Moncton Workforce Summit Will Help Businesses Solve Labour Shortages
MONCTON – The people behind Workforce 20/20 Summit in Moncton, which will take place November 12-13, want employers to walk away with some actionable solutions to the labour force challenge that’s been giving them headaches.
“How many times have we heard that 120,000 workers will leave the labour force in New Brunswick in the next decade? That’s known. Now, how do we bridge that gap?” says Chamber of Commerce of Greater Moncton CEO John Wishart.
“We really want this summit to be solutions, actions, and results-oriented. That’s the tone that we hope to set.”
The chamber is organizing the summit alongside 3+ Economic Development Corp., which works for the tri-community of Moncton, Riverview and Dieppe, in response to an issue facing their members and stakeholders. It follows a career fair that was held in the spring.
“Virtually every business I talk to today says finding and keeping employees is their biggest challenge. So how can we program something to help them with that challenge,” Wishart said.
The summit is not just aimed at Greater Moncton businesses, as the labour shortage also affects the province and its neighbours in Atlantic Canada.
Government representatives, non-profit experts, academics and entrepreneurs from small and large companies will work to find solutions to the problem at the summit. Young workers and students will also attend.
“We’ve personally reached out to try to get a cross-section of both students and younger workers. Because it’s great for all of us who are older to sit in a room and say, ‘what do millennials want?’ Well, why don’t we get the millennials to tell us,” Wishart said.
In addition, the organizers reached out to 35 different organizations from various sectors – from Canadian Manufacturers’ Association to ContactNB, the industry association for contact centres.
Wishart said the solutions that come up will likely be grouped in two buckets: short-term actions and long-term policy solutions.
Businesses may be inspired to make internal changes as they listen to their peers and the panels. On the other hand, there are policy changes in areas like immigration, for instance, that are needed at the municipal, provincial and federal levels to help employers attract workers.
Lessons learned at the summit will be compiled in a report that will be made available to attendees.
The summit will include panel discussions which will include experts and entrepreneurs like James McKenna of Glenwood Kitchen Ltd., brainstorming sessions, presentations and keynote speeches by economist David Campbell and Robyn Tingley, the founder of diversity an leadership social enterprise GlassSKY Inc.
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It will also include 3+’s Growth Breakfast, where the organization will release highlights of its workforce strategy for the tri-community. The strategy was developed in partnership with Opportunities NB, the chamber, private sector, colleges and universities, and the Post-Secondary, Training and Labour department of the provincial government.
Susy Campos, CEO of 3+, said they developed a targeted strategy because businesses have been highlighting the workforce issue often and Greater Moncton alone is expecting to see 7,000 people retire between 2019 and 2024.
“That’s a specific number that we need to address. There are many components – immigration is one component but there are many others in the strategy that we need to address,” she said. “Also for 3+, one of our areas of focus is investment attraction. We can’t attract investment if we don’t have the workforce and the talent. So, we’re addressing that as well.”
The topics of presentations and panel discussions at the summit, including workforce diversity and retaining youth, were also drawn from this strategy, Campos said.
Wishart and Campos said there are new things that employers might learn at the summit.
For instance, while many small businesses still follow the traditional way of hiring – posting a job ad, waiting for resumes, and then conducting interviews – there are ways to look for workers through online platforms like LinkedIn and social media networks, Wishart said.
“The other thing is, what will keep a younger worker in your company? Because the pendulum has definitely changed,” he said.
In the past people would stay at a job with a decent paycheck. Today’s workers don’t just want decent pay, they also seek a good work environment, and they want to work for companies that serve a social purpose. Plus, they’re more mobile.
Campos adds that today, “it’s not about the candidates selling themselves to the companies. It’s really the company that’s selling themselves to candidates.”
Employers need to realize that they can’t sit on resumes for too long because another company will come along, she said.
The Workforce 20/20 Summit will be presented by The Chamber of Commerce for Greater Moncton and 3+ Economic Development Corporation. To learn more and register for the November 12-13 summit at the Delta Beausejour in Moncton, visit the event web page: http://workforcesummit.ca or email [email protected]