BioTalent Canada is launching a new program, BioReady™ Ontario, to address two interconnected challenges affecting Ontario’s bio-economy: building a skilled workforce and the adoption of emerging technologies like AI.
BioTalent Canada’s 2021 labour market study projected that Canada’s bio-economy would require 65,000 additional workers by 2029, with particularly severe pressure in manufacturing and production. At the same time, employers are under growing pressure to adopt digital technologies and artificial intelligence to increase productivity and remain competitive.
“AI is not a replacement for the talent our sector needs. It is a tool that can help people work more effectively while employers continue the essential work of recruiting, developing and retaining a highly skilled workforce,” says Rob Henderson, President and CEO, BioTalent Canada. “BioReady Ontario links training to real workplace experience so employers can build confidence in new talent and strengthen their workforce for the long term.”
The Ontario-focused initiative will provide role-specific generative AI for biomanufacturing (a manufacturing process that uses living cells to produce commercial products) and digital-skills training to 800 participants, including incumbent workers and unemployed or underemployed job seekers. Up to 200 participants will complete a 40-hour applied AI micro-credential, and 200 job seekers will take part in 16-week work-integrated learning placements with Ontario biomanufacturing employers.
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BioTalent Canada’s experience with work-integrated learning provides a useful context for that approach. In results from its Student Work Placement Program, 70 percent of surveyed employers indicated they would consider hiring their program participant for a long-term role after the placement; 98.6 percent said they would participate in the program again; and 99 percent said the placement benefited their company.
Recent Canadian evidence also supports a people-first approach to AI. The Bank of Canada reported that almost 90 percent of businesses that adopted AI saw no effect on staffing levels. Statistics Canada has found that AI’s productivity potential depends on complementary capabilities, including employee training, data analytics, cloud computing and broader organizational change.
Delivered in partnership with Propero Learning Systems Inc., Keyin College and participating Ontario employers, the program will combine short-course learning, applied micro-credentialing and workplace experience. Training will focus on safe and effective workplace use, digital skills and technology adoption, with content informed by employer needs.
The initiative will support Ontario’s bio-health, bio-industrial, agri-bio and bio-energy subsectors. It will prioritize participation from underrepresented groups and use ongoing monitoring and evaluation to support measurable employment and workplace outcomes.
Source: Businesswire