November 2012 Inside this issue: GM’s Report Business Anniversaries Events Report Best Boss Award
CHAMBER at a glance
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Calendar of Events 7
a publication of the Brandon Chamber of Commerce
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE The Skills Crisis I recently had the pleasure of attending the Canadian Chamber of Commerce AGM in Hamilton at the end of September. The beauty of these sorts of events is the ability to network and learn what other Chambers are doing across Canada. There were ideas on marketing, membership retention and growth, policy framework, advocacy and many others. All of these presented some great insight and ideas. It definitely had my brain firing on all cylinders thinking of ways to improve our value for members. It's interesting that Chambers across Canada, although very different, have so many common obstacles. Communities have common ground regarding Canada's infrastructure woes and we also share the same challenges around skilled labor shortages. In my inauguration speech in June and the first Chamber @ a Glance article, I had briefly touched on this point. It is the focus of this months article.
nicknamed "the baby boomers," are now beginning to enjoy the fruits of their labor and to varying degrees are looking to pass the torch to a new generation. To see this of course is tremendous. On the down side it leaves with it vast experience and a wealth of knowledge that have been nurtured over decades of hard work and learning by doing. It leaves us searching for what seems like an impossible replacement and in some cases it is. We have also seen for years now that our younger generations were destined to head west to bigger and better things. On occasion we see them trickle back, but have likely lost a good number of them forever.
Nate Andrews, Chamber President
23,000,000 workers in 2030. Pretty startling numbers. So the question is how do we bridge this potential 6,000,000 person gap? Even as I write this article some of the immediate nation wide skills shortages are noted as follows: Agriculture already needs an estimated additional 90,000 workers next year, the Construction Sector Council forecasts to have 219,000 What I learned quickly at the Canadian retirees in the next 8 years, the Chamber AGM is that the entire country Electricity Sector Council notes it may is seeing this massive wave of change need 45,000 new skilled workers by 2016 and we, not only a as city or province, (this is almost half the existing but a nation are faced with solving this workforce) and the Canadian Trucking reality. A recent study from RBC Human Resources Council notes from Economics research forecasts that by the 2012-2017 it's projected workforce Stepping back and observing our year 2030, under medium economic growth will be 199,000. The list of community it is plain to see that my growth, Canada will require in the resources go on and on and the numbers father’s generation are in the potential neighbourhood of 29,000,000 workers to are staggering. perpetuation years of their business meet our future labor demands. The lives. Some have done it, some are doing problem is, based on current So where do we go from here? We have it and others are getting ready to do it. immigration and emigration, birthrate learned that our entire country is in These businessmen and women, and death we are targeted to have about desperate need of skilled labor. What