The rise of AI is real, and while there are some out there hoping that the so-called AI bubble bursts, some B.C. residents are worried about how it’s impacting education.
New data from Embark, a Canadian education savings and planning company, highlights how AI is impacting education, including here in B.C.
According to Embark, 80 per cent of B.C. respondents feel like AI will make degrees less valuable. Slightly lower than the 84 per cent of respondents who feel that way on the national level.
Over 6 in 10 British Columbians are looking at the trades and apprenticeships as the “strongest route to success.”
Even though B.C. residents are worried about how AI may impact them in the long run, out of all the provinces, B.C. (alongside Quebec) places the highest trust in AI to make career decisions for them.
Over half of respondents said they expect to save “somewhat more” for post-secondary education due to AI.
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Embark also asked a question: What are the careers of 2050?
The education company says that careers will shift dramatically over the next 25 years because of AI adoption, alongside other factors like an aging population, the clean energy transition, the skilled trades shortage, and the rise of “green collar” jobs.
Green collar jobs are a term for roles that improve environmental quality or promote sustainability.
Embark says Canada’s AI market is projected to reach US$362.9 billion by 2033.
Another startling statistic from Embark is that AI-related job postings grew from 4,000 in 2012 to a whopping 57,000 in 2024.
Other career areas that are expected to be popular in 2050 include the energy retrofit sector, biotech, and ethics, governance and auditing for technology and AI.
According to the responses, 61 per cent disagree that AI creates as many new job opportunities as it replaces. Embark adds that AI trust varies by age, but Gen X shows the highest trust in the technology (18 per cent) while Millennials show the lowest (13 per cent).
Of all provinces, support for the trades peaks in British Columbia.
An SFU survey conducted last month also found that most B.C. residents feel that AI puts the “human touch” at risk and that they don’t trust it to avoid discrimination.