The Wingham Advance-Times, 1984-12-12, Page 23Page 6—Crossroads—Dec. 12, 1984
Mainstream Canada
The 1709000
job jolt
By Tony Carlson
It is cruelly ironic that in a
country with 1.4 million
unemployed there are about
170,000 jobs available in
small business alone.
But that's the situation in
Canada today, research by
the Canadian Federation of
Independent Business
shows.
In a study conducted
through mail surveys and in-
person interviews, the CFIB
found that more than one
small firm in five would hire
today if it could find suitable
employees.
A large proportion of the
jobs — 27 per cent — are in
sales, but there are
significant vacancies in all
other categories, including
managerial (8.3 per cent),
construction (7.3 per cent)
and even professional (3.1
per cent).
The number of openings
also varies across the
country, with Ontario
emerging as the job -seeker's
best bet. More than half the
jobs reported by survey re-
spondents are in that prov-
ince.
Bibles
for Moscow
Ten thousand Russian
Bibles should be in Moscow
by .the end of the year,
thanks to the United Bible
Societies. Printing of the
Bibles began in October and
all efforts are being made to
get them finished and trans-
ported to Russia before the
year is out.
.A team of printers in Stutt-
gart, West Germany; set up
their machine ready to
start printing the Bibles.
They put on a new pallet of
paper, did a few test runs,
made some final adjust-
ments, and then began the
printing.
The paper arrived at the
Stuttgart factory from Man-
chester, England. There are
long delivery delays for thin
Bible paper in Europe 6t
present, and a firm in
northern England was the
only one able to supply paper
of the right quality in time.
For this number of Bibles
532,000 sheets of paper are
being used. Each one'meas-
ures .66 x 88 centimetres
(about 26 x 34 inches). Laid
in a row with their longest
edges touching, the sheets
would stretch for about 351
kilometres (218 miles).
Collating of the first print-
ed sheets was expected to
start at the beginning of
November with, the binding
process to last for several
weeks. Bibles were then
taken to Moscow where the
Baptist Church has an offi-
cial import permit for them.
The cost of the 10,000
Bibles and of transporting
them to Moscow will mainly
be borne by the United Bible.
Societies. Supporters of the
Bible Societies are already
giving donations to make it
possible for Russian Chris-
tians to have their Bibles
before 1985 begins.
British Columbia and
Quebec also have many jobs
open, but think twice before
heading to Prince Edward
Island, the Yukon or the
Northwest Territories,
which among them report
only 1 per cent of the
vacancies.
Beneath the figures,
though, lie obvious
questions: why does this job
gap exist and what can we do
about it?
Some of the answers to the
first query are equally clear,
but there is no easy solution.
A variety of reasons for the
job gap emerge from survey
responses. Many focus on a
shortage of skilled persons,
inadequate training pro-
grams, poor general
education Levels and the
difficulty in attracting
employees to outlying areas.
More significant, though,
many small business owners
mention Unemployment In-
surance and welfare as
barriers to employment,
noting time and again the
futility of hiring and training
personnel only to lose them
when they qualify for UI.
Others point to generous UI
benefits which push up wage
expectations.
CFIB President John
Bulloch says such rigid wage
demands and poor attitudes
prevent the labor market
from adjusting to the
changing. needs, •of our
economy.
"Thus, the UI system is
itself creating unemploy-
ment in these instances," he
• says.
He is heartened by the
federal government's com-
mitment to review the entire
UI system, especially •
because Ottawa has made it
clear that policy makers will
consult with the CFIB 'and
other groups in the process.
But, as Bulloch says, • that
consultation and review will
really attack only one area of
concern.
Also required are fresh
looks at . the' education
system, job training pro-
grams • and unemployment
placement procedures.
There is -much' room, too,
for business and labor to
review their own contri-
butions. Is business doing
enough to let educators know
what it, needs from
graduates? ' Is labor
responsive enough to re-
training, and apprenticeship
programs?
The. problem is vast and
allows no single, sure an-
swer. The only thing certain
is that in terms of responsi-
bility, no one is off the hook.
Japan's males lead 1, -
Life expectancy in,
Japan continues to rise, ad-
vancing in 1981 to 73.8
years for men and 7..9 for
women, according to the
latest government figures.
Japan has the world's high-
estlife expectancy for
men, followed by Iceland,
Sweden, the Netherlands
and Norway, while Iceland
has the highest for women,
79.7 years.
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