One of the key areas identified in the “Common Voice” development plan for the North, is the creation of a Regional Enhancement Committee that would serve our region, share best practices, program information and specific initiatives to mitigate worker/community impact and identify resources to assist in economic recovery. Such a committee would rely heavily on the leadership of the training boards in this region, work with the Adjustment Advisory Program of MTCU (Ministry of Training, College and University) and Community and Labour Adjustment Committees across Northwestern Ontario. This article will provide some background and context in which this important committee will operate.
The Issues
Workforce development, a trained and skilled work force, unemployment rates and participation rates, knowledge-based economy, etc.; the names conjure up a complex and ever changing labour force landscape. As the global economy shifts, it sends tremors over the world’s economic landscape, and like it or not, we all feel it.
The impact of demographic and technological changes has been bearing down heavily on the economy of Northern Ontario, and while urban centres have been struggling to cope with too much growth and the resulting problems of grid-lock and urban chaos, the Northern economies have seen a different kind of workforce dislocation.
Such changes have been with us for a few years now and to a large extent we are adapting reasonably well. At times we are even proud and quite smug about our place in the Northwestern sun and can clearly envision that famous billboard on Highway 401 which says, “you could be home by now if you lived in the Great Northwestern Ontario.”
Actually, I do not think there ever was such a billboard on the 401 but it would not be a bad idea to put one up. It could even say, in the “Superior by Nature - Land of the Sleeping Giant” to capitalize on our recent amazing effort on the Seven Wonders of Canada contest.
As the baby boomers get ready for retirement, the economists and labour market analysts are predicting shortages of labour, especially those in the skilled trades. In Northwestern Ontario such predictions seem to be a paradox since we are also facing relatively high unemployment.
To make matters even more difficult for us in the North, we are also facing issues of adjustment for older workers who get laid off when a mine shuts down or when companies restructure to remain competitive in the global market. The cyclical nature of the resource industries does not help either, so we also need to deal with the ups and down of commodities prices in the world markets, and changing political ideologies from our largest customer down south that can throw a whole industry into chaos, just by imposing countervailing duties.
It is within such dynamics that community-based agencies like the North Superior Training Board (NSTB) and its counterpart in the West, the Northwestern Training and Adjustment Board (NTAB), work diligently to shed some light on the changing nature of work and the ensuing issues of the impact of technology on jobs and innovative strategies to deal with it. It includes the displacement of adult workers and their re-integration in the workforce; skill shortages and finding out where the future jobs will be; the aging workforce and the economic dislocation of not being ready to replace the retirement jobs; the benefits of full participation of Aboriginal people in our region’s labour market; and building an inclusive workforce that allows persons with disabilities opportunities for meaningful work.
The need for new strategies
Employers and workers alike throughout the region are facing unprecedented change and challenges and in many cases, the old way of doing things is no longer a guarantee of success. New times call for new strategies and here in Northwestern Ontario, the call is an urgent one, and one that must be answered together. Addressing the region’s workforce adjustment issues is not for any one agency or organization or level of government to resolve on its own, but rather a problem that calls for a region-wide collaborative approach. The Regional Enhancement Committee has its work cut out, but I am optimistic that “A Common Voice” is this region’s best chance at finally awakening its giant potential.
Frank Pullia is Principal of Pullia Accounting & Consulting and a Councillor in the City of Thunder Bay. He can be reached at (807)767-6579 or at
frank@frankpullia.com
More information on Workforce Development and action plans can be found on
www.nstb.on.ca
or
www.ntab.on.ca
or by calling 1-888-800-8893