Working Together to Position British Columbia’s Human Capital as a Global Competitive Advantage

1. Working Together to Position British Columbia’s Human Capital as a Global Competitive Advantage Shannon Baskerville ASSISTANT DEPUTY MINISTER – Labour Market & Immigration Division Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Innovation

2. Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Innovation • Ministry Vision: British Columbia’s globally competitive economy supports jobs and the success of families and communities across the province. • Labour Market and Immigration Division mandate: to take a leadership role to invest in the skills and career development for British Columbians and to attract new workers by establishing the province as a destination of choice to live, study, and work for people across Canada and around the world.

3. Meeting BC’s Human Capital Needs

4. Where we’ve been: pre-recession to 2015

5. Looking ahead: Labour shortage • Over 1 million job openings to 2020, and there are only 650,000 young people in our education system. • 160,000 is the current ceiling on federal government’s economic immigration. • 36% of recent immigrants to Canada have a lower level job than in their country of origin. • 1 in 7 small business owners in rural BC are planning to retire within 5 years.

6. MATCHING: imperative that workers have the right skills to meet regional economic opportunities • People without jobs, jobs without people, “Without effective action, we face a future with large numbers of unskilled workers looking for jobs that require skills they do not possess, and a large number of jobs that will go unfilled” – Rick Miner. • 70% of Canadian employers are having difficulties finding qualified employees for key positions. • 78% of job openings to 2020 will require some post- secondary education; only 68% currently have post-secondary education. • 2 in 5 BC forestry, agriculture, and fishing workers cannot read a newspaper.

7. BC’s human capital needs over next 5 years... assuming everything goes right KEY ASSUMPTIONS: • Our labour market system efficiently matches workers to jobs. • Average economic growth is less than 3% per year. • BC continues to welcome an increasing number of immigrants and inter-provincial migrants. • The number of graduates entering the labour market is expected to increase by nearly 6% annually on average.

8. BC’s human capital needs over next 5 years... Without action KEY ASSUMPTIONS: • Jobs Plan will stimulate economic activity and job creation • Workers with post-secondary education in the labour market and the number of other entrants to the labour market remain at 2010 levels • The number of new entrants (e.g. high-school graduates and new immigrants) stays constant at 2010 levels The result: some employers will be unable to fill key positions, while at the same time some workers will be looking for jobs but don’t possess the right skills.

9. Meeting BC’s human capital needs over next 5 years requires action • Without action, expectations reveal a shortage of about 130,000 workers • There is no “silver bullet” – matching skills to job openings will require several sources of workers • Need to address regional and sector specific challenges

10. Implications for Natural Resources • There are about 42,000 projected job openings in this sector over the next five years. • Expect to see shortages in the following key occupations: • Mining – Heavy equipment operators, underground miners, vehicle drivers, machinery/transportation equipment mechanics • Gas – Primary production labourers, manufacturing operators • Forestry – Labourers, machine operators, machinery/transportation equipment mechanics • Agri-foods – primary production labourers, supervisory positions, horticulture workers • Even in occupations with fewer job openings there are some notable gaps in supply in the following occupations, which have the potential to negatively impact projects: mine service workers, logging and forestry and underground mine workers, and oil and gas operators.

11. Implications for High-Tech • There are about 28,000 projected job openings in this sector over the next five years. • Even in occupations with fewer job openings there are some notable gaps in supply in the following occupations, which have the potential to negatively impact projects/businesses: • Electrical trades and telecommunications occupations, creative designers and craft persons, and technical occupations in computer and information systems.

12. Discussion questions: • Are any of you experiencing difficulties in hiring for certain positions in your organization or sector? • What strategies have been used to attract people for positions in your organization or sector?