Labour Supply Strategies for Small
Businesses in British Columbia
Recommendations to the
Government of British Columbia
and Other Stakeholders
PREFACE
On behalf of the members of the Coalition of BC Businesses, we are pleased to submit this report to the Government of British Columbia.
Skills and labour shortages have become the number one economic issue for small businesses in British Columbia. The Coalition represents over 50,000 businesses throughout the province, many of which are grappling with this challenge.
With this report, we want to encourage the Government of British Columbia, small business associations and other British Columbia stakeholders to work together to take immediate action to address the labour supply issue.
As well as providing evidence on the nature and extent of the challenges, we have provided a comprehensive set of recommendations to the BC Government. These recommendations collectively represent an opportunity to take action through partnerships.
We intend to follow up on this report in a timely manner to influence the necessary actions on behalf of all small businesses in this province.
John Winter Chair
ABOUT THE COALITION OF BC BUSINESSES
The Coalitionof BC Businesses wasformed in 1992 to represent the voice of small and medium-sized businesses in the development of British Columbia's labour and employment policies. It is made up of organizations that collectively represent over 50,000 small and medium-sized
businesses active in all sectors of BC's diverse economy in communities throughout the province. The Coalition's sole focus is the development of labour policies that will help foster a positive relationship between employers and employees and a climate for new economic growth, opportunities and jobs.
Coalition Members
BC & Yukon Hotels' Association, www.bcyha.com BC Chamber of Commerce, www.bcchamber.org
BC Restaurant and Foodservices Association, www.bcrfa.com BC Trucking Association, www.bctrucking.com
Building Owners & Managers Association, www.boma.bc.ca Building Supply Dealers Association, www.bsdabc.com Canadian Council of Grocery Distributors, www.ccgd.ca Canadian Home Builders' Association, www.chbabc.org
Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association, www.crfa.ca Council of Tourism Associations of BC, www.cotabc.com
Independent Contractors and Business Association, www.icba.bc.ca Insurance Brokers Association of BC, www.ibabc.org
New Car Dealers Association of BC, www.newcardealers.ca Retail Council of Canada, www.retailcouncil.org
Retail BC, www.RetailBC.org
Vancouver Board of Trade, www.vancouverboardoftrade.com Western Silvicultural Contractors' Association, www.wsca.ca
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This report prepared by the Coalition of BC Businesses shows that skills and labour shortages in many sectors and regions of British Columbia are negatively impacting small businesses and communities. Reports and anecdotal information demonstrate labour supply gaps are harming small businesses, as follows:
• Curtailed growth in goods and services;
• Reduced hours of operation;
• Missed new/expanded market opportunities;
• Reduced customer service;
• Reduced productivity; and,
• Burned out owners/managers and staff.
Without preemptive action by government, business and industry and others, these impacts on individual small businesses will become widespread and harm BC’s economy and communities. Small businesses in British Columbia represent almost six of every ten jobs in the private sector, and collectively their growth in recent years has led all of Canada. Small businesses are the core of many industry sectors and a critical part of communities and regional development throughout British Columbia.
The “perfect storm” of an aging workforce, a declining 15-24 year old new entrant pool, stiff international competition for talent, and strong economic growth over the last five years, has increased skills gaps in BC. Small businesses are particularly vulnerable when trying to deal with the impacts of shortages.
The Coalition of BC Businesses published this report, because it holds the view that current provincial policies and programs designed to support labour strategies have not sufficiently addressed the needs of small and medium sized business. The purpose of this report is as follow:
1. To bring attention to the impacts of the labour supply issue on small businesses;
2. To raise the level of urgency about this issue with small businesses, governments and other stakeholders;
3. To make recommendations to support small businesses;
4. To encourage leadership among business groups, small businesses, government and Coalition members to take immediate action and longer term steps to address the issue.
Coalition Recommendations to the BC Government
1. Small Business Input and Broad-Based Changes
1.1 Establish a joint planning committee of small business representatives and senior officials with the Ministries of Economic Development and Small Business and Revenue to coordinate small business involvement and oversee on-going workforce planning, implementation and review of WorkBC, education and training strategies.
1.2 Provide funding to a task force of Coalition members to act as a small business sounding board and facilitator of engagement for government agencies and to encourage group – instead of individual business association – action.
1.3 Hold a strategy meeting of small business groups and Ministries of Economic Development and Employment and Income Assistance to discuss the design and implementation of a new and innovative devolved “made-in-BC” Labour Market Development Agreement.
2. Small Business Awareness and Information
2.1 Create and make accessible, practical labour market information that small businesses, job-seekers/students and educators can use to plan and make training, recruitment and career decisions.
3. Make Immigration a Key Part of BC’s Economic Plan
3.1 Expand the number of immigrants coming to BC to work in small businesses through the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), by making nominees in lower skill level occupations eligible
under the PNP, and by providing information and workshops to increase small business application success rates.
3.2 Influence the Federal Government to streamline the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, to broaden access among small businesses and negotiate regional and sectoral bi-lateral agreements to assist small businesses in high skill shortage areas.
3.3 Provide incentives and resources to help immigrants and Canadians to migrate to and work in BC regions experiencing labour shortages.
4. Work Based Training Capacity
4.1 Review the experience of the first year of the Training Tax Credit and make non-apprenticeship strategic occupations eligible for credit.
4.2 The Industry Training Authority should work with small business groups to expand access to traditional apprenticeship training and new industry training programs by:
•
Designating new industry training programs in industries traditionally not served by apprenticeship (e.g., Retail, Tourism, Trucking, etc.);•
Increasing ITA’s support of online training and other flexible/alternate delivery models to enable employees of small businesses to complete technical training closer to work and home;•
Direct and help Industry Training Organizations (ITOs) to make it a priority to support small businesses to participate in ITO planning, priority-setting and industry training programs.5. Education and Post-Secondary Education Responsiveness
5.1 Appoint a small business representative to the Minister of Education’s Education Advisory Council, and invite small business representatives to participate in the Learning Roundtable. 5.2 Include small business groups’ input on how the 25,000 new post-secondary education spaces are allocated (i.e., for what disciplines and occupations), and make post-secondary response to small business needs a higher priority.
5.3 Work with small business groups and private career training institutions to strengthen provincial post-secondary standards and actively promote the private career training industry in and outside Canada.
6. First Nations and Aboriginal Peoples Partnerships
6.1 Support First Nations and other Aboriginal groups to increase small business/Aboriginal collaboration and partnerships for economic development strategies and recruitment, training and retention strategies.
7. Better Utilizing Existing and Emerging Labour Force Groups
7.1 Implement strategies and tools to encourage and experiment with innovative engagement strategies, flexible workplace arrangements and other incentives, to help small businesses to recruit and retain mature/older workers.
7.2 Help women’s and small business groups to increase small business entrepreneurship, occupational training and employment activities and incentives for women – particularly for single mothers, women re-entering the labour market, and older women.
7.3 Help small business groups to connect with government and community agencies to establish a pilot project to connect Downtown Eastside Vancouver homeless people with jobs, training and support.
8. Small Business HR Capacity-Building and Tools
8.1 Ensure small business groups are directly involved in the development and distribution of the practical guide/tool kit for small businesses on “how to” develop and implement practical
9. Workforce Planning
9.1 Implement a strategy to encourage and promote human resource planning and succession planning among small businesses, and develop practical tools for small businesses to undertake such planning. This should be overseen by the joint small business/BC Government committee in Recommendation 1.3.
10. Small Business Coordination and Infrastructure
10.1 Support the Regional Skills Council initiative and work with small business groups to promote and expand this initiative and link it with a provincial small business coordinating entity and WorkBC.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface i
About the Coalition of BC Businesses ii
Executive Summary iii
1. The Need for Action 1
2. The Economic and Labour Market Context 3
3. BC Small Businesses and the Impact of Skill Gaps 6
4. Small Business Labour Supply Gaps 10
5. BC Government Labour Market Policies and Programs 13
6. Coalition of BC Businesses Recommendations 17
7. Conclusion and Next Steps 23
Appendices 24
Appendix 1 – Small Business Labour Supply Gaps 24
Appendix 2 – Roles in BC Labour Market Strategies 28
1. THE NEED FOR ACTION
“We have had to close our doors at night to our customers because staff are leaving to go and work in the oil fields. Our staff are solicited on a weekly basis from members of the oil and gas sector offering them a minimum of $17.00/hour to start. If we had more staff we would be able to service everyone in our community.” (Restaurant operator in Fort St. John).
Each day, while British Columbians are going about their lives, the engine of the province’s economy is working at creating jobs and wealth in every community. Since December 2001, small businesses in British Columbia have created an estimated 3.2 jobs every hour, every day for a total of approximately 172,000 new jobs.1
However, this report prepared by the Coalition of BC Businesses shows that skills and labour shortages in many sectors and regions of British Columbia are negatively impacting small businesses and communities. Reports and anecdotal information demonstrate labour supply gaps are harming small businesses, as follows:
• Curtailed growth in goods and services; • Reduced hours of operation;
• Missed new/expanded market opportunities; • Reduced customer service;
• Reduced productivity; and,
• Burned out owners/ managers and staff.
Without preemptive action by government, business and industry and others, these impacts on individual small businesses will become widespread and harm BC’s economy and communities.
Small businesses2 in British Columbia represent almost six of every ten jobs in the private sector, and collectively their growth in recent years has lead all of Canada. Small businesses are the core of many industry sectors and a critical part of communities and regional development throughout all parts of British Columbia.
Skills and labour shortages3 have become a much stronger threat to the BC economy in recent years. An increasing proportion of small businesses are facing this challenge and skills shortages are no longer “looming.”
The “perfect storm” of an aging workforce, a declining 15-24 year old new entrant pool,
1Based on 48% (proportion of small business employment) of 359,000 jobs (Ministry of Economic Development
News Release, March 9, 2007, 2007ECD009-000245.
2BC Stats’ definition of “small business” is used for this report: “Businesses with fewer than 50 employees or
operated by a self-employed person with no paid help.”
3For purposes of this report, a “skills shortage” is a lack of people with the education, experience and
competencies required by employers and a “labour shortage” exists when there are simply not enough workers, including unskilled candidates, to fill demand.
stiff international competition for talent, and strong economic growth over the last five years, has increased skills gaps in BC and in many other jurisdictions. Small businesses are particularly vulnerable when trying to deal with the impacts of shortages on their businesses.
The Coalition of BC Businesses is concerned about this potentially negative impact on the province’s economic growth. It commissioned Human Capital Strategies of Victoria to prepare a report on current and future affects of the labour shortages on small businesses.
The Coalition’s view is that current provincial policies and programs designed to support labour strategies have not sufficiently addressed the needs of small businesses. BC needs a long-term overarching cross-government, cross-sectoral labour supply strategy. The Coalition’s goals in preparing this report are to:
1. Bring attention to the impacts of the labour supply issue on small businesses; 2. Raise the level of urgency of this issue with governments, small businesses and
other stakeholders;
3. Recommend to the BC Government and others what needs to be done to support small businesses to address the labour supply issue; and,
4. Encourage leadership among governments, business groups, small businesses, and Coalition members to take both immediate action and longer term steps to address the issue.
The balance of this report will focus on the impact of doing nothing, the specific small business labour supply needs, provincial government programming, and
recommendations. There have been many reports on the labour supply problems, challenges and solutions – this Coalition report culminates with concrete
recommendations for action to support small business and economic growth in BC.
“Who’s in charge of a labour supply strategy? There’s no single source of leadership. This is something government could facilitate.” (Small business representative, Coalition of BC Businesses roundtable, February, 2007)
2. THE ECONOMIC AND LABOUR MARKET CONTEXT
“British Columbia is at a skills crossroads. The quality and creativity of the workforce has become the single most competitive factor in the industrialized nations. The degree to which skill shortages are averted by stakeholders will be a large determinant of BC’s economic prosperity and social health. The BC business community in particular, can choose to take proactive action on this issue, or suffer the consequences.”4
The significance of the above quote is the irony that it was written five years ago. The challenge is now greater than ever.
There are a number of key drivers which represent challenges and opportunities for British Columbia’s economy and labour market, and which form the strategic economic context for small business growth in the province.
Extent and Pace of Economic Growth
British Columbia has achieved strong economic growth since 2001, leading the nation in a number of economic indicators. Fiscal, economic, education, social, environmental and regulatory initiatives and policies have created a very positive business climate and increased stability and confidence. Almost two-thirds of small business owners in BC believe the overall business climate is better now than five years ago (2006 vs. 2001); and by the same proportion that the province’s business climate is as good or very good.5 Economic growth in BC can be measured by a
number of indicators. For example, the value of the number of planned or underway major capital projects in BC was $124.2 billion as of late in 2006, a 172 percent increase over December 2001.6 Another example is the fact that employment in BC rose by 371,400 jobs since December 2001, almost
90 percent of which were full-time positions. BC has
had the highest employment growth rate in Canada during this period.7
BC’s unemployment rate dropped to an all-time low of 3.9 percent in February 2007. Seven out of ten occupational categories had unemployment rates ranging from 0.5 percent to 3.3 percent,8 well below what is considered the “full employment” level of 4-5 percent unemployment.
It is estimated that approximately one million job openings will be created in BC between 2003 and 2015, yet only 650,000 young people will progress through the province’s school system during the same period.9 Even if all K-12 graduates stay in BC, the result will still be a shortfall of 350,000 potential workers.
4BC Chamber of Commerce. Closing the Skills Gap. 2002. 5
Malatest &Associates Ltd. Summary Report: Small Business Survey. Prepared for the Ministry of Small Business and Revenue. May 1, 2006.
6Ministry of Economic Development. BC Major Projects Inventory Still Reaching New Highs. May 15, 2007. 7
Ministry of Finance. Unemployment Rate Drops to New 31-Year Record Low, News Release. April 5, 2007.
8 BC Stats. Tables of Labour Force Survey Data, March 2007. February, 2007.
9Roslyn Kunin & Associates, Inc. 2010 Winter Games Labour Demand Analysis, April 2003.
“We are building projects with labourers who call themselves carpenters and go home at 2 pm and we can’t fire them because we can’t replace them. Wages are really high and owners are unhappy.” (Small BC construction contractor, February 2006)
Lagging Productivity Growth
Despite strong economic growth, Canadian productivity continues to trail other
industrialized nations. A recent report showed that Canada ranked 20th in average labour productivity growth between 2000 and 2005.10 A number of factors explain the decline in productivity including increasing regulatory and compliance burden and the relatively low adoption of technology in small businesses.
Many economists and business groups believe productivity is the single largest challenge facing the provincial economy. During the 1990s, BC had productivity gains similar to those at the national level; however since then, BC has fallen significantly behind the national average.
This productivity performance leaves BC’s economy and businesses vulnerable to international competition. This gap, for example, accounts for almost three-quarters of the $9,200 difference in Gross Domestic Product per capita between U.S. (higher) and Canadian citizens.11
Human capital innovation will be a critical factor for small businesses and all industries to improve productivity growth and international competitiveness.
Major Demographic Shifts
BC has the highest life expectancy in Canada and one of the highest in the world. It has the lowest fertility rate ever at less than 1,500 births per 1,000 women (15-49).12 A recent Urban Futures Institute presentation highlighted key BC population changes between 2005 and 202013:
• In 2020 there will be 773,200 more people in BC than in 2005;
• The 50 plus population will grow 44 percent or by 637,800 over this period; • The 50 under population will grow 5 percent or by 135,400 over the same period; • Within the 50 under population, the 18 to 29 cohort will decline 2 percent or by
21,900 over the same period.
Before 2010, the number of British Columbians leaving the labour market will exceed those entering it for the first time in our history. This also means small businesses will increasingly need to use strategies to keep, attract and accommodate older workers. This “demographic time-bomb” is one being faced by countries around the world due to declining birth rates and longer life expectancy. The average age of workforces and the leadership (owners and management) cadre across many industries in BC is higher than average and it means baby boomers are starting to leave full-time paid employment in increasing numbers. One example of this impact, is BC’s trucking industry where the average age of truck drivers is 55.14
10Conference Board of Canada. Volume I: Mission Possible: Stellar Canadian Performance in the Global Economy. Toronto, 2007.
11
Institute for Competitiveness and Prosperity. Agenda for Canada’s Prosperity: Report on Canada, 2007. March 2007.
12 BC Stats. “The Dynamics of Population Ageing in BC – A Pig in a Python?” Infoline Report. Issue 07-10,
March 9, 2007.
13 Andrew Ramlo. Changing People, Changing Places: Implications of Demographic and Economic Change for BC’s Post Secondary Sector. Prepared for Campus 2020. Urban Futures Institute, 2006.
Another implication of demographic change is the composition of new workforce entrants. The “Echo Boomers” (born between 1975 and 1990) are highly independent, look for challenges and variety, are entrepreneurial, distrust hierarchy and authority, want a fun and socially interactive workplace, and stress continuous development of skills and work/life balance. This has definite implications for small businesses trying to attract, recruit and keep such workers.
The Economic Significance of Immigration
The need to look at strategies for recruiting immigrants and foreign workers by small businesses is critical given that demographers expect that immigration as a source of labour will constitute 100 percent of net labour force growth by 2030. According to a recent Statistics Canada report, by 2031, approximately half of the population in the Greater Vancouver area will be immigrants.15
The recently released Census 2006 indicated that Canada had a faster population growth rate than all other G8 nations between 2001 and 2006 at 5.4 percent, and that this was mostly due to
immigration levels equaling two-thirds of our countries net population growth.16
In its A Perfect Storm report, the Urban Futures Institute concluded that Canada would have to increase its immigration levels almost three-fold to an average of 720,000 per year (from the current 246,000) for the next 50 years to ensure our country has enough workers.
A key factor related to better utilizing our immigrants is the efficacy of our foreign credential recognition process. In a study, the Conference Board of Canada estimates that 540,000 Canadians would earn an additional $4.1 billion to $5.9 billion annually if their learning, experience and credentials could be rewarded and recognized in the workplace17. It maintains that the single largest reason for “unrecognized learning” is foreign credentials that have not been recognized or used.
Other Factors
There are other significant drivers in our economy that have implications for small businesses grappling with labour supply gaps, including:
• Continuing technological change will affect whether and how small businesses
and their employees remain competitive.
• The importance of learning will continue to increase, with three-quarters or more
of the future workforce requiring formal post-secondary learning and credentials.
• Regional economic development will affect communities and small businesses in
every region of BC, making local human resource development and talent pools extremely critical for regionally important industries such as primary and
secondary manufacturing, transportation, construction, tourism and retail.
15 Statistics Canada. Demographic Changes in Canada from 1971 to 2001 Across an Urban –to-Rural Gradient.
Ottawa, 2007.
16Statistics Canada. Portrait of the Canadian Population 2006, 2006 Census. Ministry of Industry. Catalogue
No. 97-550-XIE, 2007.
17 Conference Board of Canada, Brain Gain:The Economic Benefits of Recognizing Learning and Learning Credentials in Canada, Ottawa: Conference Board of Canada, September, 2001.
“There’s no single point for immigrants to contact to start the ball rolling before they have emigrated to Canada.” (Small business representative, Coalition of BC Businesses roundtable, February 2007)
3. BC SMALL BUSINESS AND THE IMPACT OF SKILL GAPS
“Larger companies can and do recruit labour from smaller businesses which do not have the resources to compete for talent. The status quo of the labour supply situation will mean fewer “mom and pop” stores in our communities, especially in rural labour pools.”18Small Business in BC
This section briefly highlights the significance and impact of small businesses to BC’s economic and social prosperity.19
The number of businesses in BC in 2005 was 371,700; of those, about 98 percent or 364,000 were small businesses. Over the past five years, BC has led provinces in the growth in the number of small
businesses with a 7.2 percent increase between 2000 and 2005, well above national average of 0.2 percent and Alberta’s 4.9 percent.
Forty-eight percent of total employment in BC or
one million jobs were in small businesses in 2005. Small business represented 57 percent of all private sector employment in BC in 2005.
The Northeast region recorded the highest rate of growth in the province in the number of new small businesses, with an average increase of 3.8 percent per year over the 2000 to 2005 period.”20
The aging of the BC workforce also affects business succession planning at the owner and management levels. Fifty-two percent are owned by entrepreneurs over the age of 45, and 22 percent are over the age of 55.
The impact of BC small businesses on our economy can be measured by GDP, exports and income. For example:
• In 2005, BC’s small business accounted for 26 percent of provincial GDP, the
highest of all provinces (national average was 22 percent).
• Small business in BC shipped almost $11.5 billion worth of merchandise to
international destinations in 2004, more than one-third of the total value of goods exported from BC.
• Annual earnings for small business workers over the past the 5 years increased
13 percent, more than twice the increase for large business workers. This was highest in forestry, mining and utilities, construction, manufacturing, professional and business services, and transportation and storage.
18Quote from a small business representative at a Coalition of BC Business roundtable. February 1, 2007. 19Unless otherwise noted, the small business facts in this section are based on the Ministry of Small Business
and Revenue’s Small Business Profile 2006.
20Ministry of Small Business and Revenue. Small Business Profile 2006. 2006.
"I have been in Whistler 16 years. This summer was the hardest to find staff, no staff applying and those applying had little or no experience. We never met our staffing levels all summer long and it was extremely stressful trying to run a very busy restaurant with no staff. We are all burnt out!” (BC Restaurant and Food Services Association, BCRFA Zata Newsletter, October 6, 2006)
Small businesses play a pivotal role in the BC economy, and contribute to local capacity building, cultural diversity and social cohesion at the community level.
As the BC Chamber of Commerce recently stated: “…small enterprises are the economic lifeblood for practically every community across the province.”21
The Impact of Small Business Labour Supply Gaps
This report has highlighted the impact and significance of small businesses to the BC economy and communities. It is also important to consider another kind of impact – the impact of doing nothing about labour supply challenges for small businesses.
Given the pivotal contribution of small businesses to the BC economy and most communities, the impact of labour supply gaps is serious and will constrain future economic growth without precipitous action.
According to the Credit Union Central of BC, BC’s labour shortage is costing the province $450 million in potential GDP growth this year. They indicated this is a
conservative estimate and that it will get worse as Alberta keeps “beating BC” as a good place to work.22 This report has shown that there are skills and labour shortages in many sectors and regions of the province. These gaps are already causing problems for small businesses and communities. Studies referred to later in this report (e.g., Community Futures
Development Association of BC) confirm labour supply impacts causing small businesses to reduce growth in productions or hours of operation, miss market opportunities, reduce customer service, etc.
Some examples of impacts identified by Coalition members include the following23:
• In the commercial real estate area,
shortages of skilled trades (e.g., elevator trades) are creating problems for building owners/managers who need them maintained.
• In the Restaurant sector with growth in
jobs expected to be approximately 40,000 by 2015, in suburban areas, operators have problems with the ability to expand,
or to even keep “above water” – or worse yet, to stay open. This is creating the phenomenon of the “18 hour/7 day per week owner-operator.”
• A Zata Restaurant survey found that over 78 percent of mostly small businesses
indicated the skills and labour shortage is having an impact, and over 90 percent indicated this situation was much worse (46 percent) or somewhat worse
(44 percent) than three or four years ago.24
21 BC Chamber of Commerce. Submission to the BC Competition Council, 2006.
22 Credit Union Central of BC. Labour Shortages Hold Back Growth. News Release, March 16, 2007. 23Anecdotes from small business representatives at a Coalition of BC Businesses roundtable. February 1,
2007.
24Zata – Market Sales Intelligence. Preliminary Results of a Survey of BC Restaurants. 2007. “There is a case to be made that
the small business sector would feel the [labour shortage] more acutely. For a small business, each and every vacancy has a much bigger effect on its business. A larger company could make do for much longer.” (Doug Porter, Deputy Chief of Economics, BMO Capital Markets)1
“As well, employee turnover is up substantially. As a result, there are more customer complaints than there used to be and wage rates and training costs have been jumping, particularly for skilled employees; which has required us to approach various customers requesting price increases in excess of the standard CPI increases that used to be asked for.”
(Small BC service company, February 2007)
Another important impact of skills and labour shortages reported by a number of industries is higher labour costs. For example, the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association reports that such costs “combined with other increasing costs of sales have contributed to declining profit margins in the industry where average pre-tax profitability declined from 4.9 percent to 3.4 percent in 2004.”25
Community Futures Development Association of BC studies found small businesses labour supply gaps are having significant impacts. Twenty-eight percent of companies in the North and 21 percent in the Southern Interior have to limit production and 26 percent were impacted in customer service. Seventeen percent and 20 percent of companies in the North and Southern Interior, respectively had to have owners and staff work more hours.26
A recent survey of small businesses in BC identified the prevalence (percentage of small businesses surveyed) of the following “coping” practices:27
• Having to hire under-qualified workers (65 percent); • Having to improve salary/benefits (45 percent);
• Having to pass responsibilities to other employees (41 percent); • Having to function with fewer employees (40 percent);
• Having to hire temporary help (35 percent); and, • Having to utilize overtime/longer shifts (35 percent).
Skills and labour shortages also have serious implications for rural communities in BC, since many of the businesses that represent the foundation of local economies are small businesses which do not have the capacity to deal with the labour supply challenges. Exacerbating this problem is the fact that a large number of small business owners themselves will soon be retiring and do little succession planning. A new cohort of managers and skilled workers will soon be required to take over the leadership of these businesses as current owners and managers retire.
While British Columbians hear of extreme examples of labour shortage impacts in Alberta, this is a picture of where BC is headed within a few years without action on labour supply problems.
One Coalition small business representative warns, “If we are to welcome the world to BC in 2010, the status quo will certainly jeopardize quality service in tourism,
accommodation, food and retail small businesses.”28
25
Canadian Restaurant and Food Services Association. Pre-Budget Submission to the Honourable Carole Taylor, Minister of Finance. November, 2006.
26Community Futures Development Association of BC (CFDABC). BC Skills Force Initiative: Final Report,
September 2005; and BC Skills Force North: Final Report, May 2006.
27 Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB). Training Incentives: The Small Business Perspective.
Submission to Minister of Finance, September 18, 2006.
28Quote from a Coalition of BC Businesses roundtable. February 1, 2007. “Because we’re chronically
short-staffed, we’ve had to reduce our hours. It’s been months since I had the time to focus on growing my business. When I’m not working in the kitchen or cleaning bathrooms, I’m trying to find and train new staff – and there’s no guarantee they’ll even show up for work.” (John Malakoff, owner/operator of A&W franchise, Nelson, BC).1
4. SMALL BUSINESS LABOUR SUPPLY GAPS
“Over the next 20 years, the combination of low fertility rates and the retirement of baby boomers will create a labour market crisis of unparalleled proportions. Restaurant owners – along with employers in other industries – will not have enough staff to run their businesses, resulting in lost investment and business closures…In many towns and cities across British Columbia, business owners are already
encountering major staffing challenges.”29
Skills and labour shortages, employee turnover and other human resource issues are being reported by virtually every major sector of the BC economy. Almost every major business group has recently surveyed its members and found serious concerns regarding recruitment, retention, skill shortages and the supply of labour.
A survey of Western Canadian industry associations in 2005 by the Canada West Foundation found that 73 of 76 associations expected “some to severe shortages in the next five years.”30 Other examples of this extremely tight labour market are:
• In 2006, the Community Futures Development Association survey (in partnership
with the BC Chamber of Commerce) found that 34 percent of most small businesses in the North and Southern Interior regions of BC reported job vacancies in difficult to fill positions; 29 percent reported high rates of turnover;31
• The Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association predicts a shortfall of
44,300 food and beverage workers in BC by 2015.32
• In a recent study sponsored by a Sea-to-Sky Corridor Planning Committee and
go2, economist Ruth Emery forecasts a shortfall of approximately 3,500 workers in Whistler alone.33
• The Trucking Canadian Human Resources Council projects that over 4,400 new
truck drivers will be needed each year in BC.34
• A 2005 Canadian Home Builders’ Association of BC survey found that 43 percent
of residential construction companies reported difficult to fill vacancies.35
• A Ministry of Small Business and Revenue survey found that the ability to find
skilled labour was the number one challenge among small business owners in the regions outside of Southwestern BC.36
As one small business leader recently stated, “We are in a death struggle almost, for
29 Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association (CRFA). The Foodservice Industry Labour Shortage and British Columbia’s Provincial Nominee Program. Presented to the BC Government and Ministry of Economic Development, November, 2006.
30Todd Hirsch. Toward a Bright Future: Recommendations on Addressing Skills Shortages in Western Canada.
Canada West Foundation, January 2005.
31
CFDABC, op. cit.
32 CRFSA, Ibid. 33
Ruth Emery. Tourism Labour Market Demand: Analysis for the Sea-to-Sky Region. Prepared for the Sea to Sky Tourism HR Steering Committee. May 2006.
34Canadian Trucking Human Resources Council. Canada’s Driving Force: Profile of Driver Shortage, Turnover and Future Demand. 2002.
35Canadian Home Builders’ Association of BC (CHBA-BC). Human Resources Survey of BC Home Builders.
2005
36 Malatest & Associates Ltd. Small Business Survey: Summary Report. Prepared for the Ministry of Small
skilled workers in every sector of the economy.”37
Some of the key challenges or barriers to small businesses being able solve to their human resource problems are:
• Lack of basic work skills and attitudes; • Inadequate training capacity;
• Lack of human resource and succession planning;
• Barriers to immigrant, temporary foreign worker and international student
recruitment;
• Education and post-secondary education responsiveness; • Under-utilized labour pools;
• Lack of information and awareness; and, • Lack of time and resources.
These are documented and explored in more detail in Appendix 1 in this report.
Small Businesses Take Action in Spite of Gaps
Having identified a number of key gaps and challenges facing small businesses in tackling labour supply issues, the Coalition emphasizes that small businesses and their associations are doing things to try to address the problems, and are succeeding to varying degrees. Examples include the following:
•
Construction associations such as the BC Road Builders and Heavy Construction Association, Canadian Home Builders’ Association of BC, and the Independent Contractors and Businesses Association have developed and implemented innovative training programs;•
The tourism industry has created go2, an industry HR agency that has been very active in responding to skills gaps;•
JobWave funded by Ministry of Employment and Income Assistance andpartnering with BC Chamber has put over 40,000 welfare recipients back to work;
•
BC Restaurant and Foodservices Association has a free 24/7 HR consultationline;
•
The BC Chamber have developed a Small Business Certificate program to be offered by the University of Phoenix, using a combination of in-person and online learning;•
The Building Owners and Managers Association of BC offers an online training program for building operators;•
Retail BC has developed an “HR Guide to Staffing Challenges”; and,37 Michael Kane, Vancouver Sun, March 15, 2007, p. C1.
“I hire entry level kitchen staff who start with dishes and prep and work there way onto the line. Of course this can only happen when you have a solid base of employees and
management who understand how to train properly and buy into the idea. To date we have created some amazing young talented staff whose energy and affection has rolled into our core staff and really added to the overall staff morale.” (BC Restaurant and Food Services Association, BCRFA Zata Newsletter, October 6, 2006)
•
The Whistler Chamber Commerce Whistler Spirit Program, an almost 20-year old successful employer/ employee customer service and resort awareness program. Also, many industry groups are actively undertaking strategic human resources planning to identify skills challenges and to develop and implement strategies to address them.5. BC GOVERNMENT LABOUR SUPPLY POLICIES AND PROGRAMS
“Today in British Columbia, I can tell you the most important single areaof concern in terms of keeping our economy moving forward is the development of skills. It’s human resources.” (Premier Gordon Campbell, January 16, 2007)38
Several recent BC Government initiatives related to skills and education have been introduced in the last six months. The following recent provincial initiatives attempt to address a number of issues related to the labour supply problems in BC:
• The Small Business Roundtable Report;
• A $65 million Aboriginal Post-Secondary Education Strategy;
• Announcement and subsequent bill to terminate mandatory retirement; • Geoff Plant’s Campus 2020 Report; and,
• A WorkBC Action Plan.
The Aboriginal strategy supports increasing Aboriginal students’ participation and success in post-secondary education around the province. The Campus 2020 Report contains broad recommendations for the BC post-secondary education that will be considered by government over the coming months. The mandatory retirement issue has been addressed in a separate Coalition submission. Therefore, this section focuses on the initiatives of the Small Business Roundtable and the WorkBC Action Plan.
Small Business Roundtable
Last fall, after an extensive province-wide consultation the Honourable Rick Thorpe, Minister of Small Business and Revenue’s Small Business Roundtable released its report and priority actions. The Ministry has since been following up with some key initiatives, some of which will address skills gaps for small businesses.
The Roundtable’s recommendations included the following suggestions based on input from small businesses
throughout BC:
• Take immediate action to increase the effectiveness
and efficiency of the Provincial Nominee Program and ensure it is accessible to the small business community;
• Work with professional associations, the federal
government and other provinces to streamline the accreditation process for those who obtain their certification outside British Columbia;
• Develop a Human Resource Best Practices Guide for small businesses to learn
how to effectively recruit and retain staff;
38Premier Campbell during University College of the Fraser Valley Chilliwack Campus announcement on
January 16, 2006 (reported in Vancouver Sun, Jan 17, 2006, page D1, Gillian Shaw).
“The BC labor shortage is having a serious impact. We have been searching for key personnel, such a project superintendents, project managers, and estimators, without any success. In addition to our own supervisory staff, getting sub-contractors to perform on time, has become a thing of the past.” (Small BC commercial builder, February 2007)
• Provide training tax credits to small businesses to encourage employers to train
and develop their employees;
• Encourage online trades training
programs for rural communities with limited access to available schools;
• Broaden the career exposure for
elementary and secondary students to include business, trades and
entrepreneurship with programs such as ACE-IT and Junior Achievement BC;
• Communicate to high school counselors and parents the benefits of careers in
the trades and technical field.
Many of these recommendations are reflected in the subsequent WorkBC Action Plan (see below). Since the Roundtable report, the Ministry of Small Business and Revenue has initiated a number of the Roundtable’s recommendations, including:
• Development of a Small Business Action Plan;
• Supporting expansion of Junior Achievement British Columbia;
• Use of a Small Business “lens” for legislative, policy and program development; • A project to develop a Small Business Human Resources Best Practices
Guidel/Tool Kit; and,
• Funding of Regional Skills Councils to support local capacity building.
WorkBC Action Plan
The WorkBC initiative announced last month by the Honourable Colin Hansen, Minister of Economic Development, is BC’s new comprehensive labour market strategy. It includes five “strategic action areas”, each with several actions:
1. Keep the workforce we have – Including eliminating mandatory retirement, creating an employer HR tool kit, employment for persons with disabilities; 2. Develop the skills of our existing workforce – Including expanding Industry
Training Organizations, introducing a Training Tax Credit Program for apprenticeships, and creating a new devolved BC-Canada Labour Market Development Agreement;
3. Increase the labour market participation and success of Aboriginal people in BC – Including $65 million funding to increase Aboriginal education, training and employment opportunities, as well as developing an Aboriginal training strategy with the Industry Training Authority and stimulating more business-Aboriginal training and recruitment projects;
4. Attract and recruit new workers – Including 7,000 new apprenticeship spaces, 25,000 post-secondary spaces, a BC’s Calling job marketing campaign, and many initiatives regarding immigrants and foreign credential recognition, including Provincial Nominee Program improvements; and,
5. Address regional skills shortages – Including funding nine regional skills councils and the TradeRoutes (ITA) mobile training initiative, and more useful labour market information and career awareness.
“In the past, if an employee didn't perform well, we would issue verbal and written warnings telling them to work on the appropriate aspect of their job. Now we use kid gloves and often ignore minor issues because warnings frequently cause them to quit their job, sometimes right in the middle of their shift, or not to return to work the next day.” (Small BC construction company, February 2007)
One example of responding to employer skills needs is the BC Provincial Nominee Program with its expansion, faster approval time, and more accessible and flexible procedures. The table below shows a significant growth rate.
BC Provincial Nominee Program Annual Nominations by Category, 2001 – 2006
Year39 Strategic Occupations Business40 2001 61 0 2002 141 (+131%) 0 2003 202 (+43%) 1 2004 353 (+75%) 3 2005 524 (+33%) 25 2006 1134 (+116%) 50 Total 2415 (avg. +73%) 79 2007 target 1610 (+42%)
Source: Ministry of Economic Development, 2007.
The Coalition supports the provincial government’s efforts to strengthen and expand the Provincial Nominee Program and influence federal government improvements in the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. However, the recommendations in this report will suggest that more needs to be done in order to respond to small business needs. An overriding concern in reviewing these government labour market initiatives is that the Coalition found little support specifically for small businesses. The provincial
government’s WorkBC and other education and skills initiatives need to ensure that small business labour supply requirements are considered and directly addressed. This will be important not just in designing such strategies, but in how they are implemented,
including the necessary small business engagement.
A more specific response to any shortcomings or gaps in WorkBC and other provincial initiatives are identified in the context of recommendations in the next section of this report.
Small businesses and the private sector generally have a large responsibility for addressing their own labour and HR requirements. However, there are instances where government can play a direct role through financial incentives and other supports when markets fail or the benefits accrue to disadvantaged labour force participants in BC.
Principles for Design and Implementation of Labour Market Initiatives
In order to guide the Coalition’s recommendations on labour supply strategies and programs, some key principles are offered here that provincial government agencies and small business groups should be mindful of when designing, developing and
implementing initiatives to help small businesses to respond to the labour supply challenges. Such strategies need to reflect the following principles:
39Note that fiscal year numbers are different from these.
40Applicants accepted as nominee candidates in this category are initially admitted on a temporary work permit
1. Small-business-specific – Small businesses have more, systemic and unique barriers to labour supply solutions. Programs and strategies need to be accessible to small business owners, managers and workers.
2. Labour demand and industry-driven – Labour supply and training programs should match the skills, tools and services to those that small businesses need. 3. Balancing immediate, short-term and long-term needs and solutions – Small
businesses need help now and in the future, with a strategy that will build capacity and sustain results.
4. Provincial and regional – While initiatives need to be coordinated to meet provincial needs, small businesses operate at the local level; therefore solutions and strategies also need to be tailored or adaptable to communities.
5. Sectoral – Small businesses in all sectors need labour supply help. While strategies need to be provincial, they should be able to be customized to individual industry sectors by associations and businesses and other local entities.
6. Practical to implement – Strategies directed at involving and helping small businesses must be simple, transparent and easy to use, with minimal paper work and regulation.
An overriding principle in determining what the Coalition of BC Businesses recommends to government and to others is a clear agreement on what role government, business and individual British Columbians should play in labour supply solutions. A useful framework for articulating mutual roles and responsibilities is demonstrated in Appendix 2 of this report, adapted from the provincial government’s Training Tax Credits Discussion Paper41.
6. COALITION OF BC BUSINESSES RECOMMENDATIONS
Small business representatives were asked at a Coalition roundtable, what the key messages are that the BC Government needs to hear42:
• Government has to recognize this is a priority and to put
resources to it;
• Widen the scope beyond apprenticeship and Aboriginal
initiatives to the whole province and all sectors;
• Someone from Premier’s Office should be charged to work with
us in a dramatic way;
• Leadership is needed in government and business; • Foreign workers/immigration has to play a critical role; • Ministry of Economic Development should assign a senior
person to work with credential regulators to streamline the process;
• Instill a sense of urgency because of the dire consequences of
doing nothing; and,
• SMEs need special/focused consideration.
Based on the labour supply challenges and needs identified by the Coalition and small businesses throughout British Columbia, notwithstanding new provincial government initiatives, this section of the report provides recommendations to the BC Government. It also provides some suggestions on what small businesses and other stakeholders can do themselves.
Unless otherwise indicated, these recommendations are directed to the BC Government. Recommendations are provided within the following themes:
1. Small Business Input and Broad-Based Changes
1.1 Ensure that small business groups are involved in the implementation of the WorkBC Action Plan.
1.2 Institute concrete measures to ensure strong cross-ministry/government agency dialogue and coordination, and interface with small business regarding WorkBC and other labour market initiatives.
1.3 Establish a joint planning committee of small business representatives and senior officials within the Ministries of Economic Development and Small Business and Revenue to coordinate small business involvement and oversee on-going workforce planning and the implementation and review of WorkBC, education and training strategies.
1.4 Provide funding to a task force of Coalition members to act as a small business sounding board and facilitator of engagement for government agencies and to encourage group – instead of individual business association – action.
1.5 Hold a strategy meeting of small business groups and the Ministries of Economic Development and Employment and Income Assistance to discuss the design and
42Coalition of BC Businesses roundtable. February 1, 2007.
“Every sector is off doing their own thing and nobody is bringing everything together” (Small business representative, Coalition of BC Business roundtable, February 1, 2007).
implementation of a new and innovative devolved “made-in-BC” Labour Market Development Agreement.
1.6 Review the BC-Canada Immigration Agreement with a view to negotiating a new agreement that works better for the BC economy and employers, workers and
immigrants.
1.7 Investigate the feasibility of negotiating a Labour Market Partnership Agreement (a lá Ontario) that covers Federal Government support of non-EI recipients.
2. Small Business Awareness and Information
2.1 Work with the Federal Government to produce and maintain an online, user-friendly and maintained inventory of labour market programs and services that provide assistance to businesses.
2.2 Create and make accessible practical labour market information that small businesses, job-seekers/students and educators can use to plan and make training, recruitment and career decisions.
3. Make immigration a Key Part of BC’s Economic Plan
3.1 Expand the number of immigrants coming to BC to work in small businesses through the Provincial Nominee Program by making nominees in lower skill level occupations eligible under the PNP, and by providing information and workshops to increase small business application success rates.
3.2 Influence the Federal Government to streamline and broaden access among small businesses to using the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, and negotiate regional and sectoral bi-lateral agreements to assist small businesses in large skill shortage areas.
3.3 Help small businesses provide supports to new immigrants and temporary foreign workers and their families to facilitate settlement, integration and retention. 3.4 Influence the Federal Government to change the Canadian Working Holiday Visa Program to extend the period of validation from one year to at least two years and to eliminate current age restrictions.
3.5 Provide incentives and resources to help immigrants and Canadians to migrate to and work in BC regions experiencing labour shortages.
3.6 Increase small business participation in national and international recruitment campaigns.
4. Work-Based Training Capacity
4.1 Review the experience of the first year of the Training Tax Credit and make strategic non-apprenticeship occupations eligible for credit.
4.2 The Industry Training Authority should work with small business groups to expand access to traditional apprenticeship training and new industry training programs by:
•
Designating new industry training programs in industries traditionally not served by apprenticeship (e.g., Retail, Tourism, Trucking, etc.);“Why don’t SMEs train more? No time, no money, too busy. And employees can leave anytime afterwards once they have been trained.” (Mark Goldenberg, Employer Investment in Workplace Learning in Canada. Canadian Policy Research Networks, excerpts of comments from small businesses, 2006)
•
Increasing ITA’s support of online training and other flexible/alternate delivery models to enable employees of small businesses to complete technical training closer to work and home;•
Review the experience with the ITA Trade Routes mobile training unitdemonstration projects to determine how this resource can be expanded to small businesses throughout regions of BC;
•
Work with small business groups to increase awareness and understanding of ITA programs and processes (e.g., how to get involved in the ACE-IT or Secondary School Apprenticeship programs, how to propose new industry training programs or changes in existing ones); and,•
Direct and help Industry Training Organizations (ITOs) to make it a priority to support small businesses to participate in ITO planning, priority-setting and industry training programs.5. Education and Post-Secondary Education Responsiveness
5.1 Appoint a small business representative to the Minister of Education’s Education Advisory Council, and invite small business representatives to participate in the Learning Roundtable.
5.2 Help school districts and small business groups to be more directly involved in high school career awareness and programs and in the expansion of the Junior Achievement program.
5.3 Strengthen business-education linkages and communication between small business and the Ministries of Advanced Education and Education, including by:
•
Establishing a mechanism for regular dialogue between small business groups, Ministers and senior officials; and,•
Using each ministries’ informationdistribution (e.g., website, updates to stakeholders, etc.) to connect with small businesses and associations on ministry activities.
5.4 Include small business groups’ input on how the 25,000 new post-secondary education spaces are allocated (i.e., for what disciplines and occupations), and make post-secondary response to small business needs a higher priority.
5.5 Establish, at one or more universities or university colleges, a Small Business Chair and action-oriented Small Business Human Resource Management Research programs.
5.6 Work with small business groups and private career training institutions to strengthen provincial post-secondary standards and actively promote the private career training industry in and outside Canada.
6. First Nations and Aboriginal Peoples Partnerships
“Currently there are many more applicants than spaces in hospitality programs both at the secondary and post-secondary level. New
apprenticeship models for foodservice and hospitality positions and more apprenticeship, co-op and hospitality program seats are needed to alleviate skills shortages in the foodservice sector” (Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association. The Foodservice Industry Labour Shortage and British Columbia’s Provincial Nominee Program. November 2006).
6.1 Support First Nations and other Aboriginal groups to increase small business/ Aboriginal collaboration and partnerships for economic development strategies and recruitment, training and retention strategies.
7. Better Utilizing Existing and Emerging Labour Force Groups
7.1 Coordinate across provincial agencies to better promote the business case for recruiting from under-utilized talent pools, and increase the understanding among small businesses of “how to” link with such groups and access resources for working with them. 7.2 Implement strategies and tools to encourage and help small businesses to recruit and retain mature/older workers through the use of innovative engagement strategies, flexible workplace arrangements and other incentives.
7.3 Help organizations who serve groups under-represented in the workforce to improve coordination among and within each group in their communications, partnership-building and collaboration with small businesses.
7.4 Help women’s and small business groups to increase small business entrepreneurship, occupational training and employment activities and incentives for women – particularly for single mothers, women re-entering the labour market, and older women.
7.5 Help small business groups to connect with government and community
agencies to establish a pilot project to connect Downtown Eastside Vancouver homeless people with jobs, training and support.
8. Small Business HR Capacity-Building and Tools
8.1 Assist small business groups to build sustained small business capacity for basic human resource management practices such as recruitment, training, retention and compensation strategies. Consider an innovative partnership between government, small business groups and the BC Human Resource Management Association.
8.2 Ensure small business groups are directly involved in the development and distribution of the practical guide/tool kit for small businesses on “how to” develop and implement practical recruitment and retention strategies.
8.3 Work with small business groups and HR service providers to test and
demonstrate the use of technology to facilitate employer-employee matching and meeting other small business labour supply needs.
9. Workforce Planning
9.1 Implement a strategy to encourage and promote human resource planning and succession planning among small businesses, and to develop practical tools for small businesses to undertake such planning. This should be overseen by the joint small business/BC Government committee in Recommendation 1.3.
10. Small Business Coordination and Infrastructure
10.1 Support the Regional Skills Council initiative and work with small business groups to promote and expand this initiative and link it with a provincial small business coordinating entity and WorkBC.
10.2 Work with small business groups and local communities to enhance how government Regional Economic Development staff can expand their efforts to support local small businesses on labour market strategies.
What can Small Businesses and Associations do?
The Coalition also offers the following suggestions to small businesses and their associations:
• Cooperate on labour supply strategies with
other businesses and associations;
• Clearly articulate their HR needs to their
associations, local service providers, and relevant government agencies;
• Obtain government and association advice on recruiting Aboriginal people,
immigrants, older workers, persons with disabilities, and women;
• Undertake regular human resource planning and succession planning; • Create a small employee recognition and rewards program;
• Associations can offer compensation and benefits programs, profit sharing plans,
etc., for retention and other purposes to their small business members;
• Increase employee retention by offering flexible work arrangements in terms of
hours of work/flexible scheduling, telecommuting, job-sharing, and working conditions;
• Start to think about and plan for recruiting and
retaining mid-career and older workers; and,
• Partner with local schools and post-secondary
education providers – co-op, apprenticeship, mentorships, presentations, work experience, volunteer experience, and donation of
equipment/tools.
What can other stakeholders do to address small business labour supply needs?
Other labour market constituencies can help address small business HR needs. Some suggestions to these groups follow:
• Provincial public and private post-secondary education and training organizations
should include small business groups on their program advisory committees;
• Employment service providers should ensure they connect with appropriate small
business channels (e.g., Chambers of Commerce, industry associations, etc.) when offering placement services;
• Schools and school districts can work with Chambers of Commerce and other
local business groups to coordinate work experience placements and industry career presentations;
• Communities and local economic development agencies can host forums and
planning sessions with small businesses on local labour supply solutions and tools;
• Local governments can work with local businesses and other levels of
government to attract and recruit workers and to ensure business-friendly regulations;
“As far as staff incentives go, we give free staff meals on shift and a 50% discount when staff come in for a bite to eat.” (Small BC restaurant operator, February 2007)
"I frequently use a reward program from for current staff to bring friends in as they tend to be the best hires as no member will risk their reputation on someone that does not meet the requirements/ expectations of the role."
(BC Restaurant and Foodservices Association, BCRFA Zata Newsletter, October 6, 2006)
• First Nations can work with business and industry groups and local small
businesses to identify labour supply needs and develop strategies for addressing them, as well as partnering on First Nations economic development projects; and,
• Representatives of youth, persons with disabilities, visible minorities and
immigrants, and women should coordinate their contacts with small businesses and provide businesses with “one window” for hiring, training and partnership programs.
7. CONCLUSION AND NEXT STEPS
“After 35 years of relative abundance of labour, the result of the high birth rates of the 1936 to 1969 baby boom, the next 35 will be
characterized by a scarcity of labour, the result of the low birth rates that have prevailed since 1970…There will be a growing imperative for every industry, every sector and every individual in Canada to recognize these emerging realities and to efficiently manage issues of change as we enter our next demographic transition.”43
What will the Coalition of BC Businesses do regarding labour supply issues and strategies?
The first step was for the Coalition to prepare this report to raise attention to the urgency of this issue in helping small businesses grow and prosper; and to make
recommendations to the provincial government.
We will also follow up on our recommendations with the provincial government to obtain its response and undertake a dialogue on what can be implemented in the immediate, short and long terms.
The other thing that the Coalition will do is provide a coordinated voice of small businesses representing over 50,000 businesses and several industry sector associations. As well as a sounding board to advocate for action, we can work with others to coordinate implementation of our recommendations with the BC Government. We can pool our resources to start addressing issues, particularly at the awareness and capacity-building levels. We can create dialogue with other business groups and stakeholders and potential partners on solutions. We can actively work with other business groups, government, communities, service providers, etc.
In conclusion, the Coalition of BC Businesses would like to underline four key points: 1. The labour supply gaps and challenges for small businesses in British Columbia
is an urgent matter.
2. The impact of doing nothing to help small businesses to address these issues is huge in that it will seriously impact our economic development. In fact, it will impact most British Columbians and communities.
3. Small businesses need help to address labour supply challenges both now and in the longer term.
4. We see taking action on labour supply issues as a partnership among small businesses and their workers, the BC Government, and other stakeholders.
43Andrew Ramlo. Changing People, Changing Places: Implications of Demographic and Economic Change for BC’s Post Secondary Sector. Prepared for Campus 2020. Urban Futures Institute, 2006.
