A shortage of skilled workers will be one of Canada’s greatest future economic challenges, Employment Minister Jason Kenney told a skills summit Wednesday.
The conference held in Toronto brought together stakeholders to discuss the labour market, employee training and those under-represented in the labour force.
It’s necessary that an "informed national discussion" take place about the condition of Canada’s labour market, in order to address future skills gaps, Kenney said.
Skills shortages are looming in specific sectors, he added, but it’s not a market-wide issue. The construction, mining and petroleum sectors are examples of industries that will face serious shortages of skilled workers over the next decade, he said.
Skills Canada has estimated that one million skilled trade workers will be needed by 2020, Kenney pointed out.
In 2012, a McKinsey Global Institute report estimated that by 2020, the global economy could see 90 to 95 million more low-skill workers than employers will need.
Kenney noted that skills shortages are propelled by the inability to attract youth into the trades.
Countrywide, there are 13 different apprenticeship programs with specific rules and requirements, he said.
He added that stakeholders need to de-stigmatize the trades and encourage young workers to enter skilled vocations.
The minister cited countries such as Germany and the United Kingdom as places where apprenticeship programs offer youth better employment options, calling the programs "radically better."
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