The world of work is changing at a rapid rate. Social, technological, economic, environmental, and political forces are shaping all aspects of our working world. For young adults living with a disability who are entering and advancing within the labour market, the changing nature of work can create barriers and facilitators to their employment. Actionable insights are required that can anticipate potential changes in the future of work and be used to develop responsive labour market policies and programs that promote inclusion for young adults living with a disability.
In the fall of 2022, the Institute for Work & Health (IWH) and Lahn & Co Consulting set out to examine how working life could change in Canada over the next seven years and what the implications might be for young adults with a disability. To do that, the team developed scenarios — narratives describing the ways things might meaningfully change in the future. The scenarios were generated using established strategic foresight methods to identify drivers of change and important signals.
Each scenario explores a plausible future that could arise and the work-related opportunities and challenges it would present for young persons living with a disability. The aim of generating alternative scenarios is to support strategic discussions among policy-makers, employers, disability service providers and other decision-makers regarding how the future of work might emerge and impact young persons living with a disability.
This report shares these three scenarios and the research methods used to develop them.