Education Not Preparing Children for Future Careers, New Report Reveals

New data on education paths, the impact of AI and the road to a successful career over the next two decades.

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AI is reshaping the job market faster than most parents can plan for. A new survey by Embark, Canada's digital education savings and planning company, in partnership with Angus Reid, reveals that only 20% of Canadians think children are being properly prepared for the jobs that will exist in 2050.

The Future Education & Career Paths Report reveals where Canadians stand on education today, how AI is reshaping the way people plan and save for the future, and what that means for the careers and skills Canadians will need in the next 25 years.

"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."

What’s the best education path to a successful career by 2050?

For decades, a university degree has been treated as the safest route to a stable career. Canadians no longer see it that way.

More Canadians now point to trade schools and apprenticeships, not university, as the best way to prepare a child for a successful career in 2050.

• 50% point to a trades path (trade school or apprenticeship) as the best way to prepare a child for a successful career in 2050
• 37% point to a university path (undergraduate or graduate/professional degree) as the best path
• Support for trades peaks in British Columbia (55%) and among Gen X (48%), while falling sharply among Gen Z (22%)

Are children prepared for the careers of the future?

Canadians agree the job market is about to look completely different. However, they don't agree that children are ready for it.

The gap between how much change Canadians expect and how prepared they think children are is the widest finding in the survey.

• 86% agree the skills employers value will change significantly over the next 25 years
• Yet only 20% agree children are being prepared for the careers of 2050, while 57% actively disagree
• 80% agree Canadians will need to invest more in education and training throughout their careers, not just once at the start

Will AI make postsecondary education more affordable?

Rather than easing the cost of school, AI is being priced in as one more reason it's about to get more expensive.

Concern about cost remains high across the board, and most Canadians now expect to need to save more, not less, because of AI.

• 82% are concerned about the cost of postsecondary education, and 84% are concerned AI will make degrees less valuable
• 59% expect people will need to save more for postsecondary education because of AI, compared to just 6% who expect they'll need to save less
• Alberta (69%) and Atlantic Canada (68%) expect most strongly that they'll need to save more, the highest in the country

What are the careers of 2050?

Careers will shift drastically over the next 25 years due to AI adoption, among other factors such as an aging population, the clean energy transition, a persistent skilled trades shortage, and the rise of "green collar" jobs.

Those forces point to a handful of standout fields for the decades ahead.

• AI, Data Science & Machine Learning: Canada's AI market is projected to reach USD 362.9 billion by 2033, with AI-related job postings growing from 4,000 in 2012 to 57,000 in 2024
• Ethics, Governance & Auditing for Technology and AI: Canada's AI governance and compliance market is expected to grow at a 13.9% CAGR through 2035, as 78% of IT roles already demand AI skills
• Clean Energy and Renewables: reaching net-zero by 2050 could add roughly 2.2 million clean energy jobs, including up to 1.3 million Canadians entering EV-related roles
• Energy Retrofits: the residential retrofit sector alone is expected to generate about 40,600 new direct jobs between 2023 and 2032, with some trades needing 300–400% growth from current levels
• Biotech, Genetic Engineering & Bioinformatics: Canada's bioinformatics market is projected to grow from $1.23 billion in 2022 to $4.11 billion by 2030

Would you let AI make a career decision for you?

Despite a growing list of AI-related jobs, Canadians are drawing a hard line between living alongside AI and letting it choose for them.

Trust in AI to make a career decision is low across nearly every group, with almost no one willing to hand over the decision completely.

• Just 15% would trust AI to make a career decision for them, and only 1% would trust it completely
• 61% disagree that AI creates as many new job opportunities as it replaces, with Saskatchewan the most skeptical in the country at 75%
• Trust barely shifts by age, but Gen X shows the highest trust of any generation (18%), while Millennials show the lowest (13%)

As Canadians weigh how AI will reshape the road ahead, one thing hasn't changed: the earlier families start saving, the more room they have to adapt when that road shifts. Embark helps parents build an education savings plan that works across every path, such as trade, college, or university, so families can stay flexible no matter how the job market of 2050 takes shape.

The Future Education & Career Paths Report is available now at embark.ca/learning-centre/future-education-and-career-paths.

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About Embark
Embark Student Corp. is Canada’s education savings and planning company. With over $6 billion in assets under management, the company is committed to empowering families along their post-secondary journeys by giving them the resources and tools they need to better plan and save for all that comes with an education. As a wholly owned subsidiary of Embark Student Foundation, a not-for-profit Canadian corporation, the company, registered as a Scholarship Plan Dealer across Canada, manages almost 600,000 RESPs for Canadians nationwide and helped approximately 53,600 students through post-secondary studies last year.

Angus Reid Survey Methodology:
This report combines original survey research with third-party labour market data. The survey was conducted online by Angus Reid on behalf of Embark among a representative, randomized sample of 1514 Canadian adults aged 18+, drawn from the Angus Reid Forum, between July 20 and July 22, 2026.

Data Sources:
Career and labour market projections draw on secondary research including:

¹Clean Energy Canada — A Pivotal Moment (Navius modelling; clean-energy jobs to 2050). Clean Energy Canada

²Careers in Energy — National Labour Market Outlook to 2035 (energy jobs & retirements). Careers in Energy

³Canadian Medical Association — elder care demand / cost projections to 2031. Canadian Medical Association

⁴PSW workforce analyses & CIHI coverage (personal support worker counts and projected needs). agewell-nih-appta.ca

⁵OECD blog: The state of AI jobs in Canada (analysis of job postings and AI labour demand). OECD

⁶RBC / LMIC analysis on green-collar jobs and labour disruption. RBC

⁷Pembina Institute overview of clean-energy employment scenarios. Pembina Institute

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