There's never tMI when it comes to LMI

I sit on the Skills and Workplace Development Policy Council at the Ontario Chamber of Commerce.  The group has been brought together to examine the issues underlying the challenges businesses face in securing the skills and education they need for job openings.  We will also discuss demographic changes in our population and how those changes will affect future workforces.  As a member of the policy council I want to ensure the Peterborough perspective is heard.  

To that end and to learn more about the needs of Peterborough employers, I sent an email to the Workforce Development Board Help Desk on Thursday, February 16 asking the following: Do you have data that identifies which sectors and skills are most in demand for Peterborough City and County?  Shortly thereafter, I had a six page report in my hands.  

According to the current labour market information (LMI) available: 
The top five industries, with Statistics Canada definitions, in search of employees are (# of job postings):

1. ​Information and Cultural Industries (552)
   This sector comprises establishments primarily engaged in producing and distributing (except by wholesale and retail methods) information and cultural products. Establishments providing the means to transmit or distribute these products or providing access to equipment and expertise for processing data are also included. 
   
   
2. ​Retail Trade (346)
   This sector comprises establishments primarily engaged in retailing merchandise, generally without transformation, and rendering services incidental to the sale of merchandise. The retailing process is the final step in the distribution of merchandise; retailers are therefore organized to sell merchandise in small quantities to the general public. This sector comprises two main types of retailers, store and non-store retailers.
   
   
3. Manufacturing (254)
   This sector comprises establishments primarily engaged in the chemical, mechanical or physical transformation of materials or substances into new products. These products may be finished, in the sense that they are ready to be used or consumed, or semi-finished, in the sense of becoming a raw material for an establishment to use in further manufacturing. Manufacturing establishments are known by a variety of trade designations, such as plants, factories or mills.
   
   
4. Accommodation and Food Services (230)
   This sector comprises establishments primarily engaged in providing short-term lodging and complementary services to travellers, vacationers and others, in various facilities from hotels to camps. This sector also comprises establishments primarily engaged in preparing meals, snacks and beverages, to customer orders, for immediate consumption on and off the premises.
   
   
5. Finance and Insurance (157)
   This sector comprises establishments primarily engaged in financial transactions (that is, transactions involving the creation, liquidation, or change in ownership of financial assets) or in facilitating financial transactions. Included are:
   * establishments that are primarily engaged in financial intermediation
   ​* establishments that are primarily engaged in the pooling of risk by underwriting annuities and insurance. 

When it comes to skill level, employers are looking for varying levels of education (see the graph above).

The LMI report shows that between January 2016 and February 2017 there were a total of 1917 jobs posted in the Peterborough City and County.  92.5% were in the City of Peterborough and range from Utilities and Construction
opportunities to Retail Trade to Transportation and Warehousing to Finance and Insurance to Public Administration. 

The remaining 7.5% of jobs were in the surrounding townships and were mainly in Manufacturing, Retail Trade and
Accommodation Services.  

In the past year, there were 572 postings that did not reference any education level.  

A recent Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC) survey found that:

• Sixty-two percent of OCC members have attempted to recruit staff in the last six months, but only 14 percent of those did not experience a challenge in hiring.
• Only 43 percent of OCC members are currently operating at full capacity, this is higher among large businesses (57 percent).

In the recent Ontario Economic (OER) Report released by the Peterborough and Ontario Chambers of Commerce, staffing and hiring was listed as a top three indicator of organizational health by 53% of Ontario Chamber of Commerce members.  Hiring was one of the day-to-day challenges listed in the OER as directly impacting a
business’ ability to invest and grow.  

Ultimately, you can never get TMI (too much information) with LMI and it’s a valuable tool to start assessing the skills needs of our workforce now and in the future.

There’s an ad at the bottom of this page for the Workforce Development Board Help Desk - one of several strategies in the province when it comes to disseminating labour market information, and a tremendous resource.

​“The helpdesk can be used by community stakeholders to assist them with their Labour Market Information (LMI) needs,” says Jason Dennison, Manager of Operations.

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