Canadian employers struggling to fill jobs: Manpower

TORONTO – Forty-one percent of Canadian employers report difficulty filling jobs, according to the ManpowerGroup 2018 Talent Shortage Survey released this week.

Skilled Trades are the hardest jobs to fill in Canada followed by Sales Representatives and Drivers, the survey says. At a time when organizations face a tightening labour market and the lowest unemployment in 40 years, most of the jobs where demand is growing are mid-skilled roles that require post-secondary training, yet not always a full university degree.

Nearly three in four of the companies surveyed (68%) are investing in learning platforms and development tools to build their talent pipeline, while 28% percent of employers are changing their existing work models, including offering flexible work arrangements to attract and retain talent, according to the nearly 2,000 employers surveyed. More than half of companies (56%) are looking at different talent pools for skills including boomerang retirees or returning parents and part-timers.

“We continue to see increasing demand for skilled workers across all sectors of the Canadian economy from trades and transport to sales,” said Darlene Minatel, Country Manager ManpowerGroup Canada. “Today’s job seekers don’t always have the skills employers need. To solve our growing skills gap, we need to take a new approach. Employers need to buy skills in the short term, cultivate communities of talent by borrowing from external sources and help people with adjacent skills transition from one role to another. Above all, we need to build talent through upskilling and reskilling programs to develop a workforce with the skills companies and individuals need to succeed.”