Employers having difficulty finding right talent: Survey

Manufacturing, automation, energy industries most affected

Canadian businesses are reporting serious problems finding the workers they need amidst a growing skills shortage, according to Randstad's latest Global Workmonitor, surveying employees in 32 countries, with at least 400 respondents in each.

Two thirds (66 per cent) of Canadian employers are having trouble finding the right people for specific jobs while 58 per cent believe Canadian employers are experiencing problems finding highly qualified people.

Additionally, 55 per cent of Canadian employees said they expect a shortage of highly qualified employees within the next three years and more than one-half expect to see a shortage of staff in specific jobs.

"The demographic shift resulting in retirements, a deepening shortfall of skilled workers and the growing mismatch between the skills needed and those available has evolved into an undeniable skills crisis," said Jan Hein Bax, president of Randstad Canada.

The skills shortage is becoming one of the great challenges facing the world of work, said Bax.

"To combat the lack of essential skills, there is a strong need to cultivate continuous learning and employers must invest more into their workforces," he said. "We need to confront this issue head-on in order to improve the productivity of our workforce."

The lack of skilled workers is affecting many of Canada's sectors, regions and employers, said Bax, including manufacturing, automation and energy and utility industries.

"And within these three industries, the Greater Toronto Area, Montreal and Calgary regions specifically experienced difficulties finding engineering talent. In terms of roles, draftspersons, mechanical engineers and mechanical designers proved to be the roles that were hardest to fill within the above regions and industries.”

The skilled trades industry is also feeling the effects, said Bax.

"In Quebec, in particular, we are seeing a strong demand for machinists, electro mechanics, industrial mechanics, welders and supervisors in industrial management.”

Globally, almost 60 per cent of respondents said employers are having difficulties finding the right person for the job — especially in Brazil, where 71 per cent of employers are having difficulties.

Finding highly qualified people is an issue for almost one-half of the world's employers, found Randstad, though this is less of a problem in Greece, Italy, Spain and Denmark where about one-third of employers are experiencing this.

Globally, 47 per cent of employees also expect a shortage of highly qualified staff within the next three years, especially in Hong Kong (67 per cent) and China and India (both 65 per cent). On the other hand, the Czech Republic (34 per cent), Netherlands and Denmark (33 per cent) have the lowest proportion of employees expecting a shortage of highly qualified staff.

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