PRESS RELEASE April 18, 2006
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Business and labour leaders form unusual alliance to tackle skills shortage problems
Halifax, NS – Leaders of the labour and business sectors are holding an important stakeholder meeting today. They will be discussing potential solutions to Nova Scotia’s labour market challenges arising from an aging workforce.
Rick Clarke, President of the Nova Scotia Federation of Labour, and Elizabeth MacDonald, former Vice-President of Enterprise Services for Emera Inc., will be chairing a “dialogue session” with the province’s business and labour, community, and government leaders. They are part of an Atlantic-wide task force belonging to a national project called the “Workplace Partners Panel.” This country-wide initiative was created as a response to labour and business concerns about the need for a collaborative approach to address Canada’s labour market challenges.
“Though concerns about skills shortages, out migration of workers, and the aging workforce are familiar, the Workplace Partners Panel breaks new ground because it puts business and labour in the driver’s seat,” says Shirley Seward, CEO of the Canadian Labour and Business Centre, the organization that initiated and manages the Workplace Partners Panel (WPP).
The WPP Atlantic provinces task force is comprised of one business and one labour leader from each of the four provinces. Through an unusual alliance between labour and business, this task force is hoping to answer some of the tough questions that Atlantic Canada must answer if the region is to remain competitive in the 21st century.
“Some of us are concerned about this ‘have not’ image being bandied about when talking about Atlantic Canada,” says Rick Clarke. “This has contributed to other regions being able to successfully lure our workers away. How can we hope to attract new industries when we do not have the workforce?”
Today’s meeting will also involve representatives from the education sector, immigration settlement, youth and economic development along with representatives from all levels of government.
“What we want is to help identify and document Nova Scotia and the Atlantic region’s best thinking on the issue of skills needs in the context of an aging workforce,” adds Liz MacDonald. “This is a critical issue for Atlantic Canada as the region deals with an aging population, a low birth rate, and the loss of young people leaving the region in search of other opportunities.”
The Workplace Partners Panel is a project governed by the Canadian Labour and Business Centre, co-chaired by Perrin Beatty, President of the Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters and Ken Georgetti, President of the Canadian Labour Congress.
“We have an extraordinary opportunity here, to think about the long term skill challenge facing our economy. The aging workforce is by no means unique to Nova Scotia. However, solutions that make sense in one part of Canada will not fly everywhere. It’s time to look for a more collaborative approach,” says CEO Shirley Seward.
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For more information:
Nadège Adam, Communications Officer
(613) 234-0505, ext. 251 office / (613) 797-0425 mobile
n.adam@clbc.ca
www.wpp-clbc.ca
www.wppdialogue.ca
