The document combines data from Statistics Canada and a survey of the organization’s members.
In Prince Edward Island, 70% of small business owners also say the provincial government should play a greater role in attracting more professionals.
« What the county government can do is help promote jobs that need to be filled, to be able to hold job fairs to help employers find employees, and also to help companies with employee matchmaking programmes. »
The report stated that the labor shortage in some sectors of the island’s economy has worsened since the beginning of the epidemic.
The truth is that 64% of our PEI members report that they have difficulty finding and retaining employees.
, identifies Louis-Philippe Gaultier, Director of Legislative Affairs at Atlantic, at the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.
Island numbers for difficulty of recruitment are above the national average.
Nationwide, 55% of Canada’s small and medium-sized businesses say they are having a hard time hiring.
New Brunswick also exceeded this average with 60% of small and medium businesses struggling to find employees.
In Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador, the numbers are above 50%, but still below the Canadian average.
Communication problem
Although about 30 county assistance programs are available to small businesses on the island today, 37% of entrepreneurs say they are not aware of these funding opportunities.
Obviously, it is about the communications that the government can correct and communicate better with small and medium-sized businesses.
Adds Louis-Philippe Gaultier, Director of Atlantic Legislative Affairs at the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.
The report notes that the exodus of employees to other sectors and more educated professionals looking for more specialized jobs will be part of the reasons for the shortage in some sectors, such as the hotel and restaurant sector.
Besides the economic crisis caused by the pandemic, the aging population and the difficulty in finding candidates with the required skills in the required sectors will also contribute to the difficulty in finding new employees, according to the Atlantic Director of Legislative Affairs. To the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.
wage increase
Even a salary increase will not be enough to attract employees.
More than eight out of ten companies across the country say they have raised salaries to attract candidates, but the success rate was just 31%, according to a report from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.
The federal government should also do its part by facilitating the hiring of foreign workers for small and medium-sized businesses, the report said.
When it takes a lot of paperwork and takes a long time, it’s not something an SME can invest in, so the simpler and more efficient it is, the better.
Adds Louis-Philippe Gaultier.
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