N.B. takes a team approach to solving labour woes

Internet and face-to-face forums to culminate in a skills summit

The Government of New Brunswick will bring together various stakeholders to build a province-wide strategy to help address the labour market imbalances.

"Together we will develop and implement an action plan containing solutions to issues in key areas of mutual concern with respect to the labour market," said Minister of Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour Ed Doherty.

The process, which will include a combination of Internet-based and face-to-face meetings, will be facilitated by Don Lenihan, provincial advisor on public engagement, in collaboration with other departmental officials from the Labour Market Analysis Branch.

Participants will be able to access an online forum early next week to discuss and help find solutions to several key issues, such as skills and skills shortages, reducing labour market information gaps, planning for the human resource needs of the future, identifying and targeting barriers to work, and the importance of raising awareness of our changing labour force, culture and values.

"It is increasingly evident that with the demographic challenges and the complexity of the labour market, it will take the work and commitment of our interest groups to find solutions that work for New Brunswickers," said Doherty.

"That's where this process will differ from the traditional consultative process. We are asking our stakeholders to build an action plan that they too will be responsible for implementing, to help lead our province further down the road to self-sufficiency."

The outcomes of the online process will culminate early next year at a skills summit, where stakeholders will meet to endorse the strategy and action plan, with the goal of enabling New Brunswick to make concrete progress on the issues.

"Together we will develop a strategy and begin the implementation of an action plan that identifies how our respective roles and responsibilities will be complementary," said Doherty.

To read the full story, login below.

Not a subscriber?

Start your subscription today!