Thank you very much.

We look at the challenge of getting the right people and ensuring the skills bridge is there in Canada, because this is critical. The world is moving quickly. The requirement for technology is there, and digitalization is having a role in everything we do.

About five years ago, just to talk about this talent issue and the development of the right kind of talent, and importantly, the transition of talent to the new base of skills, we invested in industrial digitalization—Industry 4.0, as you might know it in Europe. We were honoured in Luxembourg, one of the seats of the European Union for Industry 4.0, as an absolute leader in this field. We have facilities there, also.

What we've recognized is that the nature of the types of jobs Canadians want to seek is changing. After the Second World War, European immigrants worked with their hands. They were tradespeople, so we had lots of tool and die makers. Today there are few people who want to make a career out of that. There are some who do, and they are invaluable, but few people want to be part of that.

Most people want to develop digitally, and so what we recognized is that rather than working the machine tool, people get really inspired by building automation, robotics and algorithms to operate machines intelligently. We're fortunate in Canada to have a lot of universities, which is great for people coming out of university. Nevertheless, we also have a lot of mature people in the workforce who aren't as comfortable with digitalization. One of the biggest efforts we make is what we call the “skills bridge”. What talents do I have today? What talents do I need to accommodate and work within the digital environment?

What's been mentioned here in this idea of assisting Canadians with the education required to make them more relevant inside of a digital environment, to me, is absolutely crucial both for the performance of Canadian businesses and to ensure the employment of Canadians.

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