Retirement programs increasingly important to Canadians
Canadian workers are placing more and more importance in planning for their retirement, according to a recent survey undertaken by the Towers Watson company with 1,577 employees across the country. In fact, one third of respondents said that they are willing to sacrifice a portion of their compensation for greater retirement security and one quarter would dispense with a bonus to receive more attractive benefits. And the more interesting financing plans offered by companies are, the more employees show loyalty to them. The defined benefit plan is the most popular, well ahead of the defined contribution plan and group RRSP.
The top employers for young people
Based on the benefits offered by companies for young employees, the Mediacorp Canada organisation has just published the ranking of top Canadian employers. The list reports companies that carry the greatest power of attraction and also retention of the youngest workers in the country. Among the employers in the prizewinning list are Whistler, Rogers, Oréal and Ikea. The criteria reviewed by the organisation to establish this ranking included assistance in terms of training, the possibility of rotating work, the existence of tutoring within the company, the quality of professional training programs and skills development initiatives.
Shortage of labour: four key points for remedies
According to the report from the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, “Canada’s Skills Crisis, what we heard”, based on fourteen round tables that took place across the country, four priority solutions would allow the skills shortage to be remedied. These are to encourage continuing training of workers already on the job, aligning immigration policies with manpower needs, offering training in line with the expectations of the labour market and finally placing emphasis on career training and development for First Nations peoples. These are initiatives that would also be involved in skills improvement and thereby in strengthening business competitivity.