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THE HERALD Wednesday April 10 Page Updated job skills needed by Region workforce Continued from Page I Wood Gundy to discuss Haltons economy today and its future pro spects Chairman Pomeroy said Halton has lost approximately manufacturing jobs during the last year Most of those jobs have been replaced by high tech positions that have been filled by people from outside Halton said the Chairman The 1 employees who have joined the unemployment lines during the last year didn have the skills necessary to fill the newly created service industry tions he explained A good case in point is the pro blems facing those who lost their jobs at Provincial Papers Ac cording to Halton Hills Mayor Miller the Region sent out letters to companies throughout asking them to indicate if they had any positions available for the Provincial Paper workers The response was good said Mayor Miller but it turned out the jobs offered required skills the employees didn t have Georgetown was built on com like Provincial Papers and Smith and Stone but now high tech companies such as Vanan Canada on Street and Mold Masters on Armstrong Avenue dominate the Town s in landscape he explained Mold Masters is a company that exports products worldwide add Mayor Miller Like Provincial Papers the electrical component manufac Smith and Stone has also been hit hard by the depressed economy The company shut Assault charge Halton Regional Police ar rested an Acton youth for assault and choking after a domestic dispute between him and a Georgetown woman turned violent Monday evening in an Ac ton residence Police were called to the scene by the 19yearold woman who told police the argument started when she told the accused she no longer wanted to live with him and was going to leave him Police say the 17 yearold ac cused became very upset and struck the victim over the head with a plastic bird bath Then say police he pushed her to the couch and choked her with one hand while making his other hand into a fist She agreed not to leave him so he would stop choking her The accused ran out of the residence when police arrived but police gave chase on foot and caught him taking him to the ground Police say he had posses sion of a utility knife which was opened all the way When police asked him what he was going to do with the knife he said he was going to kill himself The accused from Acton ap peared in court Tuesday for a bail hearing on charges of choking and assault level one down its Porcelain Division in mid March putting people per manently out of work Halton Peel MP Garth Turner agrees Haltons industrial base is in transition As the world becomes more competitive said Mr Turner Halton like the rest of Canada must focus on developing industry in which it is highly efficient The service in of telecommunications transportation and financial in are some that nobody does better in the world than Canada said the MP Mr Turner went on to predict the transition will inevitably result in some people getting caught in the crossfire and thats too bad It will be up to the government to minimize the number of people affected said Mr Turner He qualified his prediction say ing per cent of jobs in Halton are in manufacturing and although that s a significant percentage were not talking one in two workers is employed the manufacturing sector The problem of workers not having the skills to keep up with economic changes can only be solved through a revamping of the education system A majority of today unemployed said Chairman Pomeroy were tram ed to do one type of job but to sue in todays market people must have skills enabling them to move from one job to another The entire Region has a stake in ensuring that its residents are equipped with flexible job skills said the Chairman As proof he pointed to the alarming statistic that the Regions General Welfare Assistance caseloads in creased per cent in the first two months of over the same period last year Unlike the 198182 recession when Halton workers migrated out west to find alter native employment unemployed workers this time around are re maining here said Chairman Chairman Pomeroy offered a variety of statistics to show Canadas education system is in need of change These education spending in Canada is second highest among G7 tries yet Canadian students at tend school an average of 183 days per year as compared to days per year in Germany and Japan Canada s high school dropout rate of 30 per cent is one of the highest in the industrial world Fifteen per cent of high school graduates are functionally il literate Mr Turner agreed the skills of Halton and the rest of Canadas workforce have to be upgraded He stated the federal government is well aware of this need pom ting out million was recently The closure of provincial Papers in Georgetown earlier this year is only a sign of lough economic times It also signifies a change in Hill Industrial base from low level manufacturing companies to high tech companies agree local politicians Herald photo Keep Your Trailering Safe With The Right Towing Equipment by REESf J TRUNNION BAR REMOVABLE DRAWBAR SPORT FRAME HALTON TRAILER SALES RENTALS RR GEORGETOWN Trafalgar Hwy 7 8774266 approved by the federal govern ment for job skills retraining pro- North Halton MPP Noel also agreed the answer to todays and tomorrows unemployment problems in lies with education Education must be promoted as a lifelong activity and not one that stops when people enter the work force he said Mr also commented that the provincial government must allocate more money for skill retraining programs How much the provincial government will spend however wont be known until the budget comes down at the end of April he said Serving Halton Hills for yrs HOURS complete glares art mm pan of or Monday CLOSED lues Fri Saturday 00500 purchase one GEORGETOWN OPTICAL 8773562 GEORGETOWN MARKET PLACE ARE HIGH PRICES CRUSHING YOU THEN COME TO RE MENS WEAR 20 OFFSTOREWIDE RE McCALL Northview Centre