Ontario is verging on the dawn of a new economic order, where brains will out-muscle brawn in a big way. Welcome to the Creative Age in  Ontario, where only the smart and decently educated need apply

“Ontario is in the midst of a global economic transformation,” begins a report released by U of T’s Martin Prosperity Institute this past February. “While this transformation to a knowledge- or idea-driven creative economy has been underway for more than three decades, the current financial and economic maelstrom has accentuated its importance.”

The paper, commissioned by the provincial government in 2008 to help get a better picture of where the province is economically and where it should be going, is titled “Ontario in the Creative Age.” It goes on to detail its case at length, drawing on statistics going back as far as 1901. It suggests — nay, says outright — that the developed world is on the cusp of a new economic frontier, a frontier in which, as James Milway, executive director of both the Martin Prosperity Institute and the Institute for Competitiveness and Prosperity, tells me, “more and more people will be paid to think.” Brain power and the ability to cogitate outside the squared cube are coming into fashion in a big way, leaving brawn behind to eat its recessionary dust.

According to the report, manufacturing — goods-producing — has been on the wane in Ontario for more than five decades. And while the sector still makes up a good chunk of employment in the province, providing jobs for around 20 per cent of the population, they’re projected to make up less than 15 per cent of job growth over the next 10 years.

Why? The simple answer is that better machinery, more automation and more intelligent means of production have led to less need for humans in the production process.

Service sector occupations, defined by the Institute as “routine-oriented” jobs that don’t involve the production of a physical product (or, at least not one meant to last — for example: make a hamburger; it gets eaten straight away and poof! It’s gone. Ergo, cook is not a manufacturing-class job), currently make up the bulk of paycheques in Ontario. Typically low-autonomy jobs where the worker is not expected to actually flex her grey matter at all (try haggling with a cellphone customer service representative for a more in-depth understanding of this), are expected to become much more brain-oriented in the future, involving greater social intelligence and analytical skills in order for companies to remain competitive.

However, the area with the most potential for growth in the next decade, by far, is in the so-called creative class field, composed of techies, artists and entertainers, professionals and educators. (TAPE for short.) Moving forward toward the year 2016, it’s expected that over 40 per cent of new job creation will be in this sector. And according to the Institute, this is a good thing. A very good thing. Why?

By the numbers
Creative classers tend to get paid more, averaging in the high-$60,000s range in terms of annual earnings versus the mid-$30,000s range their service and working class sector counterparts average each year. To boot, the creative class is relatively recession proof. Since the recession began, the goods-producing sector has seen unemployment rise as high as 12 per cent. The creative class, on the other hand, is still hovering around the 4 per cent mark. To put this in a bit more perspective, neither the service nor the working class sectors have ever dipped below the 4 per cent mark in unemployment — even during the best of times.

There are other benefits to having a strong creative class as well. The more people working in these areas, the more innovative and productive we and our industries become. The more innovative and productive we become, the more jobs we produce. (For example: BlackBerry maker Research in Motion was grown from a garage operation into a huge company that employs thousands of creative, talented people.) And the more creative jobs and industries we have, the more we attract super-smart, talented folk to come to work here as well (and they bring in extra tax dollars, among other things).

How to take advantage
Boasting one of the world’s top 40 economic mega-regions (Toronto being part of a “cluster” of cities from Guelph to Rochester that account for over a half trillion dollars worth of business per annum among them), and with roughly 30 per cent of its working population already employed in creative class jobs, Ontario is well-prepared to sail into this brave new era. It’s not all smooth waters ahead yet, though. There are still some hatches that need to be battened down.

On a macro level, the report charges the provincial government with laying down more infrastructure, investing more in deepening the talent pool of (highly educated) people, encouraging businesses to foster more creativity in their job base, and creating better connections between its creative hub cities (better transit between Hamilton and Toronto, for example), among other things. On a micro or individual level, the answer is more straightforward. Want to get in on the creative economy boon? Get educated, and quickly.

“If you’re looking for stability and a decent wage, you’ve got to go beyond high school,” Milway says. “Those people with only a high school degree or less are more likely to be unemployed, and they’re going to earn less.”

When it comes to the education you get, Milway says you don’t have to be too picky. Getting a commerce degree might be cool, but if it isn’t your thing, you should look elsewhere. “Go with what you love and life will take care of itself,” Milway advises. “Get a degree where you have some passion and where you’re invested.” But whatever you do, even if it’s learning to become an accountant (yes, accounting counts as a creatively oriented occupation) or learning a trade, don’t stop at high school. “The more education, the better,” he says.