A number of reports are drawing Canada’s attention to a shortage of skilled workers that will hit the country as it recovers from the global financial crisis.
A combination of factors, including low birth rates and the retirement age for baby boomers, is appointed as the cause for the shortages.
“The baby boomer cohort is beginning to reach the average retirement age,” said Pedro Antunes of the Conference Board of Canada (CBOC). “Over the next 20 years there’s going to be a steady stream hitting that [median age of] 61.”
The unemployment rate in Canada is still sitting at 8%, but the country is already feeling the pressure that comes with the lack of skilled workers, particularly in Ontario.
According to a paper from the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, titled Downturn, Recovery and the Future Evolution of the Labour Market, “the recession and rising unemployment may have diverted attention from labour shortages, but the shortages that existed before the recession will resurface after the economy fully recovers.”
“Doctors, health services, financial services, professors and teachers, we’re going to see shortages in most of the skilled professions,” commented Tina Kremmidas, the Chamber of Commerce’s Chief Economist. “And we’re going to need skilled trades workers, carpenters and electricians, for example, as well. Then there are whole new areas that are going to be big, such as nanotechnology and green energy. Nanotechnology is going to be huge in the future, yet how many people do you know who are getting into that area of study?”
