About Aligning Skills with Demand
One of the strategic goals in the Timmins 2020 Strategic Plan is to ensure that local training programs mirror the needs of conventional as well as new industry employers. Industries like the forestry, agriculture, biotechnology, and information technology have specific employment needs. The reason we need to align job skills with the needs of local employers is that we need to build capacity in our local labour pool. One of the things that prevent local employers from growing their businesses is a lack of skilled labour. This project is meant to assess and plan for the needs of employers today and into the future. It will tie in with post secondary education to make sure that young people have opportunities to learn skills that will put them to work immediately.
The lead on this project is the Far NorthEast Training Board (FNETB), a not for profit organization that works with municipalities from Hearst to Moosonee. FNETB works to bring together various community partners to work collaboratively and address labour market issues.
The FNETB has two recent reports on how they are starting to address this problem. To learn more about it, you may want to download the Working Together: A Local Labour Market Plan- 2013-2016 (2013 Update) Report and the Working Together: A Local Labour Market Plan- 2013-2016 Report.
For more details, visit their website www.fnetb.com.
Project Progress
The project is ongoing and will continue to develop over the next several years. Some of the goals of the project include:
- Surveying 500 employers during fall 2014 to find out employer needs and trends.
- Developing a Forestry Sector Labour Market Forecast to prepare for more development in the forestry sector.
- Contacting forestry companies to obtain information on things like worker demographics and anticipated worker and industry needs in the future.
Feb 2014
- The Timmins Venture Center partnered with The Far NorthEast Training Board to host an HR Development Conference on workforce management and employee recruitment and retention. Over 100 people attended the conference and heard panels on how to manage mental health issues in the workplace and how to navigate the challenges of a multi-generational workforce.
What You Can Do
- Get involved in local conferences.
- Share your concerns on our Facebook page.
- Spread the word to any employers you know and ask them to get involved.
- Attend training and promote training opportunities.
