The skills Canadian employers are looking for in the age of AI

Data analytics helps companies do everything from reducing equipment downtime to improving supply chain management, customer satisfaction and fraud detection. For example, research by IBM suggests there’s a significant opportunity for Canadian companies to combine improved data analytics with cybersecurity to reduce the costs of data breaches. Canada’s losses are currently the third-highest in the world, with the average cost per incident approaching $7 million.

The market for training people in data analytics is dominated by b-schools, but anyone can learn hands-on technical skills in the field with introductory courses—online or in-person—at universities, colleges and coding bootcamps. A part-time program at a top Canadian business school will typically cost $3,000 to $4,000 dollars—although keep in mind employers will commonly pick up the tab. Specialized business degrees, including MBAs and masters of management analytics, have also emerged that teach business administration through a data-driven lens, with tuition ranging from $20,000 to more than $45,000 for domestic students. 

What customer experience (CX) has to do with Canada’s economy

As more customer relationships move online, or are at least intermediated by technologies from email automation to chatbots and AI assistants, it makes sense that customer experience (CX) would be top of mind for business leaders. Customer experience involves thinking through the entire customer journey from the moment they discover a brand to long after they make a purchase.

Customer experience, like so many other emerging disciplines on this list, touches many different fields, including marketing, data analytics, and user experience (UX) design, to name a few. Combining user experience design skills with a deep understanding of your customers’ online behaviour, for example, could unlock significant opportunities for Canadian companies to spend their advertising dollars more efficiently. A systematic and measured approach to customer experience is also helping some companies overcome the productivity slump. 

Companies considered “customer experience (CX) leaders,” according to consulting firm McKinsey, have in fact achieved more than two times the growth of their competition since 2016 based on one study of 75 companies.

E-commerce giant, Amazon, is a prime example of a company that can unlock millions of dollars by making relatively small changes to its customer experience. Easy and intuitive web navigation, personalized recommendations next to product searches, and a hassle-free return process are just a few things Canadian e-commerce companies can invest in to increase sales and improve customer loyalty. 

Customer experience is less well represented in college and university course catalogues than, say, data analytics and digital transformation—but courses in user experience, customer relationship management, and marketing that focus on measuring customer sentiment and improving the overall user experience can help businesses uncover significant productivity gains. Courses are available from a few hundred dollars at local colleges to nearly $15,000 for part-time intensive bootcamps that, for example, help would-be founders and product designers build new prototypes from scratch.  

Is Canada ready for Artificial intelligence (AI)?

Ever since ChatGPT took off in late 2022, AI has been more than a hot topic in boardrooms across Canada and beyond. Executives may not need to study machine learning or be able to design algorithms, but they should understand how AI can reduce or eliminate manual work and predict future business outcomes.