PROTOCOL: Adult Skills Development and Training in High-Income Countries--A Campbell Evidence and Gap Map

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) estimated that approximately 9% of current jobs within OECD member states are threatened with automation and digitalization--all significant successes and advances in artificial intelligence, robotics, and computer science. With such global changes and forecasts, in the labor market, there are ever-evolving demands on employees and employers to gain or update new and/or different skill sets and competencies. Further to the threat of automation and digitalization, international organizations are monitoring and estimating labor market trends considering COVID-19 and its impact on the various economies worldwide. A key challenge will be to reduce unemployment by skills development and training, whether through upskilling to remain acquainted with and ensure skills match present labor market needs, or reskilling. An evidence and gap map (EGM) is a decision making and research prioritization tool used to identify areas of evidence as well as gaps in research to inform social policy, program, and research priorities. This EGM is aligned with the priorities of the Future Skills Centre (FSC), a pan-Canadian initiative, and who will be the map's primary user. FSC's mandate is to connect ideas and innovations generated across Canada so that employees and employers may thrive in the labor market, and to ensure that economies at the local, regional, and national levels flourish. FSC will use this rapid and evidence gap map to direct their future research agenda, which is time-sensitive due to the social and economic consequences of COVID-19. The objective of this EGM is to identify primary studies and systematic reviews on the effects of adult skills development and training on outcomes for the jobseeker/employee, employer and labor market systems in high income countries.