Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/280096
Workforce Shortage 34 | www.cedmag.com | Construction Equipment Distribution | March 2014 Bad as They Say? Are labor shortages being exaggerated? A report late last year from Canada's TD Bank attempted to debunk what many see as a crisis as mostly a myth. Prepared by TD Deputy Chief Economist Derek Burleton and three colleagues, the bank report maintains that whatever short- ages exist are isolated and no greater than a decade ago. The TD economists do allow that skills mismatches could increase. They urge governments, businesses and educators to focus on training to provide Canada with " a world-leading workforce in the 21st century." The TD report's findings have been supported by a Bank of Canada business outlook survey showing that, while there is an increase in firms reporting difficulty filling skilled jobs, most companies claim the labor situation isn't very different from 12 months ago. But AED member Tony Hodgins of Calgary-based Wajax Ltd. says such assessments miss the mark. Shortages may not exist in all trades but they're certainly present in many of them, including the mechanics and welders his company relies upon. Claiming the equipment industry is heading for a deficit of 30,000 workers in Western Canada over the next seven years, Hodgins emphasized that mechanics are increasingly in short supply, even though they're earning $44 an hour plus full benefits and pensions. The federal government sides with the industries expressing hiring difficulties. At the beginning of this year, it launched an immigration program aimed at streamlin- ing the process of getting skilled workers permanently into the country. To take part in the program, foreign applicants need to have a job offer or be prequalified to work in a given province or territory. They'll also have to meet language requirements and have a minimum of two years experience in a skilled trade. The central government cooperated with the provinces, territories and labor groups in drawing up a list of eligible occupations. The program will accept a maximum of 3,000 applications in the first year. Meanwhile, the long-standing federal Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) has become undermined by controversy. Use of the program has exploded in recent years, even as unemployment levels in the country have remained above 7 percent. The latest apparent breach of TFWP rules involves an Alberta Oil Sands contractor who layed off 65 skilled domestic workers to replace them with help imported from Croatia. The Alberta Federation of Labor says the unionized ironworkers literally walked past their replacements on the way off the jobsite. The federa- tion claims the imports were to be paid less than half the rate earned by Canadians. Increasingly, instead of being filled by Canadians, some of the best jobs in the country are being given to temporary foreign workers. The federation maintains: "Employers are using the program to undercut Canadians." Moved by political pressure and negative publicity, the Oil Sands company in question – Pacer Promec Joint Venture – announced it regretted its actions and rehired the displaced Canadians. It was none other than the Royal Bank of Canada that first brought the TFWP under national scrutiny last year after it contracted for IT assistance. Established Canadian jobs were cut in favor of lower-paid foreign workers. Assailed from all sides, the bank soon remedied the situ- ation, apologized, and implemented a new hiring policy favoring Canadian workers while limiting what jobs can be outsourced to foreigners. The government has declared that any employer found to have violated the terms of the TFWP would be blacklist- ed and denied future access to the program. It has further tightened the rules and now charges employers $275 for each application made under the TFWP to ensure taxpayers aren't picking up the processing tab. A new questionnaire attempts to determine whether an applicant is seeking to replace Canadian workers. With mechanics idle in some countries, Van Exan said Toromont has made use of the TFWP in the past to briefly fill some vacancies but doesn't do so on a regular basis. Hodgins insisted the TFWP remains a valid and valuable tool for employers trying to keep their rosters intact. Abuses occur in all systems, he pointed out, but most companies are just honestly looking for ways to acquire additional quali- fied staff under the TFWP, not to replace Canadian workers. Last year, Hodgins said, Wajax brought in 300 techni- cians from all sources. About 10 percent were foreign workers on two-year permits who receive training and get paid the same amount as Canadians. If the relationship works out, Wajax will help them extend their stay and eventually immigrate. Insisting labor shortages aren't a myth, Todd Hystad of Vimar Equipment in Burnaby, BC, has been research- ing TFWP and sees it as another way to acquire necessary tradesmen, as long as Canadians come first. AED's regional director for Western Canada, Hystad brought forward a related labor problem: Smaller operations such as Vimar, which has nine mechanics including two apprentices, are having trouble retaining skilled workers. "We end up training young technical talent who, when they earn their tickets, might be off to the bigger compa- nies that can afford to pay more." Vimar pays $32 an hour. In an attempt to counter the trend, Vimar works at build- ing a "personal culture," a family atmosphere among its staff so that they enjoy coming to work. Some Want It All Another key labor-boosting program has also run into snags. It's called the Canada Job Grant (CJG), sponsored in partnership by the federal, provincial and territorial ("Anyone Want a Job? Anyone at All?" continued from page 32)