Workplace Challenges
Threat #1: Labour shortageSkilled labour shortfall strikes CanadaWelders, plumbers, electricians — you are in demand! Trades jobs are plentiful as Canada faces the threat of a skilled labour shortage. By Jennifer McFee |
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 [ 2009-03-03 ] |
“Canada’s fastest growing problem is a shortage of qualified labour. It’s virtually in every province,” says Garth Whyte, executive vice-president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.
When companies don’t have all the workers they need, the result is stunted growth and reduced competitiveness on a global scale – consequences that affect the Canadian economy and ultimately our job market.
The bad news is that this acute shortage is expected to get worse as baby boomers start to retire. Sectors most at risk of a severe shortage over the next five to 10 years include construction, railway, automotive, mining and aircraft maintenance.
Some sectors are harder hit than others. The Canadian mining industry faces an estimated shortage of 92,000 workers over the next eight years, according to the Mining Industry Human Resources Council. Meanwhile, Human Resources and Skills Development Canada reports that Alberta’s oil sands industry, which currently employs 33,000 people, will need another 17,000 by 2011.
Travellers wanted
Although there are no magical solutions, Doug Watt, Associate Director of Research in the Organizational Effectiveness and Learning Group of the Conference Board of Canada suggests applying the same skills sets across a range of sectors.
“So you have a shortage of skilled trade workers in some sectors and you have an excess capacity in others. The challenge always is to minimize that gap,” says Watt.
For example, a rig driver in B.C.’s forest industry might face a shortage of work. But with minor upgrades, the driver could take his skills to the oil sands in Alberta where workers in all trades are in demand.
Retraining and relocating are not easy feats, however, especially for workers with strong ties to their region.
As a result, cross-country commuters have become quite common — they follow the workflow without having to relocate their families. James Loder, principal of Academy Canada - Trades College based in St. John’s, says most of his graduates board planes bound for Alberta in search of jobs, adding that electricians, steamfitters, pipefitters and welders are most in demand.
Many cross-country commuters from Newfoundland work a “20 and 8” shift — they toil for 20 days in the Albertan oil fields and then fly home for eight days.
Because of this trend, James Loder says there are now direct flights each week from St. John’s to Fort McMurray. “Some people will actually move and create their household in Alberta, but a lot of people are on the 20 and 8,” he says.
More solutions at hand
Since cross-country commuting doesn’t provide enough workers to meet demands, the federal government has developed several programs:
• The Sector Council Program is a national initiative in which the federal government works with business, labour and education stakeholders to promote skills development and workplace training. For example, they try to ensure that school curricula meet industry needs, and they aim to develop national educational standards so that graduates can work in different parts of the country.
• The Temporary Foreign Worker Program allows employers to address skilled labour shortages by hiring foreign labourers for short stays in Canada. Every year, 90,000 such workers come to our country, according to Human Resources and Social Development Canada.
• The Apprenticeship Incentive Grant provides $1,000 per year to registered people who have completed their first or second year of an apprenticeship program, to a maximum of $2,000 per person. The grant can be used towards tuition, travel and tool costs. Trades workers can also apply for the Tradesperson’s Tools Deduction, which pays up to $500 towards the cost of work tools.
• The Apprenticeship Job Creation Tax Credit provides up to $2,000 per year in tax credits for employers who hire apprentices.
James Townsend, assistant professor at the University of Winnipeg, says these are positive steps to address the lack of labourers. He favours programs that train Canadians to do the job since: “There could be delays if you’re trying to bring in temporary workers.”
Beware the domino effect
When trades industries boom, so do restaurants, retailers and entertainment outlets in surrounding areas.
But if a town, province or region doesn’t have enough skilled tradespeople, this shortage affects the area’s entire economy in a domino effect.
Those lost opportunities are in addition to the stunted growth of the companies that need trades workers, resulting in fewer office staff, accountants and advisors being hired.
The skilled labour crisis has impacts that extend beyond local communities as well, since production limitations threaten Canada’s ability to compete with other countries in the global market.
“The shortage of qualified labour is a systemic issue,” says Garth Whyte, executive vice-president with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. “There’s a whole bunch of different areas where we need people — even the semi-skilled side like trucking and shipping and receiving.”
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