Unlocking the untapped productivity of Canada’s human capital

Numerous factors are influencing Canada’s productivity, including inadequate capital investment and an unfavourable business environment. However, boosting productivity starts with people.

The Productivity Project, a new series of six reports, aims to unpack those challenges and provide solutions to fix the significant gaps between the skills the workforce supplies and those industry demands.

The study is a collaboration of experts from academia, industry and policy. Together, they address a pivotal question: How can human capital drive Canada’s productivity?

Reports 3 through 6 have now been released, following the initial release of Reports 1 and 2 earlier this year.

Report 3 – Unlocking productivity: The human capital supply chain

Regional competitiveness has shifted from natural resources to human capital, yet Canada’s learning and labour systems remain rooted in outdated, industrial-era models.

  • STAT: 39% of the global labour force will require retraining in the next five years

To address growing mismatches between skills supply and demand, this report proposes the Regional Open Loop Network (ROLN)—a collaborative, adaptive human capital supply chain.

Report 4 – Untapped potential: Mapping the open learning system

Report 4 maps the human capital ecosystem through three audits—demand, supply and learning capacity. The result shows a disconnect between the supply and demand of human capital.

  • STAT: Canada ranks first among OECD countries for postsecondary completion; Canada ranks 18th in labour productivity among OECD countries.

The study presents a series of recommendations to enhance alignment, unlock the learning system’s capacity and tap the full potential of every citizen.

Report 5 – Finding people: A risk management view of hiring

Hiring is a risk management challenge in today’s volatile labour markets. Employers increasingly rely on outdated proxies—degrees, certifications and references—that fail to predict job performance, creating inefficiency, bias and uncertainty.

  • STAT: 90% of positions from the 1940s to 1980s were filled internally; 30% of positions today are filled internally.

The solution is a Labour Market Passport: a dynamic, decentralized, open, and harmonized system for verifying competencies, experiences and credentials.

Report 6 – Path to open learning: A policy framework for enabling incumbents and empowering new entrants

The final report of Series 1 argues that postsecondary education in Canada functions as a natural monopoly that is structurally resistant to innovation and misaligned with the dynamic needs of the labour market.

  • STAT: U.S. airline prices decreased 30% after the removal of natural monopoly protections; customer satisfaction increased 26% after competition was introduced in Scotland’s water market.

Drawing lessons from infrastructure deregulation, the authors propose an open learning policy toolkit: AI navigators, labour market passports, open recognition, personal learning accounts, mentoring networks, unbundled infrastructure, market regulation and a coordinating body.

The research is a collaboration between the Canada West Foundation, Mount Royal University’s Institute for Community Prosperity, Alberta Centre for Labour Market Research, and LearningCITY Collective.