The Citizen, 2019-01-10, Page 12PAGE 12. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 2019.
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Skills gap, worker dedication plague area employers
Huron County still finds itself
with a skills gap at a time when the
area has the lowest unemployment
rate in the province.
Gemma Mendez-Smith, executive
director of the Four County Labour
Market Planning Board, which
encompasses Huron, Bruce, Grey
and Perth Counties, spoke to Huron
County Council at its Jan. 2 meeting,
addressing the employment and
training needs in the region.
She said that the issues facing the
labour market in the four local
counties are a rapidly-shrinking
labour force, high labour force
participation rates (low
unemployment), an aging population
and migration characteristics.
The region’s unemployment rate
has historically been lower than the
provincial average, she said, but
whereas it was closer in March of
2018 (4.9 per cent in the region
compared to 5.7 per cent in the
province), it fell to a low three per
cent in June and remains near there.
As the board has surveyed
employers in the region, responses
have mirrored what professionals are
seeing in the statistics from the
region. Just 16 per cent of local
employers, Mendez-Smith said, felt
the availability of qualified workers
was excellent or good, while 84 per
cent said they felt it was either fair or
poor.
She said that the region’s largest
percentage of hires were for full-
time positions and many of those
were part-time positions being
turned into full-time positions.
Retention statistics, she said, remain
a concern, because 43 per cent of the
people leaving jobs in the region are
quitting for other jobs.
She said that local employers need
to focus on retaining employees and
that the board needs to find out what
can be done to keep employees in
the region.
Several councillors, however, felt
that hiring and losing employees, at
least in Huron County, could be a
very small world.
Mayor Bernie MacLellan, a
business owner himself, said that he
felt businesses in Huron County
were “robbing Peter to pay Paul” in
terms of employees. Local
businesses are luring employees
from one local employer to another,
which is creating false employment
statistics and not solving the region’s
problems.
Mendez-Smith agreed that the
small pool of qualified candidates
could create such a situation. She
said that 67 per cent of employers in
Huron County reported hard-to-fill
positions in 2017 and 35 per cent of
those spent over one year trying to
fill some of those positions, which
she felt was far too long.
She said that while there were not
enough applicants and a lack of
qualifications and technical skills,
employers were also seeing a lack of
motivation, attitude or interpersonal
skills.
This led to a discussion regarding
a potential partnership and
connection with local school boards
to work on “soft skills” like a good
work ethic, dedication and
dependability.
She said that many employers are
seeing younger hires simply walk off
the job or not return without giving
any notice for a number of reasons,
including workplace bullying.
MacLellan said he had heard
similar stories and said that these
soft skills needed to be instilled in
young people at an early age.
However, nurturing these
employees, he said, can be
frustrating for employers, no matter
the circumstances.
He said that he’s seeing employees
who won’t work on their birthdays,
for example, but in recent years, it’s
gotten even worse, with employees
refusing to work on a significant
other’s birthday as well.
Teaching young employees that
they have a responsibility to an
employer, he said, is paramount in
creating a workforce.
Mendez-Smith said that is one of
the most important things they are
working on at the Centre for
Employment and Learning with its
courses, adding that there are serious
consequences for those who don’t
follow through with their training in
order to try and communicate that
responsibility and commitment.
She said that while employers are
having trouble finding qualified
candidates, they are having even
more trouble finding people with
those soft skills, such as work ethic,
dedication, dependability, teamwork
and interpersonal skills and self-
motivated individuals who are able
to work with little or no supervision.
MacLellan agreed, saying that he
and other employers are willing to
take on someone with a good work
ethic but who is in need of training,
because they find it harder to teach
those soft skills than the training for
the job.
Mendez-Smith said that the board
is continuing to work with school
boards in the region and connecting
with employers and employees to try
and serve the region better.
For more information on the
board, visit planningboard.ca.
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
Kick the dust up
The Stoneboat Pullers of Wingham put on its first-ever indoor tractor pull at the Clinton
Regional Equine and Agricultural Centre of Huron (REACH) on Sunday. Reports indicate that
the event brought out more than 200 attendees who took in events like competitive pulling and
“smoky full pulls”, many of whom came from out of town. (Hannah Dickie photo)
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