This knowledge synthesis report is a response to the call from Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) in September 2020 for proposals to synthesize knowledge related to several themes, among them: Education and Training: Skills, Competences and Lifelong Learning. Literature analyzed here is intended to illuminate the nature of adult education, learning and skills development and forms of work organization as factors in Canada’s innovation performance.

In the World Economic Forum’s 2017-18 Global Competitiveness Survey Canada ranked 23rd on its ‘capacity for innovation’ metric. If this country is to have a prosperous, innovative economy then the skills and ingenuity of its people matter. Skills development opportunities for Canadians beyond formal pre-career education systems are inadequate to meet the demands of a rapidly digitizing economy. It is becoming increasingly clear that Canada’s fragmented approach to adult education is an impediment to labour market flexibility and social mobility on which the digital economy depends.

Canada’s labour market institutions were developed to meet the needs of an industrial economy. The moment has arrived to re-imagine them to support Canada as a learning economy. This report examines the remarkable success of the Danish innovation system. It urges Canadian policymakers to make development of human resources a higher priority by reinvigorating labour market governance arrangements and realigning incentives to meet the needs of a digital economy.