Focus on increasing skill levels, attracting talent and improving productivity
British Columbia has launched a new provincial strategy to ensure it has enough skilled workers to fill more than one million job openings expected in 2019.
Titled "Skills for Growth: British Columbia’s Labour Market Strategy to 2020," the strategy targets three priority areas:
• increasing the skill level and success of people currently in British Columbia
• attracting and retaining top talent from across Canada and around the world
• improving productivity by creating a culture of innovation.
“If we want to maximize our economic potential, B.C. not only needs a highly skilled workforce but also one with the right skills to match market demands,” said Regional Economic and Skills Development Minister Ida Chong.
Over the next decade, B.C. is expected to be one of Canada’s economic leaders, with a more than 25-per-cent increase in provincial gross domestic product (GDP) by 2017. As a result, employment is projected to increase by an average of 1.8 per cent per year, creating 450,000 new jobs by 2019. As well, about 676,000 additional jobs are expected to be lost due to retirements, meaning a total of about 1.1 million jobs will be available by 2019, said the government.
About 650,000 young people are in B.C.’s education system, so the growth in job openings is expected to outpace the number of workers.
“Over the next decade, we know that over three-quarters of our job openings will require a college diploma, trade certificate, university degree or higher,” said Chong. “Skills empower British Columbians with more options, helping them rise higher in their chosen profession, provide more for their families and enjoy more success in their lives.”
The Skills for Growth strategy was developed in consultation with employers, post-secondary institutions, labour, industry associations, government and other stakeholders. The strategy is designed to be the starting point of a co-ordinated effort to bring all stakeholders together to help meet British Columbia’s future workforce needs.
A copy of the strategy can be found at www.workbc.ca/labour_market_statistics/skills_for_growth.htm
