May 26, 2008

Skills Shortage

Brainstorming session targets labour gap in Ontario

Symposium draws 300

VINCE VERSACE

staff writer

There is no magic bullet to solve Ontario’s projected workforce shortage, but deciding how to tackle labour needs was the goal of a recent Ontario Workforce Shortage Coalition (OWSC) meeting.

“If we can come out of here with a few specific solutions it will have been a success,” said Linda Franklin, president and CEO of Colleges Ontario.

More than 300 representatives from business, education, labour and government recently met to prioritize recommendations to help governments develop comprehensive strategies to address Ontario’s workforce challenge.

The Council of Ontario Construction Associations (COCA), the Ontario General Contractors Association (OGCA) and the Ontario Sewer and Watermain Construction Association were among the construction representatives at the symposium.

“There is a lot of work to do by both government and business partners to address this issue,” explained David Zurawel, vice-president policy and government relations at COCA.

“We have to meet these challenges head-on and work at solutions.”

Ontario is projected to be short more than 360,000 skilled workers by 2025, according to a Conference Board of Canada report released by the OWSC last fall. This shortage could escalate to more than 560,000 by 2030.

Increasing immigration has been regarded as a solution to many labour problems in the past but Franklin said governments now realize this cannot be the sole solution.

“We are in a global war for workers,” said Franklin.

“In the past, governments were used to dealing with overages in the labour pool and now they have had to change that mindset.”

Participants at the symposium broke out into work groups to develop solutions and strategies around the following key areas:

•Employment opportunities for under-represented groups such as women, Aboriginals and the disabled

•A training culture which keeps workers current

•An education system that responds to changes in labour markets

•Relevant incentives, labour market information and business regulations

•Public awareness of the value of all career pathways.

Creating one-stop shops for training and information, establishing a group to spearhead workforce solution strategies, cross-institutional training and more funding were among the many proposed solutions discussed.

The OGCA is a supporter of the OWSC’s efforts but it expressed a concern other symposium participants had as well-there were not enough government representatives involved at the symposium.

“This event is great because it keeps us all in the loop, but it would help if more frontline government people were here,” said Clive Thurston, president of OGCA.

The OGCA also expressed some disappointment that the area of professional management shortages was not addressed at all.

“We have a management shortage right now and by addressing and improving the management situation, it will help workforce challenges,” said Thurston.

“The management path can be attractive to some workers.”

Print | Email | Comment