While Canadians increasingly recognize the importance of artificial intelligence (AI) skills in the job market, many doubt their own ability to qualify for AI-related careers, highlighting a gap between expectations and preparedness, according to a new survey commissioned by career platform PathPilot.

The study polled 1,501 Canadians, and was conducted by Angus Reid Group between Aug. 27 to Aug. 31. It showed that 64 per cent of respondents believe that young Canadians will be able to easily qualify for AI-powered careers.

However, more than half of Canadians (56 per cent) believe they are underqualified to thrive in jobs that require AI knowledge. Many are also unsure how to address this gap.

PathPilot, recently launched by parent company GuruLink, aims to bridge the gap between employers and job seekers.

AI-powered career platform

Co-founder and chief executive officer Drew Lindsay, who also founded talent agency GuruLink, recognized this. 

“The idea came to me after more than two decades in recruitment. I would watch capable people struggle to understand their options, and I wanted to make that journey more accessible and give people a clearer next step,” he said via an email to TechNX.

“This gap is very telling: Canadians are assuming we are more prepared for AI than we each individually are.”

As he described it, PathPilot is “an AI-powered career navigation platform that helps people understand where their skills and experience could take them next. It brings together career exploration, skills guidance, job-matching, resume support and interview preparation.”

Ideally, it is aimed at both job seekers and those who support them. “That includes students entering the workforce, new immigrants finding their path; people considering a career change and workers looking to develop their skills. On the organizational side, it supports colleges, universities, employment services, workforce organizations and employers,” Lindsay said.

The service is free for job seekers, according to Lindsay. “Finding a job or upskilling is hard enough, and I didn’t want to add another barrier.”

The service is aimed at taking advantage of the federal government’s AI-for-all strategy, which promises to create 90,000 AI-related jobs by 2031.

Tryout version for organizations

The company offers a pilot program that allows institutions and organizations to test the service before deciding whether to adopt it more broadly, Lindsay said.

“And I have to say, once educational institutions or career organizations get a sense of what PathPilot can do, they often realize how much they need it moving forward.”

PathPilot’s main benefit is the time it saves organizations by automating administrative tasks, Lindsay said.

“For organizations, PathPilot is proven to create a reduction in administrative burden of up to 40 per cent. This includes automating intake, follow-up, assessments and reporting.” 

“Our goal is to give practitioners more time for personalized support, and I’m proud to say that we’ve already seen that achieved with many of our organization clients.”

But it isn’t intended to totally supplant recruitment professionals. “Decisions involving retraining, financial risk or family responsibilities still benefit from a human practitioner’s judgment and understanding of the person behind the resume.”

“PathPilot’s services are intended to supplement professional career counselling, not replace people,” he said.

Personalized help for candidates

For job seekers, the tool offers a personalized service whereby it “uses information about someone’s background, skills and goals to suggest career paths, identify skill gaps and match them with relevant opportunities,” Lindsay said.

It can also help users prepare resumes and practice for job interviews.

In building this service, the company partnered with a number of federal government-funded organizations such as Future Skills Centre, Magnet and the Canadian Career Development Foundation.

Businesses also have a role to play in helping workers find meaningful employment as AI reshapes the labour market, Lindsay said.

“More broadly, employers have a practical role in making career guidance useful. They need to explain which skills matter in their workplaces, what candidates need when they arrive and what can be learned on the job.”

“That gives people a clearer basis for choosing training and preparing for opportunities.”

PathPilot was designed to bridge the gap between education and employment, Lindsay said.

“Someone can complete a course and still be unsure which jobs to consider, what additional experience they need or how to demonstrate what they have learned and the skills they have gained. Over more than two decades in recruitment, I have seen capable people struggle to understand where their experience could take them next.”

“That becomes harder when the advice is simply to learn AI,” Lindsay said.