'We've seen a real shift': Business owners looking for new ways to recruit, retain workers

As labour shortages continue across the country, business owners in Atlantic Canada are looking for ways to not only recruit new employees, but retain them as well.

Patrick Sullivan is the president of the Halifax Chamber of Commerce. He says many of his members are being forced to reduce hours, offer higher wages and continually search for new employees to hire.

"I think we've seen a real shift over the last few years. I mean, Nova Scotia overall has a higher death rate than birth rate, so we are losing population. We have one of the oldest populations in Canada. The pandemic saw more people leave the workforce or they left jobs that they perhaps saw as slightly more insecure, so a lot of people left hospitality, tourism, that had shutdowns, and perhaps they went to long-term care facilities," said Sullivan in an interview on CTV Morning Live Wednesday.

"I know two chefs that left restaurants that went to begin to prepare meals at long-term care facilities, where the jobs are more consistent. So, we've seen a real shift in the workforce over the last two or three years and an aging of that workforce, which has encouraged people to leave the workforce."

Sullivan notes there has also been a significant decline in the number of new immigrants moving to Atlantic Canada during the pandemic.

"In fact, in Halifax, we were down to about 2,500 new immigrants. That used to be 5,000 or 6,000, so that decline in the last year has also impacted a new source of workers. Atlantic Canada, and Nova Scotia in particular, needs that new source of workers because of our aging population."

Sullivan says business owners continue to brainstorm solutions and experiment with ideas in an attempt to help their situation.

"So, we're speaking to ISANS (Immigrant Services Association of Nova Scotia) to talk about how we can engage new immigrants in the population. We're speaking to NSCC (Nova Scotia Community College) about what they can do to increase the number of workers, particularly in the skilled trades area. We're speaking to a recruiter about how we can source underserved or under-resourced populations, like perhaps the African Nova Scotian population, which has a slightly higher unemployment rate," said Sullivan.

"We're talking to Gerry Post who used to be the head of the Accessibility Directorate in terms of, can we engage more people who may have some limitations. A significant portion of the Nova Scotia population has accessibility issues, so how can we engage those people. So, there are some untapped resources that we as employers need to begin to look at and look forward to, to bring into the workforce."

Sullivan says Sean Fraser, the federal minister of immigration, has been sharing plans with him about increasing immigration up to 500,000 people by 2024.

"And that's going to be a real benefit. That's going to really be important to increase the number of people, but what's really exciting about that is we know we need housing," said Sullivan. "And one of the things he [Fraser] said he's going to do is he'll be able to do a draw to bring in construction workers that can help us build the housing that can then support the people coming to Canada."

The Halifax Chamber of Commerce is holding its 2022 Annual Fall Dinner on Nov. 22 at the Halifax Convention Centre. The dinner provides an opportunity for attendees to discuss long-term solutions for labour shortages being felt across the globe.

More information can be found online.