CAEP helps with labour crunch

08/29/07
BY MARK WEBER
Red Deer Express

There is no question finding enough help is the number one concern of many local employers today.

And organizations such as the Central Alberta Economic Partnership (CAEP) are tackling the issue head on.

CAEP has been working on the Central Alberta Collaborative Labour Force Strategy, and the second year results were released this past spring.

As CAEP chair Julia King points out, it’s an evolving source of information because the demands of the market are evolving as well.

The project was launched in spring of 2005.

“We were hearing and receiving feedback from manufacturing companies that the labour shortage was becoming more and more imminent,” said King, who is also the mayor of Penhold.

CAEP aims to assist local businesses and manufacturers best deal with the multitude of demands they face in a brisk economic setting, she said.

Not surprisingly, the strategic plan points to an escalating demand in workers over the next several years.

Projections for 2006-2016 suggest the net supply of workers in Alberta will jump by 1.55% per year while the number of jobs available will rise at a rate of 2.19%

As a result, the province as a whole is forecast to experience a shortage of workers as high at 109,000 by 2016.

Times are tight enough now, with a provincial unemployment rate dropping as low as 3.2%.

Meanwhile, CAEP’s strategy includes 12 specific action plans under four main areas, said King.

First, supporting education and training initiatives is critical, and is taking shape with significant expansion for trades training at Red Deer College for example.

Phase one of the massive new project will open in fall of 2008.

Second, encouraging labour force participation with a focus on youth in the trades and the support of aboriginal employment is also key.

Third, CAEP is emphasizing communication and program support and aiming to help companies with recruitment and retention.

That means not only trying to attract workers from other parts of Canada, but also holding job fairs in Red Deer, Stettler, Olds, Rocky Mountain House and Wetaskiwin this past year.

CAEP also sponsored four workshops this past spring dubbed Solutions to Finding Workers.

Under education and training, CAEP points out there are specific areas that must be focused on, including support of training for meat cutters, truck drivers and local training for rig technicians.

Meanwhile, Alberta as a whole has had a rapidly growing manufacturing base as well. Between 1996 and 2006, manufacturing shipments almost doubled to $64.4 billion.

Competition for labour during the past five years also resulted in significant hikes in workforce numbers for retail trade, construction, health care and social assistance and forestry, fishing, mining and oil and gas.

But there are other ways local employers can attract workers to Central Alberta markets.

The Red Deer Regional Economic Development (RDRED) will be joining five Alberta Municipalities in the Alberta Recruitment Zone at The National Job Fair on Sept. 25-26 in Toronto.

“The labor crunch is one of the major things we’re focusing on now,” said Tyler Westover, economic development specialist with Red Deer Regional Economic Development.

Employers from Alberta will have the opportunity to recruit qualified candidates as part of the Job Fair’s Employment Pavilion. 

For more information, visit www.reddeercorridor.com.

mweber@reddeer.greatwest.ca