What’s the Demand for Skills in Canada's Nonprofit Sector?
The nonprofit sector in Canada is currently undergoing dramatic changes, with mounting pressure to digitize its operations and services. Despite employing more than 2 million Canadians, many nonprofits report not having the necessary skills to effectively use existing technology. This skills gap is expected to widen as Canada continues its digital transformation.
Recognizing this challenge, The Canadian Centre for Nonprofit Digital Resilience released a comprehensive report titled The Demand for Digital Skills in Canada's Nonprofit Sector. This report went deep into data to identify trends and quantify the demand for digital skills within the nonprofit sector.
Below is a summary of the key findings.
Top Takeaways
Lower Demand for Digital Skills Specifically: Compared to adjacent knowledge sector jobs, nonprofit roles generally demand fewer digital skills. When assessed against jobs requiring a university or college degree and tech jobs, nonprofit job postings on average show a lower demand for digital skills, though they still feature a similar number of unique digital skills. Notably, there is a significant deficit in software/product development and data-related digital skills, which are typically higher in digital intensity.
Microsoft Skills Prevalence: Microsoft digital skills are highly demanded across all job categories. For nonprofit jobs, the most sought-after Microsoft skill is proficiency with Outlook, PowerPoint, Excel, and Word. In contrast, more technical roles, such as those requiring a university degree, prioritize Microsoft Excel, while tech jobs focus on Microsoft Azure, a cloud computing platform.
Increasing Demand for AI Skills: There is evidence that the nonprofit sector is gradually adapting to digital trends. The share of nonprofit job postings requiring artificial intelligence (AI) skills rose by 32.7% in the second half of 2023 compared to the first half, signalling a growing recognition of the importance of AI in the sector.
High Percentage of Non-Digital Job Postings: A striking 63.3% of nonprofit job postings did not require any digital skills, comparable to the 63.4% for jobs requiring a university degree, but vastly different from the mere 13.8% for tech jobs. This highlights a significant gap in the digital nature of tasks within the nonprofit sector, underscoring the need for increased digital upskilling.
The Vital Role of Nonprofits
The nonprofit sector plays a crucial role in providing essential community-based resources and services, often to the most vulnerable populations.
According to Imagine Canada, nonprofits are key drivers of economic and social development, offering meaningful employment opportunities, enhancing social connections by mobilizing volunteers, and significantly contributing to the Canadian economy.
As of 2021, the sector employed 2.5 million people and generated nearly $200 billion in GDP.
Moving Forward
The digital skills gap in the nonprofit sector presents both a challenge and an opportunity. Ensuring nonprofit workers have the necessary digital capabilities is vital for keeping pace with the evolving digital economy. There’s a critical benchmark for identifying where digital upskilling is most needed and can help inform strategies to enhance the digital readiness of the sector.
To learn more about the current state of digital skills in the nonprofit sector and how your organization can bridge the digital skills gap, you can download the full reports from The Canadian Centre for Nonprofit Digital Resilience.
By staying informed and proactive, we can collectively strengthen the nonprofit sector’s ability to adapt and succeed in the digital age.
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