Digital Policy Salon: Soft Skills and Hard Facts

We will be hosting several high-profile speakers, such as Dr. Roberta Bondar – First Canadian Woman in Space, Hon. Perrin Beatty – President and CEO for the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Ron Keller – Expert on International Financial, Economic and Geopolitical Matters, and Johan Rockström – Internationally Recognized Scientist on Global Sustainability Issues. With over 50 speakers, I expect there will be ample content you will find of value.

We encourage you to check out our summit website for all the details: https://horizon.ictc-ctic.ca

Secure your virtual seat today 💡

By Khiran O’Neill and Faun Rice

What are soft skills and why does the language we use to describe them matter?

At ICTC, a portion of our work consists of labour market research in the digital economy. We are also a capacity building organization, meaning that we strive to better prepare the workforce for the digital economy. In this work, “skills” are often a central topic. What skills do employees need to succeed? What skillsets do employers have trouble hiring? What new skills will allow people to work more effectively?

When skills are discussed, there’s often a de facto division between “hard” and “soft” skills. Hard skills are frequently assumed to be learned, technical, and testable (for example, computer programming or bookkeeping), while soft skills are typically contrasted as non-technical traits and difficult to measure objectively (for example, leadership or enthusiasm).

Many HR experts suggest soft skills are gaining the upper hand over hard skills. Skills like empathy and creativity have received much praise in the workplace, and employers want these skills. Occupations requiring good social skills are becoming more common and have even been described as critical for the future of work.

While the concept is an important one, we’re especially interested in the use of the term “soft skills.” This blog post isn’t about the importance of “soft skills” themselves — we think that they’re absolutely critical — but rather the words people use to describe them.

Despite growing acclaim for soft skills, the term itself has met significant criticism. One critic notes that the term “perpetuates the assumption, bias, and habit of thinking that soft equals expendable.” The Career Industry Council of Australia describes the term as “out-of-date and confusing,” “inaccurate” and “gender-biased.”

In our work at ICTC, we’ve heard similar, though mixed, feedback from educators, labour market analysts, and recruiters. HR specialists we’ve spoken with suggest alternate terms like “human skills,” “life skills,” or “non-technical skills” as a replacement.

Similarly, ICTC’s capacity building team has considered whether “soft” is the right word to describe the skills training they provide. Soft, human, or life skills are critical for success in the labour market. They don’t “expire” in the same way that technical skills can, and they can make or break the experience of a team. Conversely, the word “soft” may devalue these skills. Craig Murrell, Curriculum Designer & Facilitator at ICTC, says,

ICTC continues to evaluate the value and impacts of soft skills on business and the economy and has recently developed a learning program titled AIM (Agile Industry Mindset) to help workers and businesses achieve better outcomes and positive change for tomorrow’s economy.

Read the full article here 📝

Once upon a time, there was an apple. It was born from a beautiful blossom in May on an apple tree. Since the day it was born, the apple was dreaming of becoming big and sweet, and one day, it hoped to be able to satisfy someone’s hunger. The apple was growing and getting bigger and bigger, until it got red and ripe, and was picked by a farmer in September. The farmer then placed the apple into a box along with all its friends, and that’s where the apple’s journey began. It was loaded into a truck and transported to a shelf in a grocery store. One day in the grocery store, someone fell in love with it, put it in their basket, brought it home, and introduced it to new friends living in a fruit bowl on the countertop. The apple was anxiously waiting for the day when someone would pick it up and eat it. Its mission would then be complete. But something did not go according to the apple’s plan. The apple stayed in the fruit bowl for a day, a week, a month, until it got wrinkled and lost its appeal. The apple was not loved anymore and, one day, it was thrown away into the garbage. Sorry, this story did not have a happy ending, like a lot of other avoidable food waste stories.

Have you ever thought about how much food waste you produce? Have you ever investigated where that wasted food goes and what the consequences are for the environment and economy? How can technological innovation help? Do you think that you can make a difference?

Countries around the world are concerned about the high percentage of food waste and are looking for solutions to reduce it. A recent report by ICTC, Canadian Agri-Food Technology: Sowing the Seeds for Tomorrow, shows that technology plays a fascinating role in the agriculture sector and how prioritized investments in agri-food technological innovation and digitization can become a solution to the waste problem.

Read the full article here 📝

By Trevor Quan and Mansharn Toor

On September 8, 2021, the Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC) hosted the fourth in a series of engagement events focused on capturing what smart cities mean for communities across Canada. The event’s participants represented telecommunications companies, post-secondary institutions, industry associations, municipalities, and companies (including both technology and energy monitoring fields), and came from diverse professional backgrounds: research officers, managers, enterprise architects, security analysts, and software developers.

In recent years, Regina has made great strides in sustainability, with a commitment to 100% renewable energy by 2050. Additionally, the city is establishing itself as a testing hub for new technology, as a means to spur innovation. With priorities like agriculture, energy, electrical vehicles, and retail, Regina, is on its way to implementing a smart city strategy that makes it more livable, sustainable, and connected.

Other themes that emerged among participants were innovation and collaboration, infrastructure, mobility, digital citizenship, and the environment. These themes are discussed in more detail in the full article.

Read the full article here 📝

The Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC) would like to invite business leaders and newcomers throughout the province for a mix and mingle event on November 29th at 3 pm MT. This event will host presentations from Albertan newcomers, ERIEC: Edmonton Region Immigrant Employment Council, and Kudos’ Director of People, Anette Ceraficki. Join us for an opportunity to engage with industry leaders and international talent with the goal of forging new relationships, uncovering opportunities, and advancing Alberta’s talent supply.

​​This mix and mingle event will provide:

Register today 🗓

A third of American workers do gig work. In the third part of our series, The Future of Work, learn how the pandemic helped them discover their power.

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the growth of the gig economy (such as food delivery) and taken newfound importance given local lockdowns. However, the mismatch between the lack of protection afforded to gig workers and the widespread messaging of being ‘essential workers’ or pandemic heroes helped motivate greater activism. Partially spurred by safety concerns and lack of action from authorities, many gig workers in NYC organized community groups to communicate and coordinate. These were empowered both by close ties from immigrant communities as well as the use of social media and group messaging platforms like WhatsApp. While these efforts were recognized as minor progress in furthering gig worker protections, this has been overshadowed by larger battles over worker classifications, such as those seen in California. While a judge has ruled that California’s gig workers law that treats workers as independent contractors is unconstitutional and unenforceable, this is likely to take years to resolve. In the meantime, gig worker-owned co-operatives are seen as a way of improving the conditions and powers of individual workers performing these services.  - Trevor Quan

Calgary is experiencing a boom in its information technology (IT) industry, with more than one large tech company planning to set up shop in the city.

In June, India-based global tech company Mphasis announced it would open its Canadian headquarters in Calgary, creating up to 1,000 jobs.

Earlier this month, Amazon Web Services (AWS) — the cloud division of tech giant Amazon — said it plans to open a cloud computing hub near Calgary that will bring billions of dollars of investment to the region. 

Finally, there’s Plug and Play Alberta — a tech accelerator that’s setting up its headquarters in Calgary and aiming to help connect local startups with Silicon Valley. The company is getting up to $7 million from the City of Calgary over the next five years, according to a news release from the city issued last Tuesday. 

But with all this investment in Calgary’s tech industry, is there enough talent in Alberta to meet the increased demand for IT workers?

Two years ago, ICTC suggested that growth in demand for core digital economy jobs in Alberta would outpace supply. More recently, ICTC’s Onwards and Upwards: Digital Talent Outlook 2025 suggested that employment demand in Alberta’s digital economy could reach approximately 203,000 jobs by 2025. With the recent developments noted in this article, Alberta’s digital economy may be ramping up even further. While the article highlights potential talent gaps, in the longer term, availability of tech roles in the city (and province) may inspire more people to enter training and education suited for tech. - Khiran O'Neill