Mechanic. Project Manager. Part-time barista. Facilities Manager. Transport driver. Dining room host. Security guard. Banquet cook.
With more than 4,000 job openings posted on the Workforce Collective job board, the range of positions is wide, ranging from those requiring years of work experience to those requiring minimal requirements. In addition to inflation and rising production costs, businesses face an additional challenge in hiring and retaining staff, and this affects all industries in Niagara.
But while there are people looking for work and there are jobs available, in many cases the skills on the market do not match the needs of employers.
And it’s starting to take its toll. The problem has no immediate solution and will be an ongoing challenge, said Jhon Canon, recruiting manager at Niagara’s On Demand Staffing.
“You have to understand that it’s not exclusively a labor shortage, but it’s also a skills shortage and those are different issues,” Canon said. .
Prior to COVID-19, skilled labor shortages were on the radar, but the pandemic has exacerbated the problem, with Niagara’s aging population retiring — or being pressured to retire sooner than expected. Canon said there were also a lot of deaths among this demographic of skilled positions, and “replacing them has become a challenge for many organizations.”
For On Demand Staffing, whose business helps companies meet their workforce needs (temporary, seasonal or full-time), the challenges and labor pains of all sides are understood , said president Tammara Scaringi explaining that they are having trouble hiring staff.
In previous years, for every 10 respondents, On Demand could find three “good” workers, but the number of respondents quadrupled. Scaringi said they are interviewing around 30-40 people now to get a positive result.
“It’s been completely difficult…there just aren’t enough applicants or applicants right now,” she said. “It’s definitely a struggle that everyone feels on every level.”
A recent study published by the employment website, Indeed, stated that workforce and workforce retention is a major challenge facing small business owners. Canadian companies have identified labor shortages and skills gaps as part of hiring challenges, which are only more affected when the hiring process is lengthy.
In the survey, 56% of businesses said they were at risk of closing or reducing operations due to staffing issues.
On the eve of the Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce’s annual economic summit, general manager Mishka Balsom said the numbers weren’t surprising and that the “war for talent” is one of the topics she should address next month.
“It’s been identified as one of the top three barriers to economic recovery…we have a shortage of people in the trades, in construction, in good paying jobs, we have a shortage of nurses – it’s vast and impacts all sectors,” Baume said.
“Employers are having such a hard time attracting and retaining the talent they need to drive their business forward.”
Part of the conversation will be about the potential impact on the future. Newcomers and international students also have a role to play in Niagara’s workforce.
“There are a lot of possibilities to explore, but we really need, not just as a region or as a province but as a country, to commit to solving this problem,” she said.
Growing up, Scaringi said she remembers having to compete for jobs, selling her skills to employers, but now the roles are reversed, with employers having to market themselves to attract potential employees.
“The days of people staying at work for a long period of time because people were jumping ship are long gone,” she said. “They go to another employer that has a better work culture, more flexible hours, better benefits…employers are really fighting for the best candidates.”
That means companies need to make adjustments to keep up, but Canon said so far there has been no one-size-fits-all approach.
In Niagara, the manufacturing sector has had some success, with employers providing in-house training rather than looking to hire people who already have the necessary skills. But in the hospitality industry, Canon hasn’t seen many effective solutions.
Some companies have tried to set up transportation programs to make it easier for potential employees from different municipalities to get around, but “there hasn’t been much success from what I’ve observed.”
Part of the hospitality industry’s struggles are related to the pandemic, Canon said, as employees have migrated to other industries.
“Opportunities that may not have been available to them in the past are now available because the needs of manufacturing or the needs of other industries require them to become more open-minded to the type of experiences that were looking for a job,” he said. .
But while participation rates remain a concern – which along with Niagara’s employment rates have declined, as unemployment and job openings have increased – the majority of labor challenges stem from a shortage of necessary skills.
As Ontario tries to build more homes, transit lines and other infrastructure amid labor shortages, the provincial government has launched a “hands-on” career fair – with recruiters, employers and workers from 143 different trades – to engage Grade 7 students. at 12.
#Employers #hard #time #attracting #retaining #talent