Part of the reason clients hire me is to give them an outsider’s opinion of the challenges or opportunities facing their businesses. I take this very seriously, so I’m constantly scanning the economic horizon for changes that could have an effect on these leaders and their organizations. Over the past few months, I’ve been talking…
Why is change so slow?
Why on Earth has Canada not been able to change the number of women entering and progressing in skilled trades careers or associated apprenticeship programs? We’ve been talking about this subject for too long. For many women who trailblazed and pushed their way into skilled trades jobs over the last decades, it must feel exhausting.…
Organizations in Canada will face shortages of skilled workers if they don’t find ways to keep retiring ones working longer, according to a University of Alberta gerontology researcher. Donna Wilson also says early retirement isn’t necessarily the pathway to happiness people think it is. “Most people are at the top of their game when they…
Someone once said you could teach a parrot economics if you could teach it two words – supply and demand. I’m an economist and I try not to take that too personally, but it’s true that the idea of supply and demand can be applied in many contexts with very useful results. The basic supply/demand…
In fact, as demographics shift, Canada faces chronic labour shortages
Media reports often paint a dire picture of technological change and automation, spawning a future world of massive job loss and less employment. And yet, a labour shortage – not a glut due to mass unemployment – looms in Canada thanks to retiring baby boomers and our aging population. And history suggests that when technological…
We need to develop systems of hiring and monitoring our employees to ensure we have the right people
Bob was frustrated, stressed and upset. One of his key employees, Keith, had just left to start his own business and had taken another staff member with him. I wasn’t surprised. I’d been working with Bob for several months and had met Keith several times. My impression wasn’t favourable and I had discussed this with…
Automation is taking over the workplace. That means our education system must adapt. So must the students seeking marketable skills
My bank machine just wished me a happy birthday. It wasn’t the exact day but it asked me: Did you think we would forget that your birthday is this month? This struck me as just one more example of automation taking over what people used to do. No biological being had yet wished me a…
Canadians are retiring in unprecedented numbers and young couples are having fewer babies. Here's how we can fill the workforce gaps
By Jock Finlayson and Kristine St.-Laurent Business Council of B.C. The latest Canadian census revealed three major population trends: we’re having fewer babies, progressively more baby boomers are transitioning into retirement and most people are living longer. Together, these trends point towards a population that’s greying faster than at any time in Canadian history. Overall, it’s a good…
The federal government's plan to substantially increase new arrivals requires close co-ordination with provincial and municipal officials
With a falling birth rate, an aging workforce and a shortage of skilled workers, Canada depends on immigration. Instead of talking about building walls like our U.S. neighbours, Canadians acknowledge that immigration is essential to our prosperity. So few dare question the official immigration policy, even as it becomes increasingly apparent that strong criticism is…
All the myths about being washed up at age 60 and a glorification of the retirement years are hogwash
Planning for life past 65 is more important now than ever before. What with longer life spans, people are not only working longer, they're also changing the way they live. We're in a longevity revolution of a kind that's never been seen before. A hundred years ago, the average life expectancy was 47; today it's…