The CLBC Leadership Survey is conducted every two years and canvasses business and labour leaders on their perceptions concerning a range of economic and social issues.  The 2000 Leadership Survey was sent to 4,442 labour and management leaders in the private and public sector and achieved a response rate of 18 percent.

• Both labour and management have begun to recognize the issue of the aging workforce, the need for active measures and the degree of problems arising from the need to replace retirees.
• Labour and management agreed that there would be significant replacement of retirees in the next five years. Management generally expected higher replacement levels than did labour.
• A number of specific actions to address the replacement of retirees are now being pursued unlike the 1998 survey that indicated training as the only action identified with any strength.
• Skills shortages remain the specific problem most commonly identified by all respondents.
• Other problems identified include competition with other employers, levels of wages and benefits and problems related to training.
• Youth hiring has received a high priority that will continue over the next five years.

• Higher levels of replacement of retirees in the public sector are anticipated.
• Public sector organizations are very or somewhat active in addressing the replacement issue.
• Training is seen as a more important activity in the private sector than in the public sector.
• Specific problems of skills shortages were most pronounced in the goods producing sector. Private and public services also exhibit pronounced skills shortages.
• Retirement issues are going to be increasingly important in the public sector.
• More attention to retirement issues will be needed as the average age of the workforce continues to rise in the next decade.
• Expectations for a higher priority in youth hiring over the next five years have become more pronounced in the public sector.

• Smaller firms have lower expected proportions of retirees and consequently anticipate less severe replacement problems and less activity in addressing the replacement of retirees.
• The age of the workforce in small organizations means that replacing retirees will pose fewer recruitment problems and stimulates more training activities.  For large organizations the opposite observations tend to be found.

• Labour and management are beginning to take the challenge of replacing retirees more seriously and are aware of the risks of failing to respond to this challenge.
• Labour and management are reaching a consensus on the importance of this issue.
• All respondents recognize the specific problem of skill shortages in replacing retirees.
• The public sector is likely to experience more intense pressure than the private sector in replacing retirees.
• The aging labour force presents challenges of conducting long-term planning now.