Future Education and Career Paths

It’s back-to-school season, which means a lot of Canadian families are thinking about more than supplies and schedules. AI is changing school and careers at the same time, and it’s worth asking whether the education system most of us grew up with still fits the careers our kids will actually have. This report takes a real look at how well the current system is working, and how Canadians are actually preparing for what comes next.

Is your child ready for a career that doesn’t exist yet?

A new survey from Embark, Canada’s digital RESP and education savings company, and Angus Reid found something surprising. Almost every Canadian expects jobs to change a lot over the next 25 years, but almost nobody feels ready for it. Only 20% think today’s kids are being prepared for the careers of 2050, even though 86% expect the skills employers want to change significantly. Here’s what Canadians told us about school, AI, careers, and saving for the future, and what it means for your family.

Key takeaways

• 86% of Canadians expect the skills employers value to change significantly over the next 25 years, but only 20% think today’s kids are being prepared for it.
• Trade school and apprenticeships (50% combined) now beat university (37% combined) as the top way Canadians think a child should prepare for a career in 2050.
• Only 15% of Canadians would trust AI to help pick a career, even though most expect AI to reshape the job market.
• Gen Z feels calmer about all of this than older generations: just 74% are concerned about education costs, compared to 82% of Canadians overall.
• 59% of Canadians think they’ll need to save more for school because of AI, compared to just 6% who think they’ll need to save less.

Parents can’t control how fast the school system changes. But they can control whether their child has room to pivot, retrain, or choose a different path when the moment comes. An RESP is one way to build in that kind of flexibility.

Future Education Paths

Before we get to careers, here’s how Canadians feel about school itself, from cost to AI in the classroom. These are the pieces that shape whether people trust the system to prepare kids at all.

Are Canadians concerned about the future of education?

Canadians are worried about more than just tuition. 82% are concerned about the cost of school, and 83% aren’t sure it’s worth the investment. AI adds another layer of doubt: 84% worry it could make degrees less valuable, and 86%, the biggest number of all, aren’t confident graduates will have the skills employers actually need.

This worry shows up almost everywhere, but a few patterns stand out. Manitoba and Saskatchewan feel it most on cost, with 92% concerned in each province. Quebec worries less than the rest of the country on every single measure, and Gen Z is the least concerned generation too, though even they’re mostly worried.

Where is AI already changing the classroom?

Ask Canadians where AI is already showing up in school, and there’s no single answer. Testing and grading come up most (25%), followed closely by worries about whether a degree still holds its value (23%), how well students retain what they learn (22%), and how courses are taught in the first place (21%). Very few people point to tuition cost or admissions, so this isn’t really about money. It’s about how school works.

Younger Canadians notice AI most in testing and personalized learning, while older Canadians notice it more in how courses are taught. Saskatchewan stands out with unusually high concern about degree value, and Quebec and Atlantic Canada are more likely than the rest of the country to say AI is changing career counselling.

The cost of education

Rather than making school cheaper, AI is being priced in as one more reason it’s about to get more expensive. 59% of Canadians expect people will need to save more for school because of AI. Only 6% think they’ll need to save less. Where you live seems to shape how urgent this feels.

• Alberta (69%) and Atlantic Canada (68%) are the most likely in the country to think people will need to save more because of AI
• Ontario (63%) isn’t far behind
• Quebec stands apart at just 46%, the only region where less than half of people feel that pressure

Age follows a similar pattern:

• Boomers (65%) are far more convinced they’ll need to save more than Gen Z (49%)
• Gen Z is also the generation most likely to say they’re simply not sure yet (14%)

The AI era isn’t lowering the cost of preparing kids for the future. It’s raising it. That makes Embark’s core message, start early and save consistently, more relevant now than ever.

Future career paths

The other half of the story is what kids should actually prepare for, and how Canadians think they should get there. This is where trades and apprenticeships come back into focus.

What education path will best prepare kids for a career in 2050?

For years, university was seen as the safest bet. That’s changed. Trade or vocational school is now the single most popular answer on its own, chosen by 41% of Canadians.

• Trade or vocational school: 41%
• University graduate or professional program: 24%
• University undergraduate degree: 13%
• Community college or CEGEP diploma: 12%
• Apprenticeship program: 9%

Add trade school and apprenticeship together, and trades beat university as the top choice, 50% to 37%. Support for trades is strongest in British Columbia and Atlantic Canada. The generational pattern is almost a straight line: the older someone is, the more likely they are to pick trades, with Gen X the strongest supporters. Gen Z breaks that pattern entirely, favouring university by a wide margin, and Quebec leans toward university more than any other region.

Gen Z, the generation that is currently being the most impacted by this shift, is also the least anxious about cost and the most confident they’ll be ready for it. Embark is built to match that same confidence, with an easy, digital way to save that fits however a young family wants to plan.

What will the job market look like by 2050?

Canadians agree they’ll need to keep learning throughout their careers, not just once at the start. 80% think Canadians will need to invest more in education and training over time. But there’s real doubt about whether AI is actually good for jobs overall: only 20% think AI creates as many jobs as it takes away, while 61% disagree.

Older Canadians are a bit more convinced AI evens out in the end. Quebec disagrees with that the least, and is also the region least convinced that more training investment is needed. Atlantic Canada is the most skeptical that more investment is needed.

Can you trust AI to make a career choice for you?

Even with AI creating new kinds of jobs, Canadians draw a clear line between working alongside AI and letting it make decisions for them. Just 15% would trust AI to help make a career decision, and only 1% would trust it completely. Trust barely changes with age. Gen X shows the most trust of any generation, and Millennials the least. Manitoba and Saskatchewan trust AI the least, while Quebec and British Columbia trust it the most, though even there, trust stays low.

Careers in 2050

Careers are likely to shift over the next 25 years for more reasons than AI alone. An aging population, the move toward clean energy, a shortage of skilled trades workers, and the rise of environmental jobs are all playing a part. A few fields stand out.

• AI, data, and machine learning: Canada’s AI market is expected to grow a lot by 2033, and AI-related job postings have already jumped from about 4,000 in 2012 to 57,000 in 2024.
• Keeping AI fair and accountable: more companies need people who can oversee how AI is used responsibly, and most IT jobs already call for some AI skills.
• Clean energy: reaching net-zero emissions by 2050 could add millions of new jobs in clean energy and electric vehicles.
• Making homes more energy efficient: upgrading homes to use less energy could create tens of thousands of new jobs over the next decade.
• Biotech and genetic science: Canada’s biotech sector is expected to grow several times over by 2030.

These are industry estimates, not guarantees. But the bigger idea holds either way: the job market of 2050 will likely reward people who can adapt and keep learning, not just people who got it right once at the start.

A note from Embark’s CEO

“At Embark, we help families plan for a future that’s harder to predict than ever,” said Andrew Lo, CEO at Embark. “This data shows Canadians are already rethinking the path. More parents than ever see trades and apprenticeships as a smart, viable route to a great career, right alongside university. We’re focused on making sure families can save for whichever path their child chooses, without having to bet everything on one outcome.”

Ready to start planning?

Nobody has a perfect map of what jobs will look like in 2050. But a few things can help: starting early, saving consistently, and staying open to different paths, whether that’s a trade, college, or university. That’s the idea behind an Embark RESP: plans built to work across every path, so your family isn’t stuck betting everything on one outcome. Curious how it could fit your child’s future? Explore your options at Embark.ca.

Not sure which path fits best? Take Embark’s career quiz here to help point your family in the right direction.

Methodology

Methodology: this report is based on an online survey conducted by Angus Reid on behalf of Embark among a national sample of Canadian adults. In some provinces, sample sizes were small enough that Saskatchewan and Manitoba results are combined and reported as “Sask./Man.” Figures are meant to show general patterns in how Canadians feel, not precise predictions.