I have never used the trigonometry I sweated over in high school. But even back in the eighties, I sensed my high school was lagging behind, that we should have been learning about those new things called “computers.”
At the time, people worried that computers would take our jobs. And they did replace some. But the information revolution also created entirely new kinds of work: software developers, IT technicians, web designers, and countless other jobs that barely existed before computers moved into the mainstream.
Now we are at another major inflection point.
I may not remember much trigonometry, but I do remember the concept of “exponential.” And the age of artificial intelligence feels exponentially more disruptive than the computer age.
AI is already changing the workplace. Some jobs are disappearing. More surely will. And new ones, like AI governance, AI integration, and AI ethics are being created. But it’s hard to imagine that those jobs will come anywhere close to replacing all those that may be lost.
That can feel discouraging.
Then, as I considered asking AI to draw up plans for some raised garden beds I had decided to build, I was confronted with a simple reality: I would still be the one holding the hammer.
AI can only help so far.
Human hands are wondrous creations. That is not news to anyone who already works with theirs. But for too long, we have treated university education as the gold standard, while skilled trades were too often seen as a fallback.
Canada needs housing, infrastructure upgrades, energy projects, more efficient transportation, and increased defence capacity. The federal government’s new Team Canada Strong program aims to recruit and train up to 100-thousand trades workers over the next five years.
The $6 billion price tag sounds like a smart investment.
The future may be digital. But homes, roads, hospitals, and data centres are still built by human hands.
If I were choosing a career today, I’d become a plumber, electrician, AND carpenter. That sounds like job security to me.
Jackie Rourke