BC will face skilled worker shortage: business council
Posted October 7, 2011 12:56 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – BC will have shortages of skilled workers by the end of the decade, according to a business lobby group.
A Business Council of BC analysis indicates a gradual slowdown in the growth of the labour force this decade. It also says the “ever rising number of retirees will become an issue closer to 2020.”
Council economist Ken Peacock says the biggest labour shortage in the next few years will be in the North Coast/Nechako region and the Cariboo due to billions of dollars of projects scheduled for the area.
Executive VP Jock Finlayson tells us it’s difficult for people to get their head wrapped around future labour shortages when there’s a fairly high unemployment rate.
Sectors the council expects to have shortages include management, health care, and skilled trades. Its suggested solutions include greater immigration, increasing young aboriginal participation in the workforce, and encouraging more young people to take up skilled trades and technical jobs.
