President's Notebook
APEGA
Google “the gig economy” and you’ll confirm is that it’s a buzzy term and that it’s not narrowly defined. The gig economy can encompass a variety of project-based, full- and part-time positions—everything from Uber driver to manager of a multi-million-dollar build. Some reports say the gig economy is on the upswing and taking up a growing portion of the traditional economy, given the ubiquity of mobile apps and other information technology to make such arrangements simpler. Others say it’s just a new label on something that’s always been ebbing and flowing in the economy. BMO Wealth Management is unequivocal. “The gig economy in Canada is growing at a phenomenal rate that shows no signs of slowing down,” the division of the banking giant states in the July 2018 Canadian edition of Insight . BMO backs up this assertion with a document from a fellow giant, the employment agency Randstad, called Workforce 2025: The Future World of Work. Meanwhile, over at The Economist , a recent Bartleby column states: “It is now nearly axiomatic that people will work for a range of employers in a variety of roles over their lifetimes, with a much more flexible schedule than in the past. Opinion is still divided over whether this change is a cause for concern or a chance for workers to be liberated from the rut of office life.” As an APEGA member, a gig economy could serve you well. “The best placed are skilled professionals and artisans whose work is in demand from a wide range of customers,” The Economist opinion piece says. With the right advice and approach, the gig economy is not something to fear. But if you’re going to embrace it, it’s up to you to find your own “wide range of customers” that the maga- zine speaks of. EMERGING AND MATURING INDUSTRIES While the world will continue to depend on oil for the foreseeable future, tectonic shifts (metaphorically speaking) are forecast in the transport sector. With the
THE GIG ECONOMY In all of our age demographics, what will the future employment landscape of Alberta look like for profes- sional engineers and geoscientists? How will we all continue to practise ethically, no matter what type of employment we secure?
FALL 2018 PEG | 5
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