A plateau in training: Canada’s skills gap widens as participation stalls

Canada’s efforts to build a more adaptable workforce are confronting an uncomfortable reality. New data from Statistics Canada show that only 29.7% of workers participated in job-related training over the last year, almost unchanged from 30.3% two years earlier. At a time when the economy is slowing, automation is accelerating, and skill requirements are shifting across nearly every sector, the numbers suggest a training system that is struggling to keep pace with the country’s needs.

The stagnation comes despite repeated calls from policymakers, employers, and economists for stronger investments in upskilling and reskilling. Canada already ranks behind most peer economies in per-capita spending on workforce training, trailing countries such as Germany, Denmark, and even the United States on employer-funded training, public reskilling programs, and adult education investments. After years of underinvestment, a flat participation rate means the country is not closing the gap; it is widening.

The consequences are becoming more visible. Labour market churn is rising as industries tied to consumer spending, real estate, and administrative work retrench. At the same time, shortages persist in healthcare, skilled trades, energy transition roles, and digital occupations. The market is splitting between workers whose skills are aligned with emerging demand and those whose roles risk erosion as technology advances and public sector restructuring accelerates. Without higher training uptake, more Canadians may find themselves on the wrong side of that divide.

The challenge is not only the volume of training, but its accessibility. A significant share of Canadian workers still lack employer-supported pathways into upskilling, and many smaller firms offer little structured training of their own. Cost, time constraints, and lack of awareness continue to limit participation. Workers in part-time, temporary, or lower-wage roles, who are most exposed to technological displacement, are also the least likely to receive training support. The result is a system that reinforces inequality rather than reducing it.

For employers, the stagnation signals important structural risk. A cooling labour market may increase the number of available jobseekers, but without sufficient training channels, the supply does not necessarily align with demand. The paradox is becoming clearer: even as unemployment edges upward, employers continue to report difficulty securing workers with the right technical and digital skills. The gap is not in labour quantity, but in labour readiness.

Staffing firms and workforce intermediaries are positioned at a critical juncture in this environment. The plateau in training participation highlights a growing need for organizations that can identify skill mismatches early, guide workers toward targeted learning, and help employers navigate a market where hiring alone cannot solve talent shortages. As more companies face constraints in attracting pre-trained candidates, partnerships with training providers, including micro-credential programs, bridge-training models, and rapid upskilling bootcamps will become increasingly central to recruitment strategies.

Canada’s training inertia comes at a moment when other countries are accelerating. The United Kingdom recently boosted spending on adult skills programs; Germany expanded dual-training initiatives; Singapore continues to invest heavily in lifelong learning subsidies. These systems treat training as economic infrastructure: an essential component of productivity, innovation, and labour market resilience. Canada’s comparatively modest investment leaves its workforce more vulnerable during economic transitions.

The data now make clear that the country is entering a critical phase. Without a significant increase in training uptake supported by employers, governments, and industry, the skills gap will continue to widen, placing downward pressure on productivity and limiting competitiveness. The labour market is shifting, but training participation is not. The mismatch is growing too large to ignore.

In the months ahead, renewed investments in reskilling, credential recognition, and employer-led training models will determine whether Canada can realign its workforce with emerging opportunities. Otherwise, the plateau in participation may become a ceiling; one that restricts growth at the very moment the economy needsadaptability the most.