Build trust. Build your future public sector workforce.
Empowering people to thrive in an era of reinvention and AI
As we look at the forces shaping Canada’s public sector workforce, one thing is clear: change isn’t slowing down.
Evolving geopolitical relationships, shifting trade patterns, and a growing commitment to reconfiguring the Canadian economy are influencing government priorities. Budgets are being tightened across all levels of government—federal, provincial, and municipal. Public sector organizations across the board are looking to do more with fewer resources, exploring innovative technologies like generative AI, agentic AI, and multi-agent systems to help their people to work smarter and deliver more value to Canadians.
It's clear we’re entering a new era of work—one that requires public sector leaders to adapt so they can help their people embrace new ways of working and engaging with AI and other innovative technologies.
Canadian public sector workers are still figuring out what AI will mean for them—and many of them are curious. According to the results of our 2025 Global Workforce Hopes and Fears Survey, 64% are at least moderately curious about how AI will affect their work. This curiosity is a powerful enabler—and as you prepare your workforce for the future, you need to harness it. Because when it comes to making successful change, your people can be your biggest allies.
Transforming your workforce isn’t easy. It requires building a foundation of trust—and actively engaging and supporting your people so they can thrive in an era of reinvention and AI.
You might be wondering how to do this. We’ve identified five critical actions to help you get started.
1 Communicate a clear vision for the future
Government and public sector workers understand that AI is rewriting the rulebook. In fact, 83% believe their roles will be at least slightly affected by technology change—whether AI, generative AI, or robotics—over the next three years, with 42% expecting a large or very large impact. But knowing that change is coming—without understanding when, why, or how—can heighten anxiety. And that anxiety can easily deepen if people don’t trust their leaders and managers to help them navigate AI’s increasing integration in their day-to-day work.
And right now, trust is at a premium. Our 2025 Global Workforce Hopes and Fears Survey shows that while 61% of Canadian government and public sector workers at least moderately trust their direct manager, only 41% feel the same about their organization’s top management. Relatedly, only half believe their leadership team is capable of guiding their organization towards their long-term goals.
This growing trust gap between workers and top management matters. Without trust, it’s hard to build the employee engagement you need to realize value from AI. Trust is what helps people feel motivated, confident, and ready to embrace new ways of working—and what encourages them to invest the extra effort needed to help drive change within their functions and teams.
To build—or rebuild—trust, start by defining a clear vision for why workforce transformation is necessary. This vision should explain how AI is expected to augment your people’s activities, the benefits it will bring to them, your organization, and the people you serve, and how you’ll support your workforce during the transition. This clarity will help you position AI as a workforce enabler rather than as a threat—as an opportunity for your people to focus on higher-value work and to learn new skills that will help them succeed long-term.
Your vision should act as the cornerstone for your communications, making it easier to provide transparent and consistent messaging about your workforce transformation activities.
Emotional responses to AI’s potential impact on work (% of Canadian government and public sector respondents who feel at least moderately)
2 Talk to your people—engage them on the way forward
If you want to reinvent your workforce successfully, you need to understand what your people need to feel equipped and confident—even as their work evolves and becomes more AI-enabled. For example, this might include training and upskilling, experiential learning opportunities, or ongoing coaching that helps them build the skills they will need in the future.
Our survey shows that only 27% of Canadian government and public sector workers believe they’ll have a large amount control over the way that technology affects their work over the next three years. Such uncertainty can undermine trust and make it harder to gain buy-in for your change initiatives.
Engaging your people early is one of the most effective ways to strengthen trust during a workforce transformation. Early engagement allows you to share your vision, understand people’s concerns about AI’s impact on their roles and work, and involve them in shaping what a future-ready workforce should look like. This can help you better identify the right mix of training and other supports your people need to gain confidence in their ability to succeed even as their work evolves.
When you involve your people early and often, you’re better positioned to reduce uncertainty, build trust, and turn your people into allies in your transformation journey. And when everyone understands the ‘why’ behind workforce transformation, defining and implementing the ‘how’ becomes easier.
3 Accelerate workforce readiness with upskilling and AI training
Workforce readiness is essential for helping the public sector workforce evolve so that it can provide future-forward public services in the face of economic uncertainty, budget constraints, and rapid technological changes. It equips workers so they are prepared, confident, and capable of thinking and working differently even as the world continues to evolve.
Investing in your people’s capabilities is critical for the success of your workforce transformation efforts. It demonstrates your commitment to your existing workforce, helps you build trust in your organization and change initiatives, and fosters your employees’ commitment to change. When people feel valued and supported and able to learn skills that will help them grow in their careers, they’re more willing to put in the extra effort required to make change stick.
As a starting point, define the skills your workforce will need in the future as you increasingly use AI to augment the work they do. For example, the skills they’ll need to adapt to new team structures and processes, use AI-enabled systems and solutions with confidence, and work effectively alongside agent-based solutions to deliver efficient, relevant, and high-quality public services.
Need to understand your skills gaps and how to address them so your workforce is future-ready?
Based on your vision for the future, take a deliberate view of the skills you have, the skills you’ll need, and how your training and development programs will bridge any gaps. You can do this by creating an organization-wide view of skills—one that can be easily updated as people join or leave your organization, build new skills and capabilities, and move into new roles. Technology can play a major role here, helping you develop a dynamic skills inventory that is both relevant for workforce planning and for creating pathways for employees to build skills in developing areas.
But tracking skills is only one piece of the puzzle. Providing the right upskilling opportunities—delivered in ways that balance cost, value, and impact—is also essential. With budgets under pressure, you want to be sure you’re getting the most value from your training dollars.
For example, upskilling your workforce to embrace new ways of working—such as using generative AI or agent-based solutions to improve the efficiency of day-to-days tasks— may require immersive training environments that allow them to simulate situations and experiment with where, when, and how to use specific tools safely and effectively.
Of the Canadian government and public sector respondents that have used AI in their job over the last 12 months:
4 Create spaces for innovation and creativity
Inspiring people to rethink and reimagine how their work can be done can make a major difference when it comes to fostering a future-ready public service organization. One way you can do this is by creating collaborative spaces where your people can experiment, innovate, and learn without fear that their mistakes will be judged—or worse, be put under public spotlight.
When your employees have dedicated places to bring their ideas, to co-create and test solutions and new ways of working—and clear pathways to turn their ideas into action—you can build a culture where reinvention is a positive change and where your people feel empowered to share and seize opportunities.
Employees who feel engaged, supported, and encouraged to be creative are far more willing to challenge workplace convention, explore new ways of working, and embrace opportunities to use emerging tools—like generative AI and AI agents. And when employees see their ideas making a real impact, they become more invested in transformation outcomes because those outcomes are meaningful to their personal development and career goals.
5 Protect your pipeline of talent
The Canadian government and public sector workforce is aging—and the skills needed to deliver high-quality public services are evolving. To avoid skills shortages, your talent strategy must be deliberate, intentional, and future-focused. This means understanding not only the capabilities your organization will need in the years to come, but also how you’ll create space for new talent—people with the fresh perspectives, skills and capabilities, and bold ideas that will help lead your organization into the future.
Your talent pipeline will be particularly critical as AI continues to evolve, as you increasingly incorporate AI agents into workflows and begin orchestrating networks of AI agents able to work together. It will be essential for bringing in the future-ready skills needed to thrive in an AI-enabled environment, while also supporting the upskilling of your existing workforce.
One of the biggest barriers to AI innovation is the fear of what it means for people’s jobs. And it’s a fear that’s not entirely misplaced. In our survey, 37% of Canadian respondents at the management level or higher believe that AI will reduce the number of entry-level jobs in their organization over the next three years.
But limiting entry-level opportunities comes with real risks. Without clear pathways for new workers to enter the public sector, you’ll lose people to other industries—which could exacerbate your talent challenge over time.
By proactively developing a talent strategy that protects and strengthens your talent pipeline and that considers what new generations of talent need to feel engaged, confident, and able to thrive, you’ll create the environment you need to build the workforce you want—one that is committed, capable, and ready for whatever lies ahead.
Forging ahead with a future-ready workforce
It’s an exciting time for the government and public sector workforce in Canada. While current challenges can’t be understated, there are also a wealth of opportunities—more ways than ever to empower your workforce to do more and to make a bigger impact on the wellbeing of the people you serve.
As you look to the future of your public sector organization, lead with purpose. Think about how you can proactively build a future-ready workforce. Share a clear and compelling vision for your workforce transformation. Commit to collaborating with your people every step of the way. Invest in upskilling so your people can embrace new ways of working and confidently adopt new and emerging tools like generative AI. By doing this, you’ll build the trust required to successfully reinvent your workforce for this new era of work—enabling both your people and your organization to thrive.
Want to know more about how AI can enable your workforce to provide more value?
Contact us
Partner, Workforce Transformation, Government and Public Sector, PwC Canada
Tel: +1 416 419 9731
Partner, Workforce Transformation, Federal Government, PwC Canada
Tel: +1 613 755 4354