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BB FUTURE OF WORK : SKILLED TRADES WORKERS PARTICULARLY SCARCE Continued from page 1 2 = é continues ie Plagne Halton uch m like the Veet “of ‘the prov. ince. The Ontario Chamber of Beaver | Thursday, February and grow in the aftermath of the pandemi sarah Barclay, founder and principal consultant at at Synapse Resor es, framed the issue differ, " 't think that there's a shortage of work- ers. I think that it might be more accurate to say there's a shortage of em- ployers willing to pay the wages necessary to secure puTure oF OF WORK you go," she said. ‘Shuttleworth, Downto cently said that many busi- nesses are contending with labour shortages, especial- ly in the service indus! “There are some contin- ued challenges (post CO- VID). Labour shortages is definitely one of them,” she sald. The problem is evident in the Georgetown and Ac- ton area, said Melanie Fra- zer, president and CEO of the Halton Hills Chamber of Commerce. they want to as compantes ‘should provide hire," she said. At the ville resident said, while factors like working condi- tions — including the flex- ibility of working from home or a hybrid model — work environment are also “extremely impor- tant." "There's definitely been a significant change in the world of work since the pandemic. It's forced em- Ployers torealize that work what you do, not where insidehalton.com Hamilton Ss 20+ ART INSTALLATIONS MURALS Ice Skating « Local Food Vengprs _ nnn AND unique factors in that the pandemic really took peo- ple out ‘of industries like restaurant services, ac- commodation and retail,” she said. She also cites the lack of public transportation and housing crisis as contrib- uting factors, where "there are very few rental spaces, and the ones that are com- ing up are very expensive,” making it harder to attract people from other munici- Ss. “At the entry level or at that mid-level (job) ma: ket, if people can't afford to [CSBALTconnects, @r hamilton Employment Data As of December 2022: people inthe labour force by the Numbers 7.7M unemployed 9.24 meen @ sal live in your community, they're certainly not going tobe working for you," said Frazei The owner of Mumbai Frankie restaurant in Georgetown, Chandra Ki mar, had to strategize in or- der to staff his restaurant by renting a housing unit for its workers, because those who available to ork "are not able to com. mute" from Mississauga and Brampton. He said other establish- ments “have similar is- sues "ike many municipali- mee landscape," said Caddo, president canbe Employment by occupation: les and service Business, finance, administration © Trades, transport, equipment operators, © Education, law/social, community/government services @ Management © Other Metroland gaaphio and CEO of the Burlington Chamber of Commerce. The city's lack of afford- ible ig has exacer- bated the soroblem, he said. With the unemploy- ment rate in Halton at 3.8 per cent in the fot quar- ter of 2022, even lower than nm stated on its — Caddo said “there's no pool of potential employees that are unem- ployed looking for work." He added: "It's hard to entice people to move to is area because of the cost of living." WHAT'S AHEAD Against the backdrop of an expected slowdown in the economy this year, y seeker market will remain hot for are tively hiring," while Trazer said it's likely the region will see a softening of the labour market in the com- representa- tives, for their part, contin- ue to advocate for | a businesses their concerns at allie Tevels of government Frazer ead ‘that efforts to come up with solutions for the transportation woes in Hi ton, Hills are ongo- ‘ing commu- nities to keep supporting and shopping local. “Local businesses are still struggling and recov- ering, and still need the support to just stay open and to stay on track," she sald. Caddo has laid out sev- eral i for Barclay HR consultant Sarah Barclay said it's a good time to be a job ker. Synapse Human Resources | photo. the provincial and federal governments. These include identify- ing more targeted immigra- tion to Ontario, taking more steps to recognize foreign credentials, promoting skilled trades among young cial support for undevel- oped populations and red redue- ing labour market between ean STORY BEHIND THE STORY: With Halton — like much of the province ed to share how local busi- ness leaders and owners are addressing the prob- lem. ct [im] SCAN Tuts cove for more on the uture of Work, @hamiltonwinterfest