Worker shortage creates crisis in Canada
Canada is facing a hiring crisis. You'd think that workers hit hard by the pandemic would be scrambling for work, but things have changed.
Gone are the days when employers would post a job and the resumes would start pouring in. According to a new study from the Business Development Bank of Canada, small- and medium-sized businesses across the country can't find enough workers to fill job vacancies.
Just ask Harj Samra, chief revenue officer for PocketPills, a Surrey-based online pharmacy. Just before the pandemic hit, the company was in expansion mode.
"There's more technology companies that are also requesting the same engineers that we want," Samra said.
He says it has been a challenge as the operation expanded into Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia, and more recently Alberta.
"Small businesses owners have been put through the wringer during COVID," said Dan Kelly, CEO of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.
The Business Development Bank of Canada’s study shows that 55 per cent of small- and medium-sized businesses across the country have been unable to fill job vacancies for three or four months, and 26 per cent are having trouble retaining workers.
"The pandemic has been difficult for a lot of people, so we saw more Canadians retire during the pandemic than before," said Pierre Cléroux, BDC chief economist.
Retirements are expected to remain high at least until 2026, and 20 per cent of workers who lost their jobs during the pandemic changed their field of employment.
Some of the hiring difficulties include a lack of candidates, lack of skills and lack of experience.
The BDC study suggests employers need to be more flexible in hiring by allowing people to work from home, offering more compensation and benefits and more internal training. They also need to set up formal recruitment procedures.
"So if you are able to offer this flexibility, you might be able to win some talent," added Cléroux.
Over the past 12 months, the BDC says businesses have offered more flexible work arrangements, trained less-qualified workers and recruited younger workers and students.
"We've been hiring both our own internal recruiters and outside recruiters to help," said Samra.
PocketPills also relies heavily on automation, which the BDC says is key to relieving some of the strain brought on by worker shortages. The company has an automated pill dispensing system that also checks the prescriptions to make sure they are correct and has a system to automate response to about 1,000 text messages a day. Samra says that allows them to serve 15 million Canadians with same-day delivery.
The BDC study shows that 61 per cent of businesses that adopted new technologies and automation find it very easy or somewhat easy to hire.
However, machines still won't replace people. During the pandemic, immigration dropped substantially, but the federal government has ramped up programs and hopes to add more than 400,000 new residents in 2021.
"Honestly, the shortage of labour is very gripping right now,” said Kelly. “It was an issue pre-pandemic, but it's so much more acute at the moment.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'A beautiful soul': Funeral held for baby boy killed in wrong-way crash on Highway 401
A funeral was held on Wednesday for a three-month-old boy who died after being involved in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby last week.
'Sophisticated' cyberattacks detected on B.C. government networks, premier says
There has been a "sophisticated" cybersecurity breach detected on B.C. government networks, Premier David Eby confirmed Wednesday evening.
Police handcuff man trying to enter Drake's Toronto mansion
Toronto police say a man was taken into custody outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion Wednesday afternoon after he tried to gain access to the residence.
Biden says he will stop sending bombs and artillery shells to Israel if they launch major invasion of Rafah
U.S. President Joe Biden said for the first time Wednesday he would halt shipments of American weapons to Israel, which he acknowledged have been used to kill civilians in Gaza, if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a major invasion of the city of Rafah.
Canucks claw out 5-4 comeback win over Oilers in Game 1
Dakota Joshua had a goal and two assists and the Vancouver Canucks scored three third-period goals to claw out a 5-4 comeback victory over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 1 of their second-round playoff series Wednesday.
Nijjar murder suspect says he had Canadian study permit in immigration firm's video
One of the Indian nationals accused of murdering British Columbia Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar says in a social media video that he received a Canadian study permit with the help of an Indian immigration consultancy.
Pfizer agrees to settle more than 10K lawsuits over Zantac cancer risk: Bloomberg News
Pfizer has agreed to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits about cancer risks related to the now discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the deal.
Quebec premier defends new museum on Quebecois nation after Indigenous criticism
Quebec Premier Francois Legault is defending his comments about a new history museum after he was accused by a prominent First Nations group of trying to erase their history.
U.S. presidential candidate RFK Jr. had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his brain more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.