We are excited to share this guest blog by Arundati Dandapani, Founder & CEO of Generation1.ca. Arundati is a global voice for immigrant inclusion, ethical AI governance, and workforce innovation, recognized among the world’s top data and insights leaders.
In this piece, she presents key findings from Generation1.ca’s 2025 Global Industry Skills Study (GISS) alongside insights from member surveys on barriers faced by immigrants at work. The research highlights urgent questions around who is being left out of today’s talent strategies—and the economic and social costs of that exclusion.
I am pleased to discuss key findings from the survey of employers from Generation1.ca’s 2025 Global Industry Skills Study (GISS). We also surveyed our members on top barriers faced by immigrants at work. This two-pronged annual research charts evolving data skills gaps and barriers faced by employers and our immigrant members towards designing future-ready workforce solutions. Last year’s theme was “Future-Proofing Data Talent: Bridging Disciplines and Fostering New Skills.” This year, I posed a more urgent question across various conferences including IAPP, AAPOR and IIEX: Whose voices are still excluded from talent strategies—and what is it costing our $150 billion industry, led by tech-enabled North America?
My annual global survey of 384, ~60% client-side employers spread mostly across US and Canada reveals that critical thinking is the top skill—across sectors, regions, and company sizes. While 62% employers surveyed plan to hire in 2025, it’s a sharp 30-point drop from last year, signaling economic strain. Immigrants, vital to innovation and growth, remain sidelined in hiring and leadership. Immigrant underemployment costs Canada $9B and the US $50B annually (Migration Policy Institute, 2016). Closing this gap isn’t just the right thing—it’s an economic imperative.
I founded Generation1.ca a decade ago to address the very gaps these data reveal. Immigration drives transformation, and skill-building must go beyond job readiness to break structural barriers. The bright spark in the age of rapidly advancing AGI is that employers across Canada, the US, and globally now prioritize higher-order knowledge and application skills. Let’s review key takeaways from GISS2025:
- Fewer Hires, Higher Expectations: The Skills Bar Is Rising
Canada’s employers (making up 65% of respondents) are more uncertain about hiring (74%), while US employers, though only 33% of the sample, account for 40% of positive outlooks, reflecting stronger market confidence. A solid 64% of employers prioritize skills in project management, data analysis, strategic thinking, and business development—signaling rising demand for leadership, communication, and analytical agility. Notably, qualitative research and communications now lead over quantitative skills, with data collection overtaking project management as #1 top skill in US. Despite the demand, graduates continue to fall short in AI, sales, and cross-functional collaboration.
- Broad Support, Silent Gaps: Immigrant Inclusion Isn’t a Given
While 83% of employers support immigrant integration, 17% resist structured supports for immigrant employment—citing costs, “meritocracy,” or even exclusionary views based on our analysis of an open-ended probe to employers against supports. Barriers faced by employers hiring immigrants included language/culture, credential recognition, and limited training resources. And despite the majority employer support for immigrants, only one-third hired international students—exposing a clear gap between belief and action, mostly attributed to owner-CEOs-top management views. Job-related skill development, mentorship, onboarding, and community support remain core sources of professional support and in the US even legal immigration assistance, yet 15% employers overall lack formal DEI policies.
- Credentials Are Fading—Networks and Practical Upskilling Are In
Employers are split in half between expecting certifications and not, shifting the skills focus from formal degrees to applied, professional and network-driven learning. Graduate certificates, followed by Masters and PMP take the top 3 slots followed by CAIP/CMRP/CIPP/CM and similar credentials with PhD slipping behind further than in past years.
- Professional Development Training is Happening In-house Versus Externally
Over half of organizations (54%) now rely on internal training, compared to 31% using external programs, driven in part by one in five US employers. Alarmingly, 14% of employers offer no training at all, a rise from previous years. This reflects less than budget cuts but the pressures of fast-moving social change, tech disruption, and economic and regulatory uncertainty.
- Overqualified with Low Pay / Quality of Life
Broader OECD data reveal 28% of Canadian workers are overqualified and 38% mismatched by field of study, with gaps in digital and organizational skills. Overqualification in Canada leads to 12% lower wages. In the US, 26% of workers are overqualified, earn 19% less, and report lower life satisfaction. Globally rooted inequities surface locally when skilled immigrants are sidelined by the bias and unrecognized expertise reported in GISS2025’s survey results.
Next Action Steps and Your Role in Shaping Data Leadership
We’re turning employer insights into action with Generation1.ca’s open-access Future Ready Innovators Credential to accelerate immigrant integration outcomes across six key dimensions powered by skills data. Join us—through hiring initiatives, courses, career fairs, case competitions, affinity groups, partnerships and various opportunities—to build a more inclusive workforce and unlock untapped potential for your teams and organizations. On August 7, we’ll convene global leaders, at Humber Polytechnic, and again on September 26 online, to champion equity at work. The future of data talent pipelines demands shared ownership—and it starts by recognizing the underserved potential all around us.
Arundati Dandapani is a multi-award-winning and industry certified data and association leader, storyteller, and Founder & CEO of Generation1.ca. A global voice for immigrant inclusion, ethical AI governance, and workforce innovation, she’s been named among the world’s top 75 data and insights legends and 2025’s top CEOs. Arundati is an Insight250 Hall of Famer and industry awards Judge, ESOMAR Council 2025 nominee, AAPOR Affinity Group Chair, IAPP Certifications Board Advisor, and author of three books with more forthcoming, and would love to be reached at arundati@generation1.ca to discuss your interest in our work.
