'The feeling in the market is that people are still staying home to collect the Canada Recovery Benefit or employment insurance'
There is no immediate end in sight when it comes to employers’ hiring challenges, according to a survey by Express Employment Professionals.
More than four in five (84 per cent of) Canadian companies expect to have this difficulty over the next year.
“Hiring challenges have increased significantly in the last three months. I would say 90 per cent of our clients are facing hiring challenges, and we are hearing almost daily from companies who have never needed help, reaching out asking for assistance,” says Shane DeCoste, Express franchise owner in Halifax.
“Jobs that used to take days or a week to fill are often going unfilled for a month or more, and some companies are having to adjust schedules and deliverable timelines based on the workforce available. The talent gap can no longer be filled with overtime or extra effort of existing employees.”
Fifty per cent of Canadian employers plan to increase staffing levels in the fourth quarter of 2021, according to a survey by ManpowerGroup.
Skills gaps, tough competition
Employers are having a hard time finding qualified talent because they are having difficulty assessing candidates’ skills during the hiring process (29 per cent), according to Express’ survey of 505 Canadian hiring decision-makers conducted in March and April.
Also, the available talent pool does not match the company’s needs (28 per cent) and there is increased competition in the job market (26 per cent).
Nearly three in 10 (28 per cent) employers say their company has open positions that they cannot fill, and this is mostly due to a skills gap. Hiring professionals say applicants lack relevant experience (48 per cent) or hard skills (46 per cent). There is also the lack of any applicants (35 per cent) and a lack of applicants with soft skills (33 per cent).
More than two-thirds (68 per cent) of employers say they are having a hard time hiring people with the skill sets they need to grow, according to another report.
“There is a massive gap between skills jobs seekers possess and skills companies need, especially in the skilled trades and physically demanding jobs,” says Pollington. “The feeling in the market from employers right now is that these people are out there but are still staying home to collect the Canada Recovery Benefit or employment insurance.”
Training for employees
Investing in training for employees may be the answer to the labour shortage, says Bill Stoller, Express CEO.
“Unfortunately, this hiring crunch doesn’t appear to be easing anytime soon, so investing in employees is crucial to the economy and businesses everywhere.”
Amid the ongoing labour shortage, 71 per cent of Canadian employers say they would prefer to reskill employees for new roles rather than hire from outside the organization, according to a previous Express report.
