G7 ministers look to address tech disruption at work
Governments seek ways to help citizens as automation could threaten some jobs
The Canadian ministers hosting a group of G7 counterparts in Montreal have begun crafting cross-border policies that would help and reassure workers caught in the churn of a dramatically evolving labour market.
The most recent estimates provided at the two-day meeting that started Tuesday suggest that up to 15 per cent of jobs in the G7 could disappear because of automation over the next two decades.
Automation is expected to generate demand for both high-skilled and low-skilled occupations, resulting in “a hollowing of the middle” marked by declines in jobs requiring a mid-range level of skill, according to details the OECD provided to officials in attendance.
Despite high government talk of automation, artificial intelligence and innovation, not everyone has — or will — feel the benefit of the technological changes, said Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains. He said governments want to find ways to clearly demonstrate how “innovation” spending can help the majority of citizens, such as how digital infrastructure ad- vances could help rural and remote communities.
The Liberals have looked to calm domestic nerves through spending on skills training programs to ensure they are “available at any stage or age” so displaced workers can land new jobs, said Labour Minister Patty Hajdu, who is co-hosting the meeting with Bains. But the programs are “not going to be for everyone,” she said, such as older workers nearing retirement age, a growing cohort in this country.
The two-day meeting on the future of work is one of several Canada will hold this year ahead of the G7 leaders summit in early June in Charlevoix, Que.