Technological change and other innovations affect the way Canadians work. These changes demand increasingly higher levels of literacy for today and for the future. Basic skills are not enough. A low level of schooling is associated with higher unemployment. People who invest in their own higher education are likely to reap the reward of higher income. Although school credentials are important, the most important skill for workers is "learning to learn." Companies must start to train, not merely buy, skilled labor. In the nineties, more service and manufacturing skills that require continuous training in new technologies mean that a good education will be the minimum requirement for new workers to get rewarding jobs. New technologies will be created over the next 10 years, and current technologies will be improved. Other trends are as follows: computer literacy will become a key part of workplace literacy; robots will be able to do more; communication technology will play a growing role in daily life; and advances in energy production could change the way people work. Industries are using technology and other innovations to compete for new markets worldwide. Countries with the best educated and best trained work forces will prosper in a world more reliant on brains than muscle. Canada's labor force will have a new look with more women and older workers. Employers will have to invest in workers, and Canadians must create a learning culture. (Author/YLB)