence of your being. Without a mind, you cannot be considered meaningfully alive.
There are those who still believe consciousness is like an unexplainable. ghost in the machinery of our brain.
Yet the mind is not made up of any cells and is hypothetical, according to the chart below. You also cannot touch the mind!
Does a thought exist? A thought exists as electrical and chemical activity in the brain which can be measured both with an EEG and CAT scanner. So yes, thoughts do exist as organized electrical activity in the brain.
This does not really explain how electrochemical activity is translated into what we perceive as a thought or part of our consciousness.
Brain is the central organ of the human nervous system
Mind is a faculty that manifests itself in mental phenomena such as perception, thinking, sensation, reasoning, memory, etc.
It is made up of blood vessels and nerve cells.
It is not made up of any cells and is hypothetical.
It has a definite shape and structure.
It does not.
Brain coordinates, movements, feelings, and different functions of the body.
It refers to a person’s conscience, understanding and thought process.
You can touch the brain.
You cannot touch the mind.
However, “neuroscientists sometimes say that we have one brain, but two minds: a mind that makes conscious choices, based on self-reflection and awareness; and a mind that makes automatic responses based on instinct and habit.”
“We are aware of a tiny fraction of the thinking that goes on in our minds, and we can control only a tiny part of our conscious thoughts. The vast majority of our thinking efforts goes on subconsciously. Only one or two of these thoughts are likely to breach into consciousness at a time.”
The mind is much more powerful than most people might imagine. Within our minds we have the ability to change our perception of reality as well as to gain a much deeper understanding of what underlies our thoughts and actions.
The way your heart beats affect all other processes in your body. Your heart rate is intimately tied to your bodily functions and mental, emotional states.
Heart rate variability (or “HRV”) is the variation in time intervals between consecutive heart beats averaged over time. Your heart rate speeds up during inhalation and slows down during exhalation. Variability in your heart rate is good and desirable.
Experiencing emotional or physical stress causes an increase in heart rate, elevation of blood pressure, and release of stress hormones. All these result in a greater workload for the heart, which can be dangerous.
Concsious breathing exercises are an essential skill to help slow down our heart rate and reduce the stress on our heart from poor breathing techniques.
“Hyperventilation and other incorrect breathing patterns are often the norms for stressful people. They breathe too quickly, too slowly, too shallowly, or hold their breath frequently. These unconscious breathing patterns can lead to many complaints, both physical ,mental and emotional.
“Cardiac coherent breathing is a form of coherent breathing that focuses on matching your breath to your heart rate. Over time this can help with increased cognitive and emotional functioning.
Some cardiovascular benefits of coherent breathing include:
I also mention the gut or enteric system briefly to point out its relationship to our mind, heart and body health. It will be the subject of another post.
The gut or enteric system
Useful information next paragraph for learming where certain emotions and feelings are experienced in the body.
“Researchers have discovered that the gut and brain are closely connected; and that this relationship serves an important function not only in managing emotions and stress but also aiding digestion. Emotions are felt in the gut. Feelings such sadness, anger, nervousness, fear, and joy can be felt in the gut. The term “feeling sick to the stomach” describes a situation which involves mental or emotional anguish which can produce stress in the mind and the body. We can also feel excitement in our gut which can be described as “butterflies” in our stomach.”
The brain and the gut are connected and constantly in communication. In fact, more neurons reside in the gut then in the entire spinal cord, according to research published in the book Neuroscience.
The neural signals for your heart rate, breathing, digestion, and other bodily functions are carried by the vagus nerve which runs throughout your upper body ending in your brain where they’re assigned meaning. The health and function of your vagus nerve is referred to as “vagal tone.” Low vagal tone is linked to numerous physical and mental conditions.
Coherent breathing, in part works by improving the functioning of this nerve.
“Vagus nerve: The vagus nerve is the biggest part of the autonomic nervous system, which controls many of the body’s functions, such as breath rate, digestion, and heart rate. It is also responsible for fight, flight or freeze responses. Coherent breathing can stimulate the vagus nerve, which moves the nervous system out of fight or flight and into a more calm state.”
There must be divine intelligence behind the creation of human beings!
Staying in the present moment is the ultimate (yet elusive) goal of any meditation practice. There are many types of meditation. This post will focus on a breath centered meditation. Learning to meditate is like learning any other skill, it requires practice to develop, with the benefits making it time well invested
Swami Vivekananda is considered as the introducer of meditation to the Western countries. He defined “meditation” as a state “when the mind has been trained to remain fixed on a certain internal or external location, there comes to it the power of flowing in an unbroken current, as it were, towards that point.
Mind versus Brain
The three definitions of mind and brain below come at it from a more comprehensive perspective than those found in ; “A Primer on the Mind, Heart and Body.”
Dr. Jennifer Weinberg, MD, MPH, MBE, a preventive, and lifestyle medicine physician, describes the brain as “the hardware” that allows us to experience the thoughts, beliefs, attitudes, and emotions that we collectively call the mind.”
Ray Oakley, Professor Emeritus of Psychology, Psychiatry and Pharmacology at Vanderbilt University advises; “According to the mind–body or biopsychosocial paradigm, which supersedes the older biomedical model, there is no real division between mind and body because of networks of communication that exist between the brain and neurological, endocrine and immune systems..”
Quantum Consciousness
Dr. Dirk K.F. Meijer, a professor at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, hypothesizes that consciousness resides in a field surrounding the brain. This field is in another dimension. It shares information with the brain through quantum entanglement, among other methods. And it has certain similarities with a black hole.
In other words, the “mind” is a field that exists around the brain; it picks up information from outside the brain and communicates it to the brain in an extremely fast process. He described this field alternately as “a holographic structured field,” a “receptive mental workspace,” a “meta-cognitive domain,” and the “global memory space of the individual.”
In Dr. Dirk K.F. Meijer’s interesting quote above he writes; the mind “picks up information from outside the brain and communicates it to the brain in an extremely fast process. An idea of how fast this might be and the complexity of the brain is described next.
The Cleveland Clinic infographic above advises that signals in the brain travel at 300 miles per hour over 500 trillion synapses and 100 billion neurons!
What does Mindbody Connection mean?
Sandstone Care, a mental health provider states that;” The mind-body connection works by the feedback loop between your body and your mind.
Painted Brain, another mental health provider offers this excellent definition ;”One of these connections is the Mind-Body Connection, which is the link between our emotional and mental health (such as thoughts, attitudes, and behaviors) and our physical health. Our biology impacts our mood. How our body feels impacts our emotions.
An example of this mind-body connection is how your body responds to stress. Constant worry and stress over jobs, finances, or other problems can cause tense muscles, pain, headaches, and stomach problems. It may also lead to high blood pressure or other serious problems.”
Awareness and Mindfulness
Self-awareness or mindfulness mean being fully present and aware of where we are and what we are doing. It means not being overly reactive or overwhelmed by what is going on around us, but just being aware and reflective.
Mindbody connection and mindfulness are the same, moving the mind and body in the direction of increased harmony, balance or coherence.
We can talk about mindfulness at length about it, but to understand it we have to experience it directly, through a breathing meditation or other practice. This is because mindfulness points to something intuitive and pre-conceptual.
Meditation and Conscious breathing
Your mind is often underutilized because you aren’t focusing it on the right things. However, if you set a clearly defined goal, and point your mind there, your mind will help you travel where you want to go.
You are the one who should give instructions to your mind, not vice versa. If you do not learn how to use this amazing tool then it will use you for your whole life
Integrative psychiatrist James Lake, MD, of Stanford University, writes that “extensive research has confirmed the medical and mental benefits of meditation, mindfulness training, yoga, and other mindbody practices.
Conscious breathing also improves the quality and effectiveness of meditation by; assisting in changing the brain wave activity from the stressful beta wavelengths to more relaxing and healthier alpha and theta wavelengths.
There are many health benefits to intentional or conscious breathing.
When you meditate, you will have periods of time focusing on your breath as it comes in and out of your body. And other times, finding your focus being swept away by the automatic thinking mind, and then snap out of it and return to the breathing, again and again. Rinse and repeat.
I am including a short video on a breathing meditation. There are many online, you just need to find one that resonates with you.
To begin this post let’s back up a bit to; The Information Age, also known as the Digital Age, is a period in human history which begins in the mid-to-late 20th century ( 1950’s) and lasts to the present day, representing the current time period we are now in. A defining event during the early Information Age was the invention of the Internet by 1990, which opened the door for digital transformation.
What Metaverse?
The Imagination Age is the period beyond the Information Age where creativity and imagination become the primary creators of economic value. A key concept is that the rise of an immersive virtual reality-the metaverse or the cyberspace will raise the value of imagination work done by designers, artists, etc. over rational thinking as a foundation of culture and economics. Wow.
I like the sound of transitioning to the Imagination Age, valuing imagination over rationality as a “foundation of culture and economics.” We will see how this plays out in the not-too-distant future.
So, imagination and creativity are important for the Metaverse to operate, what more specifically is the Metaverse?
Metaverse is a word that is a big part of the tech buzz these days, pivoting on the announcement in 2021 by CEO Mark Zuckerberg, introducing his companies new name Meta, and mission “which brings together our apps and technologies under one new company brand. Meta’s focus will be to bring the metaverse to life and help people connect, find communities and grow businesses.”
The required technologies are not advanced enough to make a full version of the metaverse, but Meta Platforms predicts this achievement within 5 to 15 years . A completed metaverse could therefore arrive between 2025 and 2035.
Because it is still being developed there is no commonly accepted definition. Several suggested definitions of what the Metaverse is follow.
One could define the “Metaverse” as a digital universe full of many online worlds, which will be ideal for working, studying, having fun, playing, doing business and interacting with others, through 3D avatars using virtual and augmented reality.
The metaverse isn’t about escaping reality, says futurist Cathy Hackl. Instead, it’s about “embracing and augmenting it with virtual content and experiences that can make things more fulfilling and make us feel more connected to our loved ones, more productive at work, and happier.”
Important pre-cursors to the Metaverse being born include the technologies of; Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Cloud Computing with 5G / 6G the unsung hero.
“In less than two years Apple vastly improved its chips with the M2. The new in-house offering has 50% more bandwidth and a 40% faster neural engine compared to the M1, released in 2020. Today, networks powered by 5G are 25 times faster than those with 4G LTE. Sophia the robot has gone from demo to international film star in a matter of years, and the metaverse is in its infancy.
Massive data management in real time and online; quantum computing are also essential for the operation of the Metaverse.
Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain technology
Metaverse uses artificial intelligence and blockchain technology to create a digital virtual world where you can safely and freely engage in social and economic activities that transcend the limits of the real world, and the application of these latest technologies will be accelerated. Artificial intelligence and blockchain technology are expected to play an essential role in the ever-expanding world of the Metaverse.
Cryptocurrency is still recovering major corrections and time will tell when the market recovers,
To keep this post brief, I will wrap up this exciting topic and leave off with a video starring Mr. Zuckerberg, who has a lot invested in successfully completing a version of the Metaverse!
The Fourth Industrial Revolution and Industry 4.0 are often used interchangeably but, ” the Fourth Industrial Revolution is Digital Transformation itself. However, digital transformation is not limited to industry. We are witnessing Digital Transformations in finance, medicine, education, and media as well.
That said, Industry 4.0 can be used in all Industrial contexts where processes need to be more intelligent.It’s a digital transformation in the industrial sector towards a new stage in the organization and control of the industrial value chain. The industrial value chain can refer to tasks a company performs to produce a valuable product.
What about the other 3 Industrial Revolutions?
The first industrial revolution ran from the end of the 18th century to the beginning of the 19th century and during this time, steam was invented.
The next or second I.R. started at the end of the 19th century, with massive technological advances including electricity.
The third revolution started during the second half of the 20th century and featured nuclear energy and electronics, including telecommunications and computers.
Presently, cyber physical systems or intelligent computers are shaping the Fourth Industrial Revolution discussed below
A cyber-physical system (CPS) is the new generation of intelligent, digital systems composed of physical hardware capabilities and computing software techniques. Optimizing functionality, autonomy, reliability and safety, CPS is a major step for future technology that could change and improve lives for the better.
“Examples of CPS include smart grid, autonomous automobile systems, medical monitoring, industrial control systems, robotics systems, and automatic pilot avionics
Precursors of cyber-physical systems can be found in areas as diverse as;
Automation is a term for technology applications where human input is minimized. This includes business process automation (BPA), IT automation, personal applications such as home automation and more.
*Automation can use AI (artificial intelligence); however, the majority of automation utilizes traditional software to move data from one place to another. The difference between AI and automation is that AI aims to simulate human thinking. Put another way; automation works with data — AI ‘understands’ data.’
Data exchange helps deepen the knowledge of markets and customers by providing insights.
“With the data available to them in data exchanges, organizations can enrich their statistical and machine learning models, enhance analyses and forecasts, create more in-depth profiles of their customers, and much more.
I will provide brief definitions regarding important elements of Industry 4.0 and if it sparks your curiosity, you can dig deeper!
Other technologies involved in Industry 4.0
Analytics
A field of computer science that uses math, statistics, and machine learning to find meaningful patterns in data. Analytics – or data analytics – involves sifting through massive data sets to discover, interpret, and share new insights and knowledge.
What is the relationship between Artificial Intelligence and quantum computing?
“This makes quantum computing the perfect candidate for powering artificial intelligence.The vast amounts of data processed by AI systems require enormous computational power. Quantum computers have the potential to provide that power and thus enable AI to reach its full potential.”
3D Printing
‘The Fourth Industrial Revolution is said to have extensive dependency on 3D printing technology. Some advantages of 3D printing for industry are;
that 3D printing can print many geometric structures, as well as simplify the product design process.
It is also relatively environmentally friendly.
In low-volume production, it can also decrease lead times and total production costs.
Moreover, it can increase flexibility, reduce warehousing costs and help the company towards the adoption of a mass customization business strategy.’
3D printing is transforming many industries, including the medical, construction and space . With 3D printers now having the ability to create human skin, sustainable housing and space craft!
Machine learning (ML)
This is a field of inquiry devoted to understanding and building methods that ‘learn’, that is, methods that leverage data to improve performance on some set of tasks. It is seen as a part of artificial intelligence. Machine learning algorithms build a model based on sample data, known as training data, in order to make predictions or decisions without being explicitly programmed to do so.
Lastly, this catchy title.
The Internet of Things (IoT) describes the network of physical objects—“things”—that are embedded with sensors, software, and other technologies for the purpose of connecting and exchanging data with other devices and systems over the internet. These devices range from ordinary household objects to sophisticated industrial tools. With more than 7 billion connected IoT devices today, experts are expecting this number to grow to 10 billion by 2020 and 22 billion by 2025
There are a few other technologies involved like cloud and cognitive computing, 5G and more not included in this post., so as not to bog you down.
Potential casualties from Industry 4.0
Is there a downside to this unfolding digital transformation?
According to the 2018 report by the World Economic Forum; “These transformations, if managed wisely, could lead to a new age of good work, good jobs and improved quality of life for all, but if managed poorly, pose the risk of widening skills gaps, greater inequality and broader polarization.”
The Fourth Industrial Revolution’s technologies, such as artificial intelligence, genome editing, augmented reality, robotics, and 3-D printing, are rapidly changing the way humans create, exchange, and distribute value. As occurred in the previous revolutions, this will profoundly transform institutions, industries, and individuals.
Additional side effects and or concerns.
With Big Data and hyper-connectivity there are increased concerns about privacy and or cybersecurity risk.
and ethical concerns around the usage of private data
Will the providers of intellectual and physical capital; shareholders receive the biggest cut?
Job loss
Artificial intelligence and automation are expected to have the most significant impact on employment figures within the global workforce.
The 4th Industrial Revolution ( Industry 4.0) will impact nearly every industry with The Economist predicting that 50% of jobs are vulnerable to automation.
In recent decades, as automation has emerged as the central competitive factor in manufacturing operations across the globe, the use of industrial robots has grown substantially. In 1970 the total number of industrial robots in use in the US was 200. By 1980, that number had risen to 4,000, and by 2015, it was 1.6 million. There are estimated to be more than 3 million industrial robots in use today.
It is predicted that new jobs and other opportunities would also be created during this digital transformation.
Different uses of the word ‘Skill’ in the labor market
The Merriam Webster dictionary defines skill as: “the ability to do something that comes from training, experience, or practice.”
Skill is used by itself or in other forms like skill set, soft skill, hard skill, technical and digital skills or skill gap, skills shortages, skills mismatches, skill-set vacancies, unfilled skills demand, reskill, upskill and lastly transferable skills. Wow!
A skill set is the combination of knowledge, personal qualities, and abilities that you’ve developed through your life and work. It typically combines two types of skills: soft skills and hard skills.Ideally your skill set matches the type of work that pays enough and interests you. Being aware of any skill gap you have and proactively managing will serve you well.
Skills gap refers to the gap between the skills an employer expects their employees to have and the actual skills employees possess. A gap can be addressed by upskilling or reskilling and is described further on.
Labour shortages refer to a shortage of suitable applicants for particular jobs
Skills shortages refers to a scarcity of applicants with the skills required by an employer needing to hire..
“When an employer is hiring, they are looking for a set of skills to complete a series of tasks. Until the employer can recruit a new employee, the needed skills remain missing. Job vacancies can thus be thought of as skill-set vacancies, or as unfilled skills demand. In 2020 skill vacancies represented $25 billion of unrealized economic value in Canada.The skill group with the highest wage-and-job vacancies value is social and emotional skills, worth $8.5 billion in 2020—making up a third of the unrealized value of unfilled skills demand arising from job vacancies that year.”
A few more quotations follow that reinforce the fact that the social and emotional soft skills are at the top of the list for soft skill vacancies.
Over my career I can recall several managers who had social and emotional skill gaps.Soft skills have evolved with increased awareness and intolerance for abusive behaviour in the workplace.
Regarding soft skill gaps, Dr. Tricia Williams, director of research, evaluation, and knowledge mobilization at Future Skills Centre states:
“Employers are also reporting critical gaps in social and emotional skills such as collaboration, and problem-solving management. In fact, older Canadians, she said, have more valuable social and emotional skills that are being missed in the current labour market, and these include more experience, and stronger emotional and social skills developed over time.”
Good to hear older workers being missed in the current labor market.
Upskilling and Reskilling
According to Iberdola in their excellent article; Reskilling and upskilling: work training in the digital transformation era. “The difference between these two concepts lies in the objective of the training: whereas upskilling aims to teach employees new skills to optimize their performance; reskilling — also known as professional recycling — sets out to train employees to adapt to a different post within the company.”
So, with upskilling the individuals stays in his job and reskilling the worker moves to a new post.
Both are effective strategies for employers to manage what is expected to become an ongoing skills shortage.
It appears the labor market in Canada and other countries are at a crossroads regarding skill shortages and their development.
“It is estimated that half of working-aged adults are without the literacy skills required to perform well in the majority of jobs in the economy or to learn the skills required for new ones
There is growing demand not only for technological skills, but also “soft skills.”
Moving on now with a review of hard skills, including digital and last but not least soft skills to complete the skill definitions.
You can acquire hard skills by taking online or in-person classes at a university or other training program, practicing these skills before applying them to a job, and gaining experience by using the hard skills in the workplace.”
Examples of hard skills are:
Truck driving
Video production
Surgery
Carpentry
Search engine optimization
Budgeting
Auto mechanic
Accounting
Engineering
Fire Fighting
Data mining
Digital skills
The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the pace of digitalization in the workplace, resulting in a critical need for more workers with advanced digital skills.
Many industrial sectors across Canada are experiencing huge disruption (change)with the advent of new technologies and automation, and many are experiencing a shortage of skilled workers.
Tanzin Adams of High Speed Training writes the following on digital skills; “Whilst they range from entry-level tasks to advanced abilities, all digital skills are highly transferable and are now considered to be a critical component for employability. As the use of digital technology and automation is transforming the jobs market, transferable skills, particularly those in the digital sphere, are becoming more and more sought after.
The digital skills you need will depend on the type of career you’re pursuing, however there are some essential skills that are increasingly required in almost every job. These are skills that everyone should aim to develop.”
Essential Digital Skills:
Email and instant messaging
Word processing
Social media for business
Web-based research and problem solving
Data entry and handling
Behaving safely and legally online
The essential skills listed above should also include online transactions such as banking.
The list of 8 jobs below require advanced digital skills or literacy. It is important that you are interested in and possess the aptitude to pursue advanced digital training.
The digital economy and its transformation are fascinating subjects which I write about in the next post; Industry 4.0 and Cyber-Physical systems in the 6-part Labor Market series.
Soft Skills
These are skills we use to manage ourselves and interact with others during work or non work activities. They are becoming highly valued by employers in recruitment and keeping a job.
Creativity- To be cliché, think outside the box, take a meta view to bring new bring a new perspective to problem areas, which can help companies develop and grow.
Persuasion- is the ability to make intentional and successful efforts to persuade or influence someone either by speaking or writing to them.
Соllаbоrаtiоn-Work in a team with respect and active listening for each person.
Аdарtаbility- requires the ability to pivot during change and not get bogged down and keep moving forward.
Emоtiоnаl Intelligence- is a core soft skill, involving self-awareness, self-management, and social skills or people management and empathy. This is an important soft skill and challenging to develop.
I supplied the definitions for each of the 5 skills listed above.
According to а Саrnegie Mellon Foundation study, 75 рerсent of long-term job suссess is determined by employees’ level of soft skills.
Аnоther LinkedIn study disсоvered that when it соmes tо new hires, 57 рerсent of employers рlасe а higher value on soft skills than hard skills.
The future of work lies in soft skills; these human characteristics can’t be replicated or replaced by automation or artificial intelligence (AI).
Last item on my list of skill definitions is next.
Transferable skills
The hard skills for a nurse and a chef are very different, but nurses and chefs could both apply the same transferable soft skills to be successful in their individual career
While it is easy for an employer to train a new employee in a particular hard skill such as how to use a certain computer program, it is much more difficult to train an employee in a soft skill such as collaboration.
Transferable or portable skills are those hard and soft skills that can be transferred between jobs and/or occupations.
The ability to understand and communicate your skill set concisely is key to an effective job search.
Soft and hard skills have been developed and accumulated to varying degrees, over the length of an individual’s career and experience.
Often individuals find they have more skills than they were aware of after completing a thorough self-assessment. Knowing what transferable skills, you own and can market is empowering.
When writing transferable skill statements, they need to be connected to measurable achievements to obtain maximum results, when marketing your skills to a prospective employer.
Job searchers can use their transferable skills to apply for jobs they have no direct experience in.I have not done this directly, but check out the sections for LinkedIn and Microsoft below for more information.
Organizations involved in skill building, job placement, training and education for all levels.
The Work Based Learning Consortium in their post, Rapid Upskilling & Reskilling For In-demand Industry Jobs advise that: “Since early 2014 over 60 advanced manufacturing employers in Ontario have partnered with WBLC to hire and train unskilled job seekers or upskill current workers or those in transition – a total of more than 650 employees – for skilled jobs at entry-level or mid-level, with a success rate of over 85%.”
Coursera (online) advises: “that individuals could start gaining the top 10 skills for each emerging profession in people and culture, content writing, sales and marketing in one to two months. Those wishing to expand their skills in product development and data and artificial intelligence could do so in two to three months, and those switching into cloud computing and engineering could make headway in the new skill set through a four to five-month learning program.”
Coursera partners with more than 275 leading universities and companies to bring flexible, affordable, job-relevant online learning to individuals and organizations worldwide. They also offer free courses and certificates online.
For marginalized Canadians: “The Digital Literacy Exchange Program (DLEP) will invest $17.6 million to support initiatives aimed at teaching digital literacy skills to Canadians who face barriers to participating in the digital economy. The program aims to equip Canadians with the necessary skills to use computers, mobile devices and the Internet safely, securely and effectively. Project funding for the second phase will be available from 2022–23 to 2024–25.”
Since 2020, LinkedIn and Microsoft are collaborating to provide free courses to help you find an in-demand tech role. The LinkedIn CEO, Mr. Ryan Roslansky writes in his article, Hiring For The Future, Not The Past, that: “Since last June, Microsoft and LinkedIn have helped more than 30 million people worldwide gain access to digital skills, and today we’re extending our commitment to skills by helping 250,000 companies make a skills-based hire in 2021.” WOW
Many implications for global digital literacy.
LinkedIn is also working with the World Economic Forum on their Reskilling Revolution Initiative which; “ aims to provide one billion people with better education, skills and jobs by 2030.”
For some of the services LinkedIn and Microsoft offer you will need to be a member of LinkedIn.This is not strictly for professionals and covers the service industry and more.
The Linkedin site also has software that; “uncovers career paths by matching your skills to thousands of job titles.” Plus you have a built in network.through LinkedIn.This is similar to job searching by transferable skills only.
Check out this interesting undertaking above and see if it meets your needs!
Generations such as the Greatest, Interwar, Boomers (B), X,Y, Z and Alpha were each born during specific social, economic and political circumstances. Being exposed to the first or second world wars, a man on the moon, the mobile phone, 9-11 or the covid pandemic and more, can shape our values and attitudes.
Your birth year determines which generation you belong to. We look deeper into this below.
Demographics
According to the 2021 Census, Canada has a population of approximately 36,991,981 and the working age (15-64) population is 23,957,760.
The working age population is the pool of Canadians 15-64 years old who are potential workers.
As of December 2021, there were 19,371,000 people in the labor force.
Canada’s labor force is made up of B, X, Y and Z generations listed below.
The Greatest and Alpha generations are not included given their age. Men and women born during The Interwar generation have some present day workers, but not a significant enough number to include. Plus Canada’s working age population has a range of 15-64, beyond 64 you’re not counted as a worker for statistical purposes!
Individuals per cohort making up the Canadian population (2021 Canada Census)
Add 3 Years To The Ages For 2024
Greatest Generation: 135,560 people 94 or older (born before 1928)
Interwar Generation: 2,716,910 people 76 to 93 (1928 to 1945)
Generation Alpha: 3,194,415 people, 11 or younger (born in later 2010 or after)
As of 2021
9,212,640 Gen B, 56 to 75, born 1946 to 1965.
7,060,355 Gen X, 41 to 55, 1966 to 1980
7,926,595 Gen Y, 25 to 40, 1981 to 1996
6,700,000 Gen Z, 9 to 24, 1997 to early 2010
Big changes in the North American labor market.
According to Marija Lazic in the United States; “over a third of Americans don’t believe they’ll ever retire and about 10,000 baby boomers turn 65 each day, and the entire generation is expected to reach retirement age by 2030.”
Canada also faces record retirements from an aging workforce according to the 2021 Canada Census.
Older workers are retiring in large numbers which is creating a labor shortage in 6 or more sectors. These include trucking, the trades, health care, construction, retail trade, education and social services.
A new analysis of labour force survey data by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) found that 73,000 more people retired in the year ending August 2022 compared to a year earlier, a jump of 32 per cent.
“The risk you have, and in some sectors you’re already seeing it, is that people are leaving without there being enough younger workers to take over,” Jimmy Jean, chief economist at Desjardins Group told Reuters. “So there’s a loss of human capital and knowledge.”
“It is not just the 65-and-over crowd packing up their offices and hanging up their tool belts. A record number of Canadians aged 55-64 are now reporting they retired in the last 12 months,.” Statscan data shows. (Graphic).”
Now, let’s look closer at the Boomer, X, Y and Z generations that make up the modern labor force in Canada and the USA.
Characteristics of Boomers, Gen X, Y and Z
The work and personal characteristics of the different generations are not hard and fast definitions, but useful as a starting point.
We shouldn’t stereotype any generation, but having insight into a particular group, gives us a starting point for better understanding and communication.
As of 2024, the following ages and birth years apply
9,212,640 Gen B, aged 59 to 78, born 1946 to 1965.
7,060,355 Gen X, 44 to 58, 1966 to 1980
7,926,595 Gen Y, 28 to 43, 1981 to 1996
6,700,000 Gen Z, 14 to 29, born 1997 to early 2010
Baby Boomers
Boomers leaving the workforce, are largely being replaced by Gen X, Y and Z and soon Alpha.
This generation has focus, discipline and a strong work ethic
may have strong emotional intelligence
value health and longevity
can be non-conforming and question authority
have evolved to be self-sufficient with problem solving and some prefer working independently versus in teams.
are willing to work hard and compete to reach company goals and take pride in the companies they work for, their job titles and how long they have worked for the company
believe authority comes with experience (like seniority) and more likely to trust an older worker with years of experience versus a younger manager.
Characteristics of Gen X:
Chris DeSantis in the Fortune magazine writes; “Demands for more work-life balance that workers had not been able to make under the covenant were first implemented by Gen X entrepreneurs.”
Born between 1966 and 1980, this group contains many entrepreneurs (dot.com) and often described as the MTV or Sandwich generation.
Moved into management positions roles as Gen B retire.
More diverse than previous generations, being exposed to increasing immigration and the presence of female colleagues in the workforce.
Computer literate and a lot more, were present for the technological change from analog to digital and involved in the transition to make it happen. Examples of this include the creation of YouTube, Amazon, Wikipedia, and Google. Along with these companies and others, major shifts in how we communicate, source information and shop resulted.
more willing to change jobs or careers to get ahead than the previous generations.
Characteristics of Gen Y
They were not born into the digital age like Gen Z, living during the transition from analogue to the digital world.
Like Gen Z, this groups lifestyle includes technology as part of their everyday lives with many of their activities coordinated by a screen.
They value telecommuting or working remotely with flexible hours to accommodate family and personal responsibilities. Professional development is an important need as are purposeful tasks rather than being focused on profit primarily.
Gen Y unlike their parents Gen X, believe the world could be a better and/or different place and are ambitious to achieve their goals that reflect this.
Gen Y are stereotyped as being narcissistic, entitled, spoilt and lazy. In 2014 they were named the me-me generation by Time Magazine.
Characteristics of Gen Z
As of 2023 they are between 13 and 27 years old and are up and coming in terms of running the show.
Gen Z has surpassed Gen Y as the go to people for all things digital
Are the true digital natives: from a young age, they have been exposed to the internet, social media, and mobile technology.
Growing up in a globally connected world they are thought to have become more diverse and inclusive. The internet and social media has allowed them to learn more about other cultures, breaking news, social causes than previous generations
According to WP Engine, “65% of Gen Z think artificial intelligence will have a positive impact and 75% believe the Internet will bring us closer together
Gen Z are now a huge part of the world population (estimates range from 24-30%) — and their keen interest in technology makes them an increasingly influential demographic.
“Gen Z are radically inclusive. They don’t distinguish between friends they meet online and friends in the physical world. They continually flow between communities that promote their causes by exploiting the high level of mobilization technology makes possible.”. Article By Tracy Francis and Fernanda Hoefe
They like to get everything they want immediately apparently, a fact fostered by the digital world in which they are immersed, and their lifestyle is influenced by youtubers.
“Virtual reality, Augmented Reality, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Gen-Z are all maturing together.”
Alpha Generation
The latest generation Alpha was born in 2010. In 2024 the oldest will be 14, a teenager!. As per the 2021 Canadian Census there are 3,194,415 Alpha people in this group. Generation Alpha is also characterized as digital natives and a screen is central to their lifestyle..
It will be interesting to see how these generations unfold in the years ahead!
Wellness is a lifestyle you choose daily to manage and fulfill your needs.
Three important areas may be improved by practicing this lifestyle:
Disease Prevention
The incidence or effects of disease or illness may be reduced.
Complete, Optimal Health
We are dynamic, multi-dimensional beings and symptoms of disease or illness are the result of an imbalance in these aspects. Optimal health is related to the integration of mind, body and environment.
Positive Wellness
By cultivating positive emotional-mental states (happiness) we improve our quality of life and promote longevity.
Happiness is not an unrealistic, fluffy concept. It has been pondered, and attempts to define it go back millennia. When the forefathers of the USA were drafting the Declaration of Independence in 1776, it was included as an inalienable right in Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.
A spiritual system to achieve Happiness is a central theme in Buddhist teachings.
Wikipedia states: Humanistic psychologists—such as Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers, and Erich Fromm—developed theories and practices pertaining to human happiness and flourishing. More recently, “positive psychologists have developed research supporting the humanistic theories of flourishing. In addition, positive psychology has moved ahead in a variety of new directions.”
Disease prevention, optimal health and positive wellness (happiness) are all potential benefits of practicing a Wellness Lifestyle. But, how do we live this way? What is involved?
Dimensions, Needs and a Wellness Lifestyle
At the beginning of this post, I described Wellness as a lifestyle you choose and manage. This is an important concept that implies we’re responsible for the actions we do or don’t take as our lives unfold. The intent is not to strive for perfection but a steady, committed effort and growth towards optimal health and wellbeing. It doesn’t mean we live with our head in the sand and unaware that living is risky business and undesirable events can happen out of the blue, that we have no control over.
We are multidimensional beings, where each dimension overlaps and influence the others. Dimensions can interact negatively or positively, which is why wellness planning is necessary.
As we are: “In the process of achieving or striving for holistic wellness (a journey, not an end-state), people come closer to satisfying their system of basic human needs.” (McGregor 2010)
I have developed A Complete Life Wellness Plan™ for the purpose of managing our needs. It has a framework of seven dimensions that consist of the:
Physical
Emotional-Mental
Intellectual
Spiritual
Social
Environmental
Occupational
Adjustments are made to each dimension as required, to create greater degrees of balance and wellbeing and are included in your plan.
The Indian God Shiva, at the ancient Khmer ruins Prasat Pueai Noi, in northeast ThailandYoga has been around for millennia; “the development of yoga can be traced back over 5,000 years ago, but some researchers think that yoga may be up to 10,000 years old.”
It is believed that yoga started in the ancient Samskrithi culture of Bharata, (India).
The origin of; “the word Yoga is derived from the Sanskrit ‘Yuj’ which essentially means to join or unite. The union referred to is that of the individual or the self-uniting with Cosmic Consciousness or the Universal Spirit.”
If you’re interested, check out the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, one of the ancient Indian texts that is often cited as the basis of the philosophy behind yoga. There are eight limbs of yoga, made up of 195 sutras that focus on gaining mastery over the mind and emotions in order to grow spiritually.
Mind-Body
There is mounting medical evidence (MRI’s and other) confirming what was known long ago, that practicing yoga has numerous health benefits. This includes but is not limited to; increased strength, balance and circulation, better immunity, breathing and posture and reduced stress, anxiety, improved mood and greater self-awareness.
The remainder of this post takes an abbreviated look at that part of the mind known as ego. If you have a curious “mind” and want to know more about the ego and self-realization, there is an abundance of information about this subject online.
Some background
An article on Psychcentral.com advises that: “though the term ‘ego’ is commonly used to describe one who boasts, is arrogant, treats others with scorn, lacks empathy, and the like, the concept of ego is neutral in itself.
The word ‘ego’ is a Greek word for “I”, meaning the core sense of self, a distinct and unique expression of personhood, albeit one that paradoxically exists in connection or in relation to life and others.”
Our ego by this definition then, is necessary and when at rest, neutral. It’s also capable of misbehaving though, as described in the following paragraph!
Doing Yoga or Ego?
A post in the Elephant Journal comments: “when ego mind is the performer of postures, our mind is actively engaged in self-criticism, comparing our performance with others, and judging ourself and others. Our mind is agitated and engaged in internal conflict even as our body is engaged in performing postures. As a result of constant internal conflict, our mind is restless. Whenever we are mentally agitated, restless, emotionally reactive to whatever we are facing at any given moment, we are engaged in the posture of ego.”
Learning how to transcend or calm a “restless mind” is an invaluable life skill that is transferable outside the yoga studio.
I’m open to the possibility of “self-uniting with Cosmic Consciousness or the Universal Spirit” but also pleased to be doing yoga and not ego on a more consistent basis.
It does however require showing up, practice and some sweat!
