Economic Rebound Brings Crisis in Talent Supply

CTHRB Seminar Highlights Desperate Shortage in HR Availability!

A crisis is imminent in the supply of skilled workers for some of Canada’s most important sectors, according to experts at a CTHRB Workshop at this year’s “HR 2005” Conference and Trade Show. HR 2005 is one of the largest HR events in Canada, drawing more than 100 exhibitors and scores of keynotes and seminars devoted to the professional development of Canada’s HR practitioners.

Bob Cook, Executive Director of the Canadian Technology Human Resources Board (CTHRB) stated that the job situation in the Ottawa market was symptomatic of the problem facing the entire country: “If we are struggling with talent shortage issues here in Ottawa, where the high-tech boom became an especially serious bust a few years ago and where construction and tourism are major industry sectors, then the rest of the country is in especially serious trouble.”

CTHRC arranged for a two-part investigation of the issue, to look at labour shortages from all dimensions. The first segment of CTHRB’s program involved a panel discussion between Dr. Edward Jackson, Chair of Carleton University’s Centre For Community Innovation, Mr. Paul Labarge, Partner in the business law firm Labarge Weinstein, and Mr. Keith Carter, Vice President of Business Development at Procom, one of Canada’s largest IT services firms. The Panel was moderated by Janet Eastman, Host and Associate Producer, Ottawa Citizen Business TV.

Dr. Jackson set the stage by reminding the audience of the tough times that Ottawa had been through in the past four years. “There have been big changes in the foundations of Ottawa’s technology community,” he stated. “There has been pain and anger from those left out of the process of transformation.” Dr, Jackson, who has done surveys on the nature of the job market in Ottawa, added that, in his opinion, “the market is on the rebound”.

The second segment of CTHRB’s workshops was devoted to an investigation of the depth of the current talent shortage in Canada in two highly significant sectors: construction and tourism.

Rosemary Sparks, Director of Projects for the Construction Sector Council (CSC), described a work environment where the supply of labour was a critical ingredient for companies in deciding whether to invest in new projects. With some one million workers involved in the diverse trades and professions of the construction industry, it is one of Canada’s largest sectors. “There is huge competition for workers today,” said Ms. Sparks.

Mr. Cook said that “If the remarkable recovery in our workforce is to continue -- and to continue benefiting all Canadians -- we need to coordinate our response to a potentially catastrophic labour shortage. The response will have to include cooperation among sectors, changes in social infrastructure, and more investment in technology to overcome the lack of people. I am confident that Canadians will recognize and rise to this challenge.”

Read full article: http://www.cthrb.ca/English/Newsletter/NewsletterJan06.html

This release was published on openPR.