Upgrading skills, fixing immigration policy and leveraging aboriginal workers will be key to tackling Canada's mounting skills crunch, according to a report released this morning by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.
"A crisis that had been hidden by the recession is now fully apparent," the organization stated in a news release.
The organization released a report this morning based on 12 months of countrywide skills consultations.
Perrin Beatty, president and CEO of the organization, said while there's no one-size-fits-all solution to skills gaps across the country, certain top priorities are emerging.
"Three issues were raised wherever we met: upgrading the skills of existing Canadian workers, improving connections between educators and employers and getting the right approach to immigration," he said.
"We also heard a great deal about the need to do much better in fully realizing the potential of aboriginal Canadians," he added.
The chamber said its top priorities coming out of the consultations are:
- upgrading the skills of the existing workforce and better employing underused groups;
- ensuring immigration policy is aligned with local labour markets and employers' needs;
- improving the connections between educators and employers to balance supply with demand for skilled trades and highly skilled occupations; and
- focusing on education and workforce development of aboriginal peoples, especially in the West and the territories where the economic and social opportunities and risks are greatest.
