62% of Canadian companies expect their activity to increase in 2013, reveals a survey by Hays Canada conducted among 3,000 employers. In parallel, hiring difficulties persist.
Although the optimism of Canadian employers about economic activity is quite reassuring, it is accompanied by a now recurrent concern: the shortage of appropriate skills on the labour market. 78% of those surveyed by Hays Canada fear that they will encounter hiring difficulties this year. Given that 35% of businesses expect to have to increase their workforce this year, including to rebuild their staff after the layoffs of recent years, this shortage makes hiring difficult, especially for the most strategic positions (management, expertise, etc.), and has a negative impact on business productivity.
More or less long term solutions
Hays interviewed businesses on the measures which they believe should be put in place to attract the best talent. More than half of employers cited opportunities for career development within the organization. As a more long term solution, Hays suggests the use of foreign labour, a step that only 19% of employers took last year and which 58% do not intend to take in 2013. The main reason for this reticence is an immigration process that is too slow and complicated.