• Trends that affect the work we do: the growth of automation, robotics, artificial intelligence, and new digital technologies, which has brought about a wide range of changes, including: increasing opportunities in STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, mathematics), technological advancements in industries such as manufacturing and the agri-food industry, growing demand for highly skilled workers who perform “knowledge-intensive tasks” and for skilled tradespeople familiar with new technologies; globalization, which has created a growing demand for remote workers all over the world who bring strong communication and collaborative skills to team-based global projects; significant social changes, such as an aging population and the retirement of many current workers, which has led to increased opportunities in health care and support service jobs 
• Trends that are changing how we work: the growth of platform economies, which has increased opportunities for entrepreneurship and eliminated a variety of traditional jobs; a wider acceptance of the need for work/life balance, which has led to greater opportunities for telecommuting, flexible hours, and compressed work weeks, as well as parental (maternity and/or paternity) leave; a shift to a more balanced workforce that recognizes and values the importance of equity, diversity, and inclusion, which has led to greater opportunities for a diverse population, including people who may require assistive devices or special supports in order to participate fully in the workplace 
• Trends that have influenced workers’ rights and responsibilities: the growth of short-term work opportunities and the gig economy, which has resulted in fewer “jobs for life” and fewer protections but more opportunities to “be your own boss”, leading to changes in employment standards and in the rights and responsibilities of workers

• What are some of the major technological, social, and economic trends currently affecting the work we do and the way we work? 
• The increase in STEM opportunities is happening in all areas of the economy. How have traditional sectors of the economy, such as manufacturing, agri-food, and construction, changed to become technology-intensive? 
• What types of jobs and individual tasks are changing now, and how might they change in the future? Which ones might disappear? 
• What impact will automation and the rise of advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence, have on the future of work? What role do transferable skills such as creativity, collaboration, and technological fluency play in an increasingly automated workplace? 
• How might you adjust or revise your career goals and your education or training plans in response to shifting work trends? How might the pursuit of lifelong learning improve your employment outcomes? What skills will you need to work in current areas of growth? 
• What is the employment outlook in your local region? How might that information guide your decision making? How does the information on Ontario’s labour market website help you determine areas of increasing or declining demand? What other sources can inform your analysis? 
• In your research, what types of employment have you found to be available in your region – contract, seasonal, part-time, or permanent full-time? 
• With the rise of the gig economy, workers will need new protections and services from their governments that were previously supplied by the private sector. How might governments respond to help improve workers’ rights? 
• In the changing world of work, as responsibilities for workers’ health and safety shift, what can you do to look after your own physical, mental, and emotional health in the workplace? How might you communicate information about any accommodations you may need to an employer? How might you advocate for yourself? What are the benefits and/or challenges of doing this? 
• The growing recognition of the importance of equity, diversity, and inclusion in the workforce has led to legislation requiring employers to ensure that workplaces are free from discrimination. How would you know if an employer has met this responsibility? Why would this be important to you? 
• Governments and employers now recognize the need for greater work/life balance, to promote workers’ well-being and improve productivity. Employees are more often able to work remotely or to work on a flexible schedule. Parental leave is supported. What other changes might assist employees in achieving work/life balance?

• Teachers can support students in accessing and using local, provincial, national, and/or global labour market information sources, including the websites of governmental organizations and agencies, workforce planning boards, and human resource and career development organizations. 
• Teachers can support students in learning about the fields or career sectors they are interested in by offering local experiential learning opportunities (e.g., tours of local industries; events with guest speakers who have expertise in entrepreneurship, local industries, or growth sectors). 
• Teachers can encourage students to consult the Ministry of Labour website, which provides useful information about trends and changes in the workplace as well as online learning modules related to worker health and safety.

Transferable skills: critical thinking and problem solving (including acquiring and analysing information before taking informed action); innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship (including exploring, enhancing, and scaling ideas and bringing them into action to meet community needs); self-directed learning (including reflection, self-assessment, and adaptability to support motivation and confidence to become a lifelong learner); collaboration (including working in teams, in physical and virtual environments, to build knowledge); communication (including expressing meaning in multiple ways and in a variety of contexts); global competence (including understanding global and local perspectives, appreciating the diversity of people, and having an ethos of engaged citizenship); technological fluency (including using and applying technology in a legal, safe, and ethically responsible manner to solve problems)

• What is a “transferable skill”? Can you give some examples? 
• What are some transferable skills you have developed at school, in the community, and/or at work? 
• In what ways are critical thinking and problem solving connected? How do you use these skills at home, at school, while working, and/or in the community? 
• What do employers mean when they refer to “soft skills” and “hard skills”? Both are valuable, but why do some employers consider soft skills to be even more valuable than hard skills? How can soft skills support technical skills? 
• Why might innovation and creativity be important in the workplace? How have you been developing these two skills? 
• How might you demonstrate independence and initiative in the workplace while still respecting the protocols of your employer? 
• Can you envision how your communication skills might be transferred to other contexts in the future – for example, in a job that involves engaging with customers, co-workers, and supervisors? How might these skills contribute to the development of your professional etiquette in the workplace [e.g., in interviews, email correspondence, telephone conversations]? 
• Why are cultural awareness and knowledge of other languages important in increasingly globalized work environments? 
• An important transferable skill is global competence – developing a better understanding of local and global perspectives and appreciation for the diversity of people. In Canada, it is important to understand Indigenous histories, cultures, knowledge, and contributions. How might you demonstrate and continue to build better intercultural understanding?

Impact of transferable skills: using problem-solving and teamwork skills helped them conduct investigations related to sustainable ecosystems in their science course; taking initiative in managing time helped them meet deadlines; actively listening and focusing on writing clearly and concisely helped them improve their achievement in history and English; asking effective questions while working on a project revealed new perspectives and creative solutions; using creative thinking skills helped them improve their video game performance; using collaboration skills helped them manage conflict on a team

• Consider the communication skills you have developed so far, both in and outside of school. How would you assess your ability to communicate effectively in various situations? What works and what needs further work? 
• How might you take responsibility and demonstrate initiative when it comes to identifying and getting practice in the skill areas you need to work on in order to succeed in an education or work environment?
• Which transferable skills are your strongest? What evidence do you have to support that idea? What other transferable skills do you think could be useful in your career/ life journey? Why? How might you work on developing these skills?

Teachers can: 

• co-develop criteria with students to help them assess their development of transferable skills; 
• encourage students to use self-reflection and peer feedback to help identify their current strengths and areas for improvement, reminding them of the value of adopting a growth mindset in the process.