Vol 6, Issue 2, June 10, 2021
Hamilton's Labour Market Connection
Your weekly news & updates from WPH!
In this week's edition: Ontario Stage One; Unpaid Internships; Workforce Wednesday; Work from home or quitting?; Hamilton Labour Force Information April 2021
Ontario's Stage One - Tomorrow! Friday June 11
Reopen 1
Hamilton is joining the rest of the province in the beginning of the reopening after the latest lockdowns.

The Stage 1 opening includes:

An initial focus on resuming outdoor activities with smaller crowds where the risk of transmission is lower, and permitting limited retail with restrictions. This includes:
  • outdoor gatherings of up to 10 people
  • outdoor dining with up to four people per table
  • non-essential retail at 15% capacity

If you are unable to physically go out support local businesses for whatever reasons this weekend or in the coming weeks - please remember there are ways you can still support that are of no cost to you!

Engage on social media posts from your favourite local shops and restaurants by liking, commenting and sharing their posts. You can leave reviews and recommend your favourite local places to your friends.

Also a friendly reminder that some businesses are just getting back into the swing of reopening hiring new staff and training new people with new protocols in place - showing patience and empathy is key to getting our community back to the buzzing city it once was!

Enjoy all the beauty spots Hamilton has to offer in a safe and respectful way!
Is It Time to End Unpaid Internships?
While internships have high value in the job market, research shows that 43% of internships by for-profit companies are unpaid. Not paying an intern for their work, time, and effort is not just unfair, it’s unethical and exploitative. While internships are highly valued in the job market, research also shows that 43% of internships at for-profit companies are unpaid. As a result, only young people from the most privileged backgrounds end up being eligible for such roles. For those from marginalized communities, this deepens the generational wealth gap and actively obstructs their path to equal opportunity.
#WorkforceWednesday
Every Wednesday we are posting our #WorkforceWednesday feature - allowing Hamilton businesses to share their latest information, promotions, sales, programs and more! This feature is open to all businesses from all sectors whether you are a restaurant, service, retail business and everything in between. Send us a some images, a video, or whatever you have for marketing and a little information and we will post it and share it with our community to help spread the word!
Work From Home - or Quitting?
Some employees are choosing to quit their jobs if working from home is no longer an option. The drive to get people back into offices is clashing with workers who’ve embraced remote work as the new normal. While companies from have promised greater flexibility, many chief executives have publicly extolled the importance of being in offices. Some have lamented the perils of remote work, saying it diminishes collaboration and company culture. 

 If anything, the past year has proved that lots of work can be done from anywhere, sans lengthy commutes on crowded trains or highways. Some people have moved. Others have lingering worries about the virus and vaccine-hesitant colleagues.
Microcredential Programs on the Rise in Canada
microcredentials
A new report released by the Higher Education Quality Council of Canada on current views about microcredentials in Canada reveals a majority of higher education institutions are keen to create these concise, competency-focused upskilling programs, and many say the COVID-19 pandemic has made them even more relevant. The report focused on microcredentials from three key stakeholders groups: universities and colleges, prospective students and employers.

When it came to target markets, most institutions are gearing their microcredential programming to working adults looking to change their occupation (92 per cent) and to current/potential employees of their industry partners (91 per cent). Respondents said microcredentials could help address gaps in transferrable (86 per cent) and technical (81 per cent) skills. Most (90 per cent) were open to partnering with industry or community organizations to create microcredentials.
Hamilton Labour Force Information: April 2021

The Hamilton COVID Concierge for Business is a one-stop online resource centre and phone line dedicated to supporting Hamilton businesses with their COVID-19 business questions and concerns.
Hamilton businesses can call the COVID Concierge at 905-521-3989 (Mon-Fri, 8:30am-4:30pm) or Contact Us online.


The Hamilton COVID Concierge for Business is brought to you by the Hamilton COVID Concierge Team, comprised of the City of Hamilton and the three local Chambers of Commerce.
Workforce Planning Hamilton | 905-521-5777| info@workforceplanninghamilton.ca | www.workforceplanninghamilton.ca