Canada has a skills shortage – but which skills, and where?
For years, governments have promised immigration and economic measures to give communities the workers they need – but when
it comes to the statistics behind those needs, Canada still has a long way to go.
Identifying problems with Canada’s labour skills data differs depending on who you ask.
Academics, economists, policy-makers, employers, teachers and workers all use the information.
But there are two common complaints.
First, information isn’t sufficiently “granular” – it doesn’t drill down deep enough to identify specific skills in supply or demand in the marketplace, or precisely where these skills are available or needed.
Second, data are too scattered among a variety of agencies and levels of government, which don’t do a great job of sharing their information with each other or making it user-friendly.
