The Labour Market Group once again wants to know the challenges employers and various groups face when trying to fill vacancies in the Districts of Nipissing and Parry Sound.
LMG has organized a series of five community consultations beginning January 29th to hear the challenges and perhaps suggest solutions.
LMG executive director Stacie Fiddler says the consultations are geared toward community leaders, different agencies and industry.
Participants will get a recap of what’s occurred in both districts during 2018 and also talk about their challenges.
Fiddler doesn’t expect this round of consultations to be any different than past years where the main point will be how to fill numerous job vacancies.
“Employers are really struggling to find qualified, skilled individuals to fill positions in all industries,” Fiddler said.
Fiddler says the job gap isn’t just happening in the immediate region or Northern Ontario.
She says it’s being felt right across the country.
“I think we just feel it more in this area because we have those low populations. We don’t have the massive population numbers Southern Ontario has to pull from.”
Fiddler says the main culprit behind the job vacancies issue is an ageing population that’s primarily made up of baby boomers.
“Baby boomers are exiting the workforce at a much quicker pace than new folks are entering and that’s why we’re seeing a lot of these problems arise now,” she said.
Once the consultations are complete, LMG will compile all the information and post a final report on its website.
Fiddler expects that to happen toward the latter part of February.
The report will be accessible to anyone who wants to read it.
The consultations take place in North Bay and Sturgeon Falls on the 29th, followed by a similar meeting in Mattawa on January 30, then Almaguin Highlands and Parry Sound have a session each on January 31st.
Fiddler says because LMG needs to know what kind of numbers to expect for each consultation, participants need to register beforehand.
Click one of the links below to register for the meeting you plan to attend.
For North Bay, click here.
For Sturgeon Falls, click here.
For Mattawa, click here.
For Almaguin Highlands, click here.
For Parry Sound, click here
