Kevin Stolarick is a Visiting Researcher and Provocateur at OCAD University in Toronto, Canada and a Senior Research Associate at the Diversity Institute at Ryerson University. Dubbed the “Official Statistician of the Creative Class”, Kevin combines expertise on cities, inclusion, urbanization, statistics, design, and economic development with an appreciation of the importance of finding and sharing the knowledge or “pearls of wisdom” gained from leveraging his research, writing, management and organizational skills. 

In this episode of Workforce Central Canada, Kevin and Ron discuss micro-credentials, the future of work, the economics of diversity and inclusion in work, and more.  

Highlights: 

•	Micro credentials are increasingly useful way to demonstrate to employers you have the skills they want. Credentials should be transferrable to allow learners to transfer them from one employer to another.  
•	Post-secondary education may have a limited lifespan because there are other more efficient ways to gain skills. 
•	Not recognizing the prior learning of many Canadian immigrants greatly limits their employment opportunities. 
•	Kevin touches on the positive effects of diversity and inclusion on economic development.

Workforce Central Canada Episode 9: Kevin Stolarick

This episode features an interview with Earl Anthony Wayne, An accomplished diplomat and executive, Ambassador Wayne has served in a wide variety of positions during his career, including as U.S. Ambassador to Mexico and Argentina, Deputy Ambassador in Afghanistan, Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs, and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Europe. In this episode, he discusses where the U.S. ranks when it comes to preparing for the workforce challenges of tomorrow, the skills that workers will need, and the need to understand the global supply chain.

Episode 10:  Earl Anthony Wayne: North American Workforce Development

In this podcast, Brock Dickinson, an Adjunct Professor and Entrepreneur-in-Residence with the University of Waterloo, asks the question “how we do prepare students and workers for this new reality where big data and artificial intelligence (AI) have reshaped the world of economic development?” A major distinction between capitalism and socialism has always been over the notion of who owns the means of production. Brock dives into how AI and automation transformed not just the manufacturing sector, but professional occupations and industries.

Workforce Central Canada

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