1.3 Past the Pandemic – the 4th Industrial Revolution

Key Insights

• Harnessing smart technologies, artificial intelligence, and vast pools of data 
• Economic recovery won’t be as fast as the consumer and social changes that are hitting every business and community
• It is estimated that even with modest recovery, the Canadian economy will operate below pre-crisis levels until 2022, and the loss of economic output for Canada may exceed $500 billion
• 2021 will be a recovery year
• Entrepreneurs will find pearls of opportunity
• With unprecedented times come unprecedented opportunities

Covid-19 & the early arrival of the future of work

Campus Recruiting Forum Conference

Re-designing Career Services for Virtual Delivery

Panelists: Jan Basso, AVP: Experiential Learning, Wilfred Laurier University; Frances Humphreys, AD: Career Development, Wilfred Laurier University

Winning at Virtual Interviews

Kendra Kelly, Lead Campus Recruiter, A-LIGN

Economists agree that the pandemic has hastened the uptake of the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR) which is characterized by the fusion of the digital, biological, and physical worlds, as well as the growing utilization of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing, robotics, 3D printing, the Internet of Things, and advanced wireless technologies.

Impacts on society

• How We Work – More home-offices, more blended workforce:
  • New agreements between employers and employees to share costs and benefits of home-based work models.
  • Employers to invest in distributed tools and technologies to retain talent and enhance productivity.
  • Friction between employers and employees over terms and conditions of remote work. Half of employees are now working from home, and the will expect to maintain at least a hybrid model, while far fewer employers want to continue with current arrangements.
• How We Shop – More shipping, more local, more driving.
• How We Watch – More bingeing, more culture, more global.
• How We Share – More bandwidth, more data, more hacks.
• How We Travel – More local, more modest, more active.
• How We Heal – More protection, more screening, more spending.
• How We Learn – More remote, more personal, more interactive.
• How We Trade – More protectionism, more techno-nationalism, higher prices.