Immigration.ca - Canada Immigration News - September 2008
Last week, a group of employers, unions and colleges gathered in the nation’s capitol to warn the political parties of an impending labour crisis.
The group, which is going by the name of the Investing in Skills coalition, is calling upon the various political leaders to shift their campaign rhetoric. They are upset that the parties are preoccupying themselves with “name-calling” and “tasteless jokes” rather than discussions on how to ease the labour shortage that has come to “cripple” many businesses across Canada.
“Canada faces many challenges that should be debated during the election campaign – and the skilled shortage crisis is one of them,” said Paul Charette who is heading up the coalition. “We need the government to understand how serious the issue is, particularly how it affects our productivity, our economy and our ability to compete globally.”
The group used figures to substantiate their statements. The construction sector expects to create over 200,000 new jobs in the next eight years; the mining industry, 100,000 in the next ten years; the railway industry, another 11,000 in the next four years.
The group did make recommendations on how the crisis could be eased, including the overhaul of a back-logged immigration system, as well as additional funding toward technical college programs that specialize in the trades.
“We can choose to invest in a skilled workforce that can compete with the best the world has to offer,” said Jayson Myers of the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, “or we can continue to turn our back to the problem and force employers to fight amoung themselves for an ever-more scarce resource.”
Source: Financial Post
