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Ontario Job Futures is a publication which provides information on the current trends and future outlook for about 200 occupations common to Ontario. It is developed by the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, and uses projections developed in collaboration with Employment and Social Development Canada. It is a good source for looking at local employment trends for the short and medium-term future in people's careers.

Interesting article that states that virtual offices are NOT a part of the future!

The forces of the Shift that surrounded the changing face of poverty really interested me. I saw these as being important to my future because of my keen interest in social justice. I can see my future work having to do with helping underprivileged people. This article provides an interest perspective on why the face of the poor is changing, even though between 2005 and 2010 nearly half a billion people escaped $1.25-a-day poverty.

I was inspired by Megan Rowe's post to look up information about transistors. Gratton posit that computing power will continue to increase as it ha now, but I had heard that we were reaching a limitation with transistors, so I looked up more information about this possibility. The exponential increase in computing power has already begun to slow down. Link to annotated version: https://diigo.com/03w8c7

This article discusses the challenges and impacts to the labour and career markets, and provides some techniques and strategies for Human Resource departments within organizations to use to combat and diffuse the impact of global competition. These techniques are crafted for each actor involved within the global issue, and provides advice for the HR departments, as well as managers and individual employees to attempt in order to diminish the outcomes. The article not only emphasizes the importance of managing the organizational structures and its employees, but also highlights the significance of career development to the future of work. The idea that HR departments not only need to manage their current employees, but also must take developmental steps towards implementing a recruiting system that seeks the most talented workers from a global labour pool. The future of work relies on the combined efforts of individuals seeking to become self-aware and pursue their aspirations, with the supportive and developmental efforts of the HR department, to ensure that the future of the workforce is positive and continues to innovate and create new opportunities for employment and employee satisfaction/fulfillment.

"The trend toward "people without jobs, jobs without people" poses the single biggest long-term threat to Canadian economic growth, exacerbating Canada's already lagging productivity and innovation, according to one recent report. " Chris Sorensen; March 19, 2013

Lynda Gratton comments about the future work world of Generation Y- they are a generation that has respect for diversity and human differences, and have grown up educating themselves on climate change and sustainability. This article can build on Gratton's description of Gen Y, as it describes the results of a survey of the attitudes of 546 millenials towards work in their future. The survey results do indeed show that millenials are interested in a work life that supports sustainability and social responsibility, but it adds the differences between male and female Gen Y'ers. The studies find that females are significantly more interested in environmental protection and social responsibility than are most males (more typically interested in profit maximization). While I believe this article may be fairly controversial and polarizing, it's interesting to further study the attitudes of what is my own generation.

This website was used by an entrepreneur I know. Basically it is like the marketplace InnoCentive mentioned in Chapter 5 of The Shift, however it is based around logo design. Basically entrepreneurs put out a call or contest for the logo you would like, with an explanation of what its being used for, who the audience is etc. Then graphic designers place in entries. Once the contest is over you choose your favourite one and they get paid the prize. It costs $29 to start a contest and then whatever you are willing to pay for your prize. My friend who used it was very successful, and as soon as I read about InnoCentive it made me think of this! I can image there will be more websites like this in the future

After finishing up my shift paper this week I thought I'd find a resource that focuses on the future of work and what it holds. This two page article is available in PDF and looks at some issues that Gratton discussed. How technology, demographics and globalization will all impact the working world.

I recently attended a parent student council meeting and the principle indicated that there are a lot of schools paying attention to the works of Dr. Tony Wagner in order to enhance innovation skills within the high schools in Ontario. He also has a book called "Creating Innovators". Really interesting, think I am going to purchase it to read over the holidays!

When I was reading The Shift this week, I found my comprehension of Grafton's technological projections somewhat limited because I don't have a very vast knowledge of current technology. Particularly, she mentioned The Cloud often in the text, and its ability to make technology and software much more accessible and affordable for people across the globe. I needed a simple breakdown of what The Cloud really is, so what better place to go then HowStuffWorks? This article breaks down The Cloud as a "web-based service which hosts all the programs the user would need for her or his job" and highlighted its key aspects in a way that I could fully understand. I like how it also brings up the Dark Side of cloud computing- the inevitability that it will eliminate the need for many IT jobs (a concern that Grafton has also highlighted for the future), and then the issue of privacy (Grafton mentions mistrust of leadership as prevalent in the future). Since dark projections are the topic of the week, its worth thinking about the implications of posting all of our personal information online... Can we trust our governments and multi-nationals with that kind of information?

This is a fascinating video that makes you think about future trends in the world of work. It is an insight into the labour market, which is being overwhelmed with automation and technology. A very interesting video!

Written by Patrick Dixon Futurist Keynote Speaker: Posts, Slides, Videos - Future Emerging Markets, BRICS, Strategy Keynotes Growth of India and China, emerging markets threat and opportunities The truth about the speed, scale and unstoppable momentum of business process outsourcing and offshoring. What will be the net impact of outsourcing on American and European economies? What I found interesting was that the speaker/writer points out that the cost savings of outsourcing diminish constantly due to salary inflation, and companies will have to continue to look for cheaper labour (eg Pakistan). My question is what happens to the people and infrastructure created in one country when a company decides to move operation to another cheaper country? Will they be worse-off or better?

Hi everyone! :) This is an interesting article I found on Workopolis regarding workplace trends. It discusses what the authors believe will be some of the "in demand" jobs in the future. This article also links to a similar but useful page (linked below) that discusses some of the jobs that will likely become obsolete in the 10 -20 years. http://www.workopolis.com/content/advice/article/workopolis-2013-research-ten-jobs-that-will-not-exist-ten-years-from-now/

A very interesting article to read and reflect on prior to working as an employment counsellor, as many clients have worked, currently work, or will work in precarious employment relationships. The article defines precarious employment, gives a brief history, and provides great insight into why precarious employment is on the rise. It includes a study of about 400 workers in precarious employment in Ontario, and outlines the negative health benefits. Some of these include uncertainties in the following areas: uncertainty of future work, of level of income/ benefits, location of work, schedule, workload uncertainty, etc., which ultimately lead to negative effects in people's mental and physical health.

This is an extended excerpt from a book about the evolution of capitalism. I really liked how it got me thinking about the workings of capitalism and linked up with last week's readings about the future of work and the global market, and the need to look at things differently.

Of course an online quiz is no substitute for proper counselling, but this resource can help people to start thinking about whether their work/life balance in working for them or whether they should consider changes so they can get the most from their career. I chose this resource not only because of this week's discussion post topic, but also because of Chapter 6 of The Shift, where a healthy work/life balance is shown to be an essential part of the Crafted Future narrative.

Join a global learning community to create, connect, and collaborate with students around the globe. Skillshare offers online classes to fit your schedule with bite-sized lessons from industry leaders that will help you turn ideas into action. Lynda Gratton mentions in "The Shift" that in the future we will have to differentiate ourselves from the crowd by creating a body of knowledge and skills to achieve mastery, as well as connecting with others around the world.