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+ IB OPINION: FUTURE OF WORK = WE NEED TO PREPARE NOW FOR THE WORKFORCE OF TOMORROW Oakville Beaver | Thursday, February insidehalton.com ROCCO ROSSI Column “I know kung fu” is an affable line from the 1999 film the Matrix when Kea- nu Reeves’ character Neo jearns the martial art in an mould we all love to download a Program { to learn a new skill, or guage for that editor? Ye Yet isthis need that far from re- ality? We simply do not have enough people nor the people with the right skills to support our labour force demand. Employers more and more will need to look at ways to provide upskilling FUTURE OF WORKS evolving business needs. frat means we need to lay grounc iow to ree for the future of ‘wort According to OCC’s 2023 Ontario Economic Report (OER), labour shortages continue to dominate as a source of concern directly impacting most employers. Yet, the light at the end of the tunnel is unfortu- nately far away. Baby boomers are , CaUS- ing additional ¢ strain onan already tight labour mar- ket. The number of babies born in Canada fell to a nearly 15-year low in 2020. And, while the federal gov- ernment is making efforts to increase the number of immigrants to Canada, we are far behind, and not us. ing all the tools at our dis- face massive labour short- ages across a variety of in- dustries. This will intensify organizations’ needs to look at ways to upskill and re-skill their current tal- ent. The workforce of tomor- row will require nimble training options and fewer barriers to labour mobility across Canada and interna- tionally. The government also has a role to play. The coe ariforce Develop- ment Policy Council’s ef- Fav have resulted i in mea- surable gains in public pol- icy to support upskilling and re-skilling the provinc- e’s workforce. We were pleased to see the Ontario government in- ‘oduce a new micro-cre- dential strategy and frame- work last year. Micro-cre- dentials provide a quick, af- fordable, and often indust and specialize in their fields. We would now like to see the government work with all post-secondary in- stitutions to expand enrol- ment and snl eer new ro-credential p1 to foster fslong learning. fany organizations strona with whatis called the “skills mismatch,” ady- namic in which employers’ needs don’t align with the skillsets of job seekers. While policy-makers at both the provincial and fed- grave levels talk about bring- re talent to Onta- rio Sand ( Canada as a whole, there is a missing piece when it comes to ensuring a highly skilled workforce that is prepared for Onta- rio’s labour B the num. ber of postgraduate work permits, governments can ensure not only a steady flow of talent coming to Canada, but also ensuring trained to Canadian stan- dards rather than having to rely on requalification ex- aminations. Specific emphasis must continue to be placed on; at- tracting skilled labour in high-de- mand sectors of the econo- That means the gov- ernment must continue to work with post-secondary institutions, informed by data and trends, to ensure they are meeting Ont workforce needs in ee demand areas, such as the skilled trades, apprentice- ships, education and health care. Other sectors we would like to see them focus on in- clude but are not limited to, construction, logistics, ear- ly childhood education, STEM, agriculture and food and beverage manu- facturing. Certain shortag- es are particularly acute in rural and remote commu- tion programs or other place-based strategies are therefore necessary to ad- dress this. Ensuring organizations find employees with the right skills is critical to our overall competitiveness. Much work lies ahead. OER 2023 revealed that business confidence has dropped to a record low in 2023. Labour shortages, infla- tion, health care system vulnerabilities, and fore- casts of an economic con- traction are dampening confidence in the provinc- e’s economic out Like the choice of the red pill or blue pill in the Ma- trix, employers and public policy-makers can either face reality and get ahead or ignore it and get left be- hind. Which one do you choose? Rocco Rossi is president and CEO of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce. He is also a member of Tor- star’s Toronto Advisory opportunities to fulfil posal. Ontariocontinuesto help employees level up that these students are nities. Regional immigra- Council. We purchase the AI software that is created by the startup that hires the employees that raise the families Canada’s oil and gas industry has a positive * impact in Ontario - 71,500 jobs and an $81 billion that include the daughter contribution to Ontario’s economy. Find out more who babysits your kids. reasons you can feel good about Canada’s oil and gas at madethecanadianway.ca ° Canadian Energy Centre