EDMONTON, Alberta--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- AI is making its way onto factory floors, construction sites, and farms across Canada, but most heavy industry workers have been given no formal guidance on using the technology, according to new research from Punchcard Systems, an Edmonton-based digital innovation consultancy.
Nearly half (49%) of Canadian heavy industry workers already use AI for work, yet over two in three (68%) have received no formal AI support or training from their employers. That figure rises to 87% of construction workers, the least supported sector in the study.
This is according to Punchcard's The State of AI at Work in Canada Report, developed in partnership with Angus Reid. The report surveyed 1,100 working Canadians across a wide variety of industries to understand how AI is changing their day-to-day work and the tasks where they trust AI the most or the least.
"The people closest to the work already know where AI helps and where it creates risk," said Sam Jenkins, Managing Partner at Punchcard Systems. "When employers give them proper guidance and a real say in how it's used, leaders get a much clearer picture of what AI can do for their organizations. The most meaningful AI gains come from rethinking how the work gets done, rather than bolting an AI tool onto outdated workflows and processes."
Is AI saving Canadian workers time, or creating more work?
It's doing both. Workers who save time with AI gain back hours each week, but nearly everyone who uses it still has to fix what it produces, with many catching AI errors before they cause an issue at work.
