Automation and the Future of Tech Careers in Canada: What Students Need to Know

Executive Summary

The Canadian information and communications technology (ICT) sector is experiencing faster artificial intelligence (AI) adoption than other industries. ICT occupations will be among the first to see changes due to automation, impacting how ICT students plan careers and build skills.  

ICT workers report using AI tools to augment and automate a wide range of tasks, most commonly writing documents or emails, writing code, analysing data, debugging, and getting help. In “acceleration mode,” technology workers use AI to complete familiar tasks faster. In “exploration mode,” technology workers learn new skills or ways of solving a problem. Some employers are repurposing staff time in response to automated tasks.  

ICT workers report benefits from AI tools, such as increased efficiency and productivity, quicker learning, and reduced human resource expenses. Despite this, most organizations still struggle to quantify the return on investment of AI tools, or they make do with indicators they know are incomplete. Some organizations are seeing both negative and positive impacts from AI, such as privacy and security concerns, and face mixed results regarding work quality.  

Employer-provided AI policies and training are a noteworthy gap in AI adoption to date. In ICTC’s survey of technology workers, 77% of respondents were allowed to use AI tools to build technology products and services at work. Still, not all their organizations had specific policies for AI tools, a gap which can harm change management and create risks regarding privacy, security, and quality assurance. Only 37% of surveyed ICT workers indicated that their organization provided training on AI tool use. Yet, “limited staff expertise” was the primary barrier hindering organizations from adopting AI tools, impacting 34% of the sample.  

Globally, and in Canada, some employers report reducing their workforces because of AI automation. However, change at the task level is more apparent. One-third of ICT sector survey respondents (31%) reported that AI had automated a task they used to do.  

Projections of how AI will impact ICT occupations predict significant exposure to automation. However, these projections typically do not consider the potential costs of adopting AI to replace human labour, such as expensive externalities introduced by security risks.  

ICTC analysis suggests that many rote, lower-stakes tasks in data, programming, information technology (IT), and helpdesk roles are being automated on a trial basis. These tasks are often held by junior workers. Initial labour market signals for data roles indicate a shift towards demand for more senior positions that involve complex tasks and oversight responsibilities. Labour market analysis also shows stronger demand for back-end or full-stack roles and a decline in demand for front-end occupations like web design. Individuals in software development and engineering roles report taking on front-end tasks and responsibilities using AI. Demand for cybersecurity personnel, user experience professionals, and management-level IT professionals remains strong; however, each of these roles shows a trend toward hiring professionals with more work experience.

Despite AI transforming jobs and responsibilities, employers emphasize that students should still acquire fundamental skills, learn to use AI tools critically, and demonstrate a combination of interpersonal and adaptable technology skills.