By: Krista Henry 

How Gen Z talent can provide future-ready skills needed to succeed

In current economic times, many organizations are trying to stay afloat. For savvy, future-ready organizations, shifting into thriving mode is possible with the right talent. The World Economic Forum’s (WEF), 2023 Future of Jobs report paints a gloomy picture about talent availability in the next five years.

According to the report, a skills gap and inability to attract talent are key barriers preventing industry transformation. To overcome these barriers, organizations are improving talent progression and promotion processes as key business practices. Organizations believe these practices will increase talent availability — ahead of offering higher wages, reskilling and upskilling.

Generation Z, those born after 1996, have surpassed baby boomers in the workforce. Today, they have a great impact on how work gets done. For companies hiring emerging Gen Z talent, like co-op students and interns, the future is looking optimistic. These students can help build a sustainable talent strategy to fill junior roles and progress within an organization.

Can Gen Z help tackle the future of work?

Raised in a digital world, Gen Z’s lives revolve around technology. They experience ongoing climate change and racial injustice. These factors, as well as their values, have a lot of impact on the jobs they want to fill and the skills they have developed. According to the WEF’s report, having the right skills plays a central role in the future of work. 

Here are five takeaways from the WEF report and how Gen Z talent can assist your organization.

1. Gen Z can drive technology adoption for business transformation.

WEF reports: Technology adoption will remain a key driver of business transformation in the next five years. More than 85 per cent of organizations identified increased adoption of new and frontier technologies and broadening digital access as trends to drive transformation.

Our input: Gen Z is equipped to assist or improve an organization’s digital transformation. Dr. Norah McRae, associate provost of University of Waterloo’s Co-operative and Experiential Education, notes this in the article Why Gen Z could be the answer to your workforce woes.

McRae says Gen Z uses technology to be more entrepreneurial, better problem solvers and bigger thinkers who have an outsized impact on businesses, even early in their careers.

Illustration of three key drivers of job change: green transition, technology and economic outlook.

2. Gen Z can fill upcoming environmental roles created.

WEF reports: The largest job creation effects will come from environmental, technology and economic trends. The strongest net job creation will be investments to the green transition of businesses. This means adoption of environment, social and governance (ESG) standards with supply chains becoming more localized and climate change adaptations made.

Our input: Focusing on sustainability and ESG is key to Gen Z, says research from Waterloo’s Work-Learn Institute (WxL). Before working at a company, Gen Z will look at the company’s ESG goals and performance.

Waterloo offers programs such as Climate and Environmental Change, Environment and Business, Environment, Resources and Sustainability – to name a few.

This equips Waterloo co-op students with the knowledge and work experience to make a difference in roles such as sustainability specialists, renewable energy co-op engineers, system co-op engineers and business intelligence analysts. 

3. Big data, cloud computing and AI? No problem for Gen Z.

WEF reports: Within technology adoption, big data, cloud computing and AI feature highly on likelihood of adoption. More than 75 per cent of companies are looking to adopt these technologies in the next five years.

Digital platforms and apps are expected to be more incorporated within this time.

Our input: The University of Waterloo has world-class tech talent, according to Tech Talent Canada. As the 22nd best computer science university globally, Waterloo has nearly 5,400 Gen Z undergraduate students enrolled in Computer Science, Computer Engineering and Software Engineering programs.

Waterloo co-op students already work in roles such as AI engineers, data analysts, machine learning specialists, cloud computing co-op engineers and much more. 

4. Gen Z has future-ready skills you’ll need. 

WEF reports: Analytical thinking and creative thinking remain the most important skills for workers in 2023. More companies rank analytical thinking a core skill than any other skill, while creative thinking ranks second. In third place are self-efficacy skills such as resilience, flexibility and agility; motivation and self-awareness; and curiosity and lifelong learning.

Our input: In 2020, Waterloo launched the Future Ready Talent Framework (FRTF), a WxL's research-backed tool to help students, employers and educators understand the key competencies to navigate the future of work. The WEF’s important skills align with WxL’s research framework. Waterloo co-op students have long cultivated these skills through regular evaluations and will enter the workforce prepared to be future-ready. 

5. Gen Z can help meet and support diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) priorities.

WEF reports: Under organizational transformation and labour market transitions, organizations are to play a more prominent role in advancing social justice and DEI. 

More than two-thirds of organizations surveyed have a DEI program. Globally, women are the most common priority with youth from Gen Z second.

Our input: Gen Z is the most diverse group to ever enter the workforce. When considering whether they want to work for an organization, WxL research says Gen Z prioritizes a culture built on supporting growth and individuality. 

According to WxL, organizations can attract Gen Z through practices such as offering unconscious bias training, implementing blind recruitment practices and looking beyond Canadian experience among other best practices. 

What’s next?

  • The transformation of jobs and skills has significant impacts on businesses, governments and workers worldwide.
  • According to the WEF, it is crucial to identify the appropriate talent to promote growth and make informed decisions on managing the significant disruptions to jobs and skills alike.
  • Bringing Gen Z workers into the labour force now, when they’re early in their careers, is the solution to both pieces of this puzzle.