the CanadaVisa Team - 21 July, 2015
According to Monte Solberg, Minister of Human Resources and Social Development Canada (ESDC), Canadian labour force growth is projected to increase by only 11 per cent over the next 50 years. This figure is in stark contrast to the 200 per cent growth of the labour force over the past 50 years (from 1956–2006), which was the key contributor to Canada's economic expansion.
"We won't have to wait 50 years to see the impact of that trend. It is here today," he stated, noting that 60 per cent of Canadian companies believe that the labour shortage is slowing the growth of their business.
There are a tremendous number of job opportunities in Canada In the next ten years, Alberta is predicting a shortfall of 100,000 workers and British Columbia will be in need of 350,000 workers. Ontario expects that by 2030, it will face a provincial shortage of 560,000 workers.
Minister Solberg stated that the government and private sector must focus on training and employing all possible workers who are currently residing in Canada and to bring in increasing numbers of skilled workers from abroad to help fill these vacant positions. Minister Solberg would like to increase immigration through the Provincial Nomination Programs, in which immigration applicants have a job waiting for them in Canada. He has also been working on improving the Temporary Foreign Worker program. $1.3 billion over five years has been committed to helping Canadian immigrants obtain the job, language, and basic skills they need to integrate into Canadian society and the Canadian work force.
He has also been implementing programs to engage current Canadian residents who may not have been able fully participate in the workforce in the past. The targeted initiative for older workers, the youth employment strategy, the aboriginal skills and employment partnership, and the apprenticeship incentive grant are among these programs.
"We are going to feel a pinch, which is why we've got to encourage as many people as we can to get into the workforce."
