Essential skills for learning and working: perspectives from education and employment leaders across Canada

The changing world of work, including rapid changes introduced by the pandemic, is demanding changes in employees' skill sets. The Regional Sounding Tours looked at what leaders in education, skill development, and employment across Canada consider to be essential skills in the world today. These skills included the following: foundational skills, including digital literacy; social and emotional skills (SES); and employment readiness, including career guidance.

Participants indicated that these essential skills play an important role in navigating educational and career transitions and that certain aspects of these skills increased in importance during the [Coronavirus Disease 2019] COVID-19 pandemic. Digital literacy as well as SES such as resiliency, self-management, and communication were noted as important skills during the economic uncertainty and virtual work triggered by the pandemic. Development of these essential skills takes time and should be embedded in lifelong learning initiatives.

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