Business must share responsibility for shortage of skilled workers

By Nobina Robinson. Twenty years after the “brain drain” of the 1990s, a new threat to the supply of talent in Canada is apparent. Key industry sectors and leading employers in Canada are warning of a skills shortage and a lack of skilled tradespeople. Others call this a skills “mismatch.” Governments are under pressure to enact a range of labour market “interventions,” from short-term fixes to immigration to new investment in training and skills upgrading to changes to existing talent support programs. Canada’s failure to graduate enough tradespeople has been a constant for decades. While Canada had nearly 400,000 registered apprentices in 2010, less than 50 per cent went on to obtain their certifications. Most dropouts leave because current policies make it impossible for them to stay. Read more...